On Sept. 22 in Brooklyn, Bustle's 2018 Rule Breakers event celebrated women and non-binary boundary breakers who help all of us feel like our truest selves. The day included an appearance by the Brooklyn United Marching Band, DJ sets by Samantha Ronson and Va$htie, and show-stopping live musical performances by Sofi Tukker and Janelle Monáe. As you can tell from that list, Rule Breakers had a ton of great music to set the upbeat tone of the event. So, Bustle asked people attending the festival to share their rule-breaking anthem, and it makes for the most empowering playlist you've heard in a while.
At Rule Breakers, hundreds of rule breakers, change makers, and people who aspire to be both gathered together in Prospect Park to dance, sing, and eat. Based on the overall vibe from the day, the event provided a much needed release for its attendees. As much fun as it is to go against the norm and test boundaries, that can get exhausting. One of the best ways to amp yourself up for another day of being an individual in a society that often rewards blending in with the pack is listening to music. Not all music has the effect of these rule-breaking anthems, though, so let this serve as your playlist for pumping yourself up when you need a little boost.
1
"I Like That" By Janelle Monáe
"That's my song that makes me feel powerful because I feel like just like the song says, 'I don't really care what anybody else thinks, if it makes me feel good, then I'm gonna do it.'" - Sade, 29
2
"September" By Earth Wind And Fire
"I just think it's just such a high vibration, energetic, like 'we're together we're a community, we're love, we're everything.' It just makes me feel a part of everything, and when you feel a part of everything, there's no rules." - Melissa, 39
3
"Fighter" By Christina Aguilera
"It makes you feel like you can do anything. It makes you feel like you can get over anything, and also like everybody else is just not at your level and you can crush anybody that does you wrong." - Olivia, 27
4
"Work B**ch" By Britney Spears
"I made a playlist. I ran a half marathon a few years ago, and coincidentally it was the song that went on as I saw the finish line come into sight, so I was like 'yes,' and I powered through." - Leah, 26
5
"You Learn" By Alanis Morissette
"I can play that in the morning, I can play it at the end of the day, no matter what time a day it is it just gets me so jumped up, I don't know why. It just makes me so happy." - Lauren, 29
6
"Express Yourself" By Madonna
"I think [Madonna is] the ultimate rule breaker, the ultimate expresser of herself, and it takes me back to my early 20s of driving around with the top down on my car and singing it at the top of my lungs and it still helps me tap back into that, all these years later." - Reagan, 47
7
"Make Me Feel" By Janelle Monáe
"I really like the guitar riff, but more than that I think she as an artist, to get to a mainstream platform and still have a sense of integrity and being an activist as well — I'm rooting for her." - Treya, 31
8
"Heroes" By David Bowie
"It just kind of feels like there's no f*cks given, and I love it." - Stephanie, 28
9
"Diva" By Beyoncé
"She makes a comparison between being a hustler but actually being a diva is a female version of a hustler, so it pumps me up to hustle. I'll listen to it on my way to my first day of a new job and things that I'm scared about because I'm about to hustle and I'm a diva basically." - Katie, 28
10
"Baby I'm A Queen" By Sofi Tukker
"It just makes me feel powerful and proud to be a woman." - Sienna, 22
11
"I Will Survive" By Gloria Gaynor
"It's just the ultimate empowerment song, it basically says that nothing that happens to you can stand in your way." - Eleanor, 40
With a playlist like this, you'll be ready to change all the rules. Listen to it on Spotify below.
