Does the music you like define you?

I recently have come across a young man who's name is irrelevant essentially. He was listening to a rapper that apparently is very popular. When he asked me if i like said rapper, I told him that im not really into much rap. His response, "But its {insert name here} how could you not listen to him. EVERYBODY listens to him". That statement saddened me to think that people could have such a one track mind when it comes to music and things they like. That also made me think, does the music you like define who you are?

Many of us come from neighborhoods that we are apart of the majority so when one doesn't like what everyone else likes, then that person is deemed strange. Growing up in Jamaica Queens, I've dealt with that myself. When I used to tell people that I was into Jazz & Alternative Rock, they would look at me like i was strange. Like a creature from a foreign planet. I used to hear, "take that rock and roll shit to the suburbs" or "that jazz shit is for old people". I always felt like you like what you like and that should be the extent of it.

There is a statement, "People fear what they don't want to take the time to understand"

I think there are many misconceptions placed on the music one listens to. One of my former co workers was the most clean cut guys, very well mannered and polite. A real cool guy. Never seemed like the type that would get into confrontations or even raise his voice much higher than the rest of the crowd. So, the assumption was that he was into contemporary, easy listening music. Quite the opposite. He was into hardcore rap and only liked his music to have violence and alot of profanity in it. He was white and many people told him he was trying to be something he was not. Is that the case? I didn't and still dont think so.

In a way, it can go back into a blog i wrote about before about how hard it is to actually be different ( http://notableobscurity.blogspot.com/2010/07/its-hard-being-different.html ) Sometimes you wanna conform just cause you dont wanna get picked on, but when are you truly being yourself when you try to front like you like what others like when thats not the case at all?

Its hard for some people to fathom a 21 year old Dominican from Washington Heights into the Opera and that plays the violin, but I have met one and he doesn't seem like the type to be into Opera.

But thats an assumption, and you know what they say about assuming...

If you cant judge a book by its cover, why do many of us try so much to do just that?