The search for peace of mind

It is ongoing, sometimes desperate, often hopeful

Greetings,

Owning your time is a wonderful thing. Time to do the things you want to do, when you want to do. For me, it was a conscious decision. A decision to step away from formal employment in order to have more time for my family. Working from home is nothing new. When we went into lockdown, my routine did not change.

Yet, freelancing brings with it, its own unique challenges and uncertainties. I have generally been able to navigate them with relative ease - meaning stress and anxiety fortnightly as opposed to daily - but the last two to three weeks have been harder than most. When negotiating with freelancers, many, who work in jobs, don’t have the same level of urgency as their income is usually guaranteed.

I was brought by and worked with an entrepreneur and have fended for myself more than I have worked for others so it is a dance I am well accustomed to but, sometimes, it takes a toll.

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1

The evolution of the rapper, actor, artist and activist, Common, has been fascinating to watch. For his most recent musical offering, A Beautiful Revolution, he filmed a cool short film that covers the entire EP. There is something peaceful about the video shot specifically for Say Peace, featuring Black Thought.

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2

Thank you to Angela Lang for sharing this video profile of Onggi Master, Kang-hyo Lee. In the video, he says, “As a high school student, I asked myself some fundamental questions: what would be good to do for a living? What is my best talent? How can I enjoy a life of peace?”

Check it out on Vimeo.

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3

Trying to figure out how to explore, manifest and share art in a time when we are spending most of our time indoors, away from the crowds, is an ongoing challenge that I don’t think we have quite figured out yet. THE SHAPE OF BLACKNESS, a virtual art exhibition and related programming that highlights expressions of contemporary Blackness as envisioned by South African and U.S. artists, uses Exhibbit, a virtual art gallery platform. Wandering around the gallery, engaging with the art, is dope but still not quite the same.

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4

“While every part of the world has its own distinct acoustic instruments, electronic producers around the globe must make do with a narrow range of production tools. Popular digital audio workstations like Ableton, FL Studio, Logic, and Cubase were built primarily to facilitate music-making in a Western mode, according to the principles of European classical music. If an artist wants to compose with the common features of music from Africa, Asia, or Latin America, they have to fight against the software and rely on complex workarounds.” - Tom Faber in Decolonizing Electronic Music Starts With Its Software

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5

MICK, in honour of D’Angelo’s VERZUZ performance, has put together This Is: Re/Angelo, which includes rarities, remixes and even a duet with Smokey Robinson. Click on the pic to go to the mix.

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6

I recently sat down (proverbially) with Zeze Oriaikhi-Sao for the Third Culture Africans podcast to chat about my journey, Pan-Africanism, media, being a father and what that means, and the challenges of entrepreneurship, amongst other things.

Third Culture Africans is a lifestyle podcast that celebrates artistry and shares stories from those brave enough to create something and succeed. It provides diverse perspectives on African success and those shifting the needle on culture. Needless to say, I was extremely honoured to be asked to come on by Zeze.

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7

I have all his books. I subscribe to his newsletter. I regularly check out his blog for interesting posts. It’s a little old but still relevant. Austin Kleon encourages us to Steal Like An Artist!

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That’s it for this week. I’ll be back again next week. Read, subscribe, share and have a great remainder of the week.

Easy

Kojo