Like the majority of you, all of us in the Philadelphia area are staying at home, learning to adapt to our “new normal.” MAGNET is checking in with local musicians to see how and what they’re doing during this unprecedented time. Photos by Chris Sikich.
Shamir: My time in quarantine has been relatively fruitful. I really hate to sound like I’m enjoying the pandemic—that couldn’t be further from the truth. I just find that I’m a very empathetic person, so when my surroundings feel hectic, I feel hectic, even when I’m not necessarily busy. When the world began to quarantine, that took a lot of social pressure off of me and allowed me to center my creative endeavors, which I also feel was a way to preserve my mental health as well.
During this time, I rediscovered my love for cinematography and video editing, something I haven’t done since high school when I shot a really dodgy rap video. (Which I’m still proud of till this day.) Rekindling that love has been my favorite thing to come out of this whole insane time, because for the first time, that side of my skill set has been put on display in a big way because of my self-made quarantine music videos.
I hope I can find ways to implement this level of self-experimentation when the world speeds/opens ups again and find ways to balance this newfound level of productivity with my regular typically hectic social and travel schedule.
