Ep. 59 - Creative Jobs, Life Balance, & Working towards a Liberatory Future within Capitalism (& COVID) 2.0 ft. Genta Tamashiro

Building off of the first installment, episode 39, BrownTown
again takes a second to reflect on their own lives in regards to
work and struggle under capitalism. In part two, enter COVID-19
and the international uprisings against white supremacy and state
violence: As mass consciousness has shifted in understanding how
interrelated structures have always failed us, BrownTown and
Genta unpack how they’ve personally adapted livelihoods,
resistance, and relationships as well as navigated the changes in
virtually every industry.


The gang details the events of February and March 2020 as
COVID-19 and the quarantine that followed in the United States
made a larger impact in all of our lives. SoapBox and grassroots
organizing aside, David speaks on the food service industry and
gig economy, Genta speaks on the live music industry, and Caullen
speaks on the fitness industry while all three discuss the
government and corporate response to the crisis. 2020 revealed
that the "security" that was always promised with more formal,
"traditional" jobs is all but secure. As a broader society, we
now have a better understanding of what jobs are actually
essential for our livelihood (hint: it's not the CEOs).
The discussion weaves through various topics including thoughts
on #BnBLive: Corona Conversations (BrownTown's 8-week Instagram
live series during quarantine), the CARES Act, mutual aid
(shoutout Dean Spade), survival techniques for creatives, as well
as police killings during quarantine. With the global uprisings
after the murder of George Floyd, David centers the importance of
living with an abolitionist framework in not just our work but
our everyday. How do the interrelated major events of 2020 shape
societal comprehension of inherently oppressive structures? How
do we work within, struggle against, and build our own systems
outside said structures while living with the uncertainty of how
the world will look on the other side of COVID-19? Here's
BrownTown's take. Originally recorded October 1, 2020.


GUEST


Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Genta is a creative devotee
of the artistic community. He attended the specialized magnet
school Denver School of the Arts for middle and high school,
which gave him a solid foundation in musical performance and
theory as well as an introduction into audio engineering. After
spending some time at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Genta
moved to Chicago to pursue a career in audio engineering where he
received a Bachelor of Arts in Audio Design and Production from
Columbia College in 2015. Through his freelance audio work, he
has traveled around the country and the world with notable
artists such as the Becca Kaufman Orchestra, The Way Down
Wanderers, and Masego. When he is not running the sound for a
band somewhere, you can find him producing his own music or
editing podcasts for SoapBox and other creative organizations.
Listen to more about this life, work, and perspectives on hip-hop
in Episode 5 - Hip-Hop in the Age of Spin (2017) and all of
Bourbon 'n BrownTown's previous New Years episodes.


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Follow Genta on Instagram, Facebook, and his music on Spotify!


Other topics mentioned:


Ashli Giles-Perkins (from episode 55) and Modified Mixology
(Instagram, Thumbtack)

Chicago Freedom School and CPD (1, 2)

Childish Gambino meme

Chicago 2020 Budget Survey



CREDITS: Intro sound bite, intro/outro song, and
audio engineering all by Genta Tamashiro. Episode photo by Sean
Kelly.


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