Love Is Taught Early
I just want to talk about something that’s widely suppressed in mainstream.
Love. Like… the real kind. The love that’s already there when everything starts. The kind that teaches a baby…before they can talk ….that they matter.
That’s not a little thing. That’s the whole thing.
See, I believe love is taught from birth. Not just told. Taught. Like a language. Like music. You learn it by hearing and feeling it. And also by being wrapped in it before you even know what it is. And when you’re not taught it? It’s hard to speak it later. You can learn, yeah..but it’s like learning a second language. It takes effort and rewiring.
I was one of the blessed ones. I didn’t have the most stable beginning…shuffled around a bit, in and out of foster care. But somehow… I landed in a foster home that gave me what I needed most. I don’t even think I realized at the time how rare that was. But I felt it. I was little, but I felt it.
Love was in the way she tucked me in. Love was in the way I was seen. And that became my blueprint, even if the rest of life didn’t always follow suit.
I was just a little girl when I started making cards for my mom to show I loved her. I’ll never forget the one where I glued pennies into the shape of a heart. I was so proud of that card. It wasn’t just a craft to me, it was rich. I really thought those pennies meant something. And you know what? My mom did too. That meant everything.
That’s the kind of love I’m talking about. It doesn’t have to be huge. It just has to be real.
Fast forward to middle school. Seventh grade. First day wearing new glasses I absolutely hated. I walked in and got teased so bad I took them off and put them deep in my backpack. My mom worked for the school district and my sister worked at the actual school I attended. So my math teacher already knew I was supposed to be wearing them.
He didn’t call me out or embarrass me. He came to me quietly, told me to put them back on. Then later, he stood in front of the whole class, not to talk about math, but to talk about character. About how we treat people and about showing love.
Mr. Anthony wasn’t teaching equations. He was teaching values. And I never forgot it. It’s wild how small moments shape you.
I mean, who takes in a child that’s not even theirs…after they’ve already raised kids and have grandkids but still chooses to love them like their own? That kind of love doesn’t just raise you. It marks you.
So yeah, even after all the trials I’ve faced in life…and trust me, I’ve had plenty, you’d think love would be the last thing on my mind. But no. It became the core of me. It’s the very thing I come back to.
It’s what The Message Lives is about. That whole album? It’s not just music. It’s a flag waving across the world. It’s me saying:
“Hey… we’ve gotten off track. Let’s come back to the real reason we’re here.” And I know some people are tired of hearing “love is the answer.”
But here’s the truth: it’s only cliché if you’ve never needed it for real. If you’ve ever had your whole world shift from just one act of love…you know it’s not cliché. It’s currency that moves. Power that holds. Healing that lasts. It’s Legacy.
Love in action is holding the door open for someone who’s rushing. It’s smiling at the person who looks like they’ve been crying all day. It’s buying someone a meal, not for credit, but because your spirit said: do it.
And when you don’t? When you ignore that nudge? It don’t sit right. Not if you’re tuned in. I know it doesn’t for me. I feel it in my body until I go back and do what I was called to do. That’s how I live. That’s how this album came to be, too.
I wasn’t sitting around planning to write these songs. And I certainly wasn’t looking for a concept or a sound. I wanted a break from writing actually. An old interview of Michael Jackson crossed my screen, it was just a regular day ….and something clicked. It was like the baton got passed. I don’t know how else to say it. I heard, “Now you carry it.”
Not his image. Not his legacy. Just the message. The message of love and of healing. Of unity, truth, and of seeing people. Holding each other accountable without throwing each other away. That message never died. It just needed someone to keep it alive. And I agreed to the call.
I’m not trying to be anybody else. I never have. Ask anybody who knows me. I’ve always moved to the beat of my own drum, always dressed different, talked different, did my own thing. Still do. That’s just me.
When something lands on my heart, I don’t care if it’s trending or being made fun of…I don’t run from it. I act. Immediately. In the medical field, we say stat when something’s urgent. This album? The message behind it was stat.
So that’s what this album is. That’s what my life is.
We’ve heard enough. Now it’s time to feel something. And I hope The Message Lives brings some of that back…. the soul, the ache, the clarity. Not just a vibe, but a vibration. Not just a hit, but something that actually lands in the gut, in the bones, in the part of us that still cares what kind of world we’re leaving behind.
I made this project with my ears open to spirit, not trends. And if even one person feels a little more awake, a little more alive after hearing it… then the I’ve fulfilled the call.
The Message Was Love and I’m still passing it on….
May the wisdom within guide you, the freedom within carry you, and the love within remind you….it is already done!
—Renee’
