Alex through my Eyes

He is amazing! he makes my heart beat faster. With him I don’t need to go to Africa to feel the beat.

Yes, I am talking about Utah’s very own Alex Boye. When I hear a hit on the radio I cannot wait to hear it from Alex in “African Style”!. The rhythm moves me, makes me incredibly happy! Makes me want to pa-a-arty!

The rhythm of music has always been in my head and my heart. When I was a child I just couldn’t get into the church music.  It never matched the beat that was always going on in my head.  I know it always made my mother unhappy when I was always urging her to speed up the music when she lead the congregation in church.  There was a movie that came out in 1965 called “Billie” with Patty Duke where she would run track in school and when they asked her what her what her secret was as to running so fast and she said “well there is a rhythm always going on in my head and if I want to go faster I just speed it up”.  I totally related to that!  I heard it when I was only about 5 years old but it stuck in my head and when I would run or dance it was always to the rhythm in my head. Then when I turned 16 disco came along. OMG this is all I wanted to do!  Dance and feel the beat of the music! 

I have always wanted to go to Africa and be surrounded by the music. One day my Dad found some old bongo drums while making one of his runs to the dump and thought of me.  He cleaned them up and had new skins put on them. I was so over joyed when he brought them home.  Now I could play the beat that was in my head!

Alex’s voice, his music, his rhythm, stirs and awakens my heart.  I want to sing with him, I want to dance to his music.  

But do you know what really puts the sweet frosting on the cake?  When I listen to and watch this amazing artist perform, the burning in my heart tells me that he is my brother and we share the same sweet testimony that Jesus is the Christ and Savior of the world and that music is one of the main powers of creation that he used to create us and this beautiful world and we both belong to his church.

Thank you Alex for bringing me the music that makes my heart swell with emotion and makes me sing and dance with joy

~Rosie.