Mikayla's Library

“Life as a Soundtrack” by Mikayla Daniel offers a deep dive into the life of a man named Ivory, exploring his journey from casual music listener, to DJ, to media mogul, through near-microscopic detail of his relationship with music. This essay is part playlist, part exploration of the genre of rap and how it differs from coast to coast, but most of all a love letter to music through an interview of a man who needed to feel music intimately in every step of his life. By mixing interview and essay, Daniel expertly explains this love by noting that to Ivory, “Music was ubiquitous.” This essay reminds us of the intrinsic role music plays in our lives–and that there’s a new genre to explore waiting just down the street.–Mars Sell ‘26