Explore the Archives
A Journal of the Plague Year Arizona Collection Australia Boston Bronx Community College New York Brooklyn College New York Canada Las Americas Lockdown Staten Island New Orleans Oral Histories Philippines Sacramento Community Based Organizations Southwest Stories Teaching the Pandemic The City College of New York

Collected Item: “Khalyle Hagood Oral History, 2021/03/26”

Title

Interview with Khalyle Hagood

Who conducted the interview? List all names, separated by comma.

Kit Heintzman

Who was interviewed? List all names, separated by commas.

Khalyle Hagood

Email Address(es) for all interviewers. Separated by comma.

kheintzman@gmail.com

Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your oral history. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?

#antiAsianracism, #anxiety, #art, #artist, #Biden, #birthday, #bisexual, #Black, #cancelculture, #cartoons, #classism, #comingout, #election2020, #friendship, #gaming, #groceries, #isolation, #music, #musician, #pandemicpets, #pansexual, #performancearts, #police, #queer, #racism, #sexism, #single, #therapy, #touch, #Trump, #tv, #videogames, #vulnerability

What is the format of your recording?

Video

In what ZIP code is the primary residence of the interviewee? (enter 5-digit ZIP code; for example, 00544 or 94305)? In what city/town/village does the interviewee live? In what country does the interviewee live? All comma-separated.

Chicago, IL, USA

What is the gender of the interviewee? Be sure to allow interviewees to self-identify their gender in the pre-interview or interview. *Do not assign a gender identity to interviewees.*

he/they

What is the age of the interviewee?

25 to 34

How does the interviewee describe their race or ethnicity? Be sure to allow interviewees to self-identify their race/ethnicity in the pre-interview or interview. *Do not assign a racial or ethnic identity to interviewees.*

Black

Describe the oral history.

Self description:
“I’m 30. I’ve been in Chicago since winter 2013, so I’m not a native. I’m from down state. I work a fulltime job. I’m in 5 bands. I live by myself. I live in... probably one of the less desirable neighbours, the neighbourhoods my grandma would probably be upset about, even though I love living here. I make money above the poverty line.” Performs in the following bands: Bussy Kween Power Trip, Gilt Drip, Cordoba, The Devonns, DXTR SPITS.

Some of the things we discussed included:
The importance of nuance
How far away China felt at the beginning of the pandemic
Anti-Chinese sentiments in the USA
Hypervigilance during the pandemic, reduced use of public transit, anxiety grocery shopping and being around others who aren’t masked
Living in a food desert
Finding new ways to integrate care and calmness into meetings with others, normalizing checking-ins, normalizing understanding that not everyone has the stamina to work on a given day, learning to be more vulnerable
Discerning which relationships are nurturing and which are not
Cultivating friendships
An absence of human touch and companionship, cohabitating with a cat, self-love
The isolation of coming out to oneself as bisexual/pansexual during the pandemic and losing the chance to really explore those desires
Deleting all dating apps
Birthday celebration during the pandemic
How working from home impedes work-life separation and learning a lot more about one’s neighbors
The cancellation of shows, including South by Southwest and touring in Europe
How good it felt to play shows and lacking motivation during the pandemic
The early days of the pandemic and excitement
How odd it feels to be in physical isolation with band members and using technology to stay connected
That when one’s labor requires them to abandon their own safety needs--such as essential workers--they cannot bring their whole selves there
Having only seen a doctor once in the past-decade pre-pandemic, first got insurance at 28 years-old
The benefits of therapy and losing access
Police violence: George Floyd and Breonna Taylor
Changing hygiene norms and eating habits
Having been raised in a middle class home by parents who had experienced poverty and boot-straps narratives
Being raised outside of Black culture and feeling removed from it
Having been called the n-word a child by white children and not understanding what that meant
First experience of “driving while Black”
Gaming culture and white masculinity
Unlearning classism and political awakening, practicing listening rather than talking
How sexism influences who has scientific authority and the music industry
Queer representation in the media and the absence of gay-men protagonists
NFTs and environmental destruction
Cancel culture, exile, and the possibility of rehabilitation
That overpolicing is an impediment to health
Dread and hope associated with the 2020 election

Other cultural references: BreadTube, NBA, Zombie movies, Contagion (2011), Nimona (2022), She-Ra and the Princess of Power, Kipo & the Age of Wonderbeasts, Steven Universe, Bridgerton, Owl House, Netflix, Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, Twitter, bell hooks, Greta Thunberg, J. K. Rowling, Shanna Swan’s Countdown (2021), punching Nazis, Six Days in Fallujah, The Last of Us, Soldier 76, Adventure Time

See also:
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/bussykweenpowertrip/demo
https://bussykweenpowertrip.bandcamp.com
https://giltdrip.bandcamp.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Ufo63NScDxUbhrKx4kzJM
https://cordoba.bandcamp.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kvwmEJY5l6wkLNgD2zoCh
https://thedevonns.bandcamp.com/

On what date did you record this oral history?

2021-03-26T17:31
Click here to view the corresponding item.