Reflections

Back-to-School Jams: A Playlist

Dean Angela Onwuachi-Willig shares some of her favorite tunes for the start of a new school year.

A few years ago, I shared a collection of my favorite and most inspiring summer jams with the BU Law community. As I enter my eighth academic year at Boston University as dean and the Ryan Roth Gallo Professor of Law, I wanted to share a few more of my favorite songs to help everyone start this school year on the right note.

Each song in the playlist has a different meaning to me, and I added each one to the list for varying reasons. I began with “Not Like Us” by Pulitzer-Prize-winning Kendrick Lamar for two reasons. First and foremost, I wanted to start the playlist with BU Law pride, proclaiming to our students that “We’re the best! Those other schools just aren’t like us!” Second, we had a blast as a faculty performing our version of “You’re Just Like Us” for the graduating class of 2025 at last year’s 3L farewell dinner, an annual meal where professors don aprons and chef’s hats to serve students a meal.

Because of the back-to-school theme, I jokingly added “ABC” by the Jackson Five, “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2” by Pink Floyd, and “What A Wonderful World!” by Sam Cooke. All three songs evoke memories from my childhood. We all started our education with learning the alphabet, and “ABC” compares falling in love to learning the basics in education. The Pink Floyd song is an anthem. It reminds me as an educator of the importance of helping students develop as critical consumers of knowledge. And, who can resist bopping to the voice of Sam Cooke singing “Don’t know much about history. Don’t know much biology. Don’t know much about a science book. Don’t know much about the French I took.”

One of the things that I love most about music is the way in which it captures our emotions, so I included a whole series of songs that should resonate with the anxieties and stresses of being a student. “Overkill” by Men at Work. “Crawling” by Linkin Park. “Head Over Heels” by the Go-Gos. “I Love Me” by Demi Lovato. “Getting Better” by The Beatles. “Anxiety” by Sleepy Hallow featuring Doechi (which now also makes me laugh because of the video with Will Smith and ‘Ashley Banks’ from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air dancing with Doechi). These songs may help remind students (and faculty and staff) that we are all facing individual challenges every day, and I hope these songs can provide everyone with some much-needed motivation.

While many of these songs are included as inspiration for the new school year, some are thrown in just because they are jams or because they come with a specific memory. For example, I included “It’s Going Down” because I have a happy memory of seeing Yung Joc in the Minneapolis airport and then grabbing a photo with him. I think I even called him “Mr. Joc.” He was extraordinarily kind and smiled at the old lady (me) asking for his photo.

Others like several Afrobeats and reggae songs are thrown in to share some of my culture, with old school songs like “So Ala Temen” by Cardinal Rex Lawson, “Jammin’” by Bob Marley, and “Try Jah Love” by Third World; new school songs like “Bandana” by Fireboy DML & Asake and “Fall” by Davido, and a mix of old and new school in “Ashawo Remix” by Flavour, a remix from a childhood favorite “Sawale” by Cardinal Rex Lawson.

Then, there are several songs that are meant to inspire students to find and use their voice. The most obvious is “Shout” by Tears for Fears. “Talking ‘Bout a Revolution” is special to me because I used to listen to it before writing my own papers in college. Tracy Chapman always seemed to get the creative juices flowing.

Lastly, I wanted to end with a series of feel-good and pick-me-up songs, from “Try Again” by Aaliyah to “Dreams” by Gabrielle to “Paperback Writer” by The Beatles.

I hope this playlist brings joy, excitement, and comfort to members of the BU Law community as we all begin this fall semester. Whether you are a new student, faculty member, or staff member or returning to BU Law for another year, it is important for all of us to take a moment to enjoy some jams.