I was 11 years old when I got my first rap album, a cassette tape version of JAY Z’s Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life. My dad bought it at a local record store and made sure to grab the explicit version, too. My mom was to never find out about this, and she didn’t. It stayed hidden inside my backpack, only to be removed when I found time alone in my room—with over-the-ear headphones and the lights turned off so my parents would think I was sleeping. To this day, I can still remember every lyric to every song on the album.