For as long as I can remember I've struggled with the idea of working a 9-5 job, doing something totally unrelated to my passion and having to sacrifice my time like this, just to secure a monthly salary - and for many years, that is exactly what I've done. I tried hard to convince myself that I would "get used to it" and that this was what it meant to be an "adult". I would fluctuate between energetic determination and lethargic depression, trying to find my way through these conflicted emotions, but I stayed unhappy.
On my days off I would make mental lists of the creative tasks I'd tackle like writing to a new beat, researching opportunities for projects and funding and visualization practices to gather energy for my new work, but this never happened. I was mentally and emotionally drained from the 9-5 job which seemed to be stealing all my energy to be me and to move forward,and this started to chip away at my joy and zest for life. I asked God to show me the way; to give me a sign about the way forward. I never accepted that my life is to be reduced as I age; I expect to incorporate more colour, light, love, creativity, joy etc. The signs came regularly and harshly, but I was not willing to listen. What I heard was that I need to CREATE my own path, that there is no template or guide book on how it should be done, but that I would need to take the risk if I want to be fulfilled and happy - that the answers are already there, inside me. That was not what I wanted to hear, but I eventually understood. Two weeks ago I resigned from my mundane customer service job where I was treated like shit by the manager and where customer's used me as a punching bag for everything wrong in their lives, everything they did not want to take responsibility for - like creating their own happiness. I am now on this new journey where everything is up to me in terms of work (and life, I guess). I am developing new muscles (literally and figuratively) and I am being forced to engage my craft, my skills, my visions. I spend my time manifesting and whatever enters my realm requires my acknowledgement; this is both exhilarating and frightening - but I am alive and grateful to be taking these chances. I bumped into someone today (a Cape Town-based graffiti art legend named Falko) and he told me about the concept of "burning your ships". He explained the concept dating back to when conquerors - like the Spanish - would arrive at the shores of lands unknown to them, with the plan to "conquer" these lands for themselves, so they would burn their ships, eliminating any other options or any back-up plans which forced them to succeed. I needed to hear that as I've decided to Burn My Ships too and I'm excited to be at the helm of this new ship.
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“What you know about the Cape Flats isn’t all true This is where some train their minds to summon the Dragon Like the forces of Jiu-Jitsu and Kung-Fu Mastering the art of disguise To discover the hidden prize – a light…” These are the opening lines for my track called ‘Cape Flats Kung Fu’, an ode to my people who are continuously misrepresented, stereotyped and demonised by the media and those who benefit from vilifying us. I’m from Parkwood, a township (ghetto, slum, whatever you want to call it) in Cape Town which forms a part of the Cape Flats, a name given to the collective, low-lying areas on the outskirts of Cape Town where people of color were forcibly moved to during Apartheid’s Group Areas Act, dating back to the 1950s. Parkwood is a small place with many people, many struggles and a lot of beauty. I was born and raised there and I only recently moved away (beginning of 2019) so it really is my foundation, a huge part of my psyche and holds my heart. The humble, impoverished existence the people endure on a daily basis is seldom recognised as beautiful, because the media has an agenda to portray us as destructive and good-for-nothing takers, but we are so much more! As an emcee I’ve always been guided by the knowledge-of-self principle of hip hop, which teaches the importance of learning about my history, turning inward for spiritual guidance and cultivating self-worth. My people have forgotten their heritage and that they are the descendants of royalty because they’ve started to believe the inferior images the media shows them of themselves and have become trapped by a collective amnesia spell which has lead them to turn on each other. But, when I look at my mother, working hard to keep our home afloat with only a minimum wage job and sheer determination – I see ancient strength; when I remember my grandmother, I see the majestic power she silently carried through the difficult transition from her farm home in Constantia to destitution and then the ghetto; she never gave up her pride as she turned a humble flat in the ‘courts’ into a warm home. When I see that father, who leaves his home in the dark of the morning, passing through danger to get to his job as a security guard so he can provide for his family, I am reminded of our resilience. I watch the children playing beneath the washing lines on concrete ground with litter blowing in the wind and I see the world they have created – a protective filter made of imagination as they play in the garden of their minds. I see us, strong and righteous despite the prisons they’ve condemned us to; we will overcome! So, Cape Flats Kung Fu is my musical tribute to my people, all people who live in the ghettos, the favelas, the townships around the world. This is my call for us to remember who we are regardless of the filth they throw at us. We will activate our wings and return to our ability to unite. We are here, living in the graves they’ve dug for us, making ends meet in unimaginable ways, surviving the pits of hell created by those who thought we would exist only to serve their dark agendas. We are here and we are awakening to our power, bit by bit. We might be unseen but our time is coming and we are organising. The battle is a spiritual warfare and the soldiers are those who remain humble, shining a light for those who are willing to see. Music video link for 'Cape Flats Kung Fu' by Eavesdrop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A25fZH8DCDo |
Eavesdrop |