TAYLOR SEABERG (THEY/THEM)
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF!
I’m a third cultured, 3rd generation Kenyan-American musician. I can play about 4 instruments, my first being the piano which was taught at the age of 4. The Hungarian instructor who taught me how to play in Portugal also taught me how to ride horses when I was eight. I was born in Kusel, Germany and went to a Montessori school for 4 years before moving to Norfolk, Virginia (Virginia Beach) in 1999. I’ve lived in a total of five countries and traveled to over 15.
WHAT ARE YOUR SUN, MOON, AND RISING SIGNS? WHICH ONE DO YOU RELATE TO THE MOST AND WHY?
Sun: Aries
Moon: Taurus
Rising: Virgo
I relate most to my fire sign, I’ve always been a proactive and tenacious individual who isn’t afraid of taking risks but I also have a short fuse and am a very passionate individual.
CURATE YOUR PERFECT MUSIC FESTIVAL! WHO WOULD YOUR ARTISTS BE?
Little Simz would be spitting a cypher with Young M.A. and Erykah Badu in an ornate and plush live record room. Anyone from Janelle Monae’s Wondaland Record label including her, St. Beauty, Roman GianArthur, and Jidenna would be playing in an old mahogany cigar room with plumes of hookah smoke and whiskey. Lianne La Havas would be singing a somber duet with Moses Sumney in a square glass cathedral open to the public. There would be a “rage room” and mosh pit for black rock bands like Fishbone and Living Colour to allow a space for people to get their anger out. It would be an Afropunk experience with experimental RNB, rock and hip hop artists in America and internationally.
WHAT ARE THE THREE THINGS THAT YOU ARE MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT, AND WHY?
The Black queer community, the transracial adoptive community/mixed community, and (certain parts of) the music community. As a Black Trans individual, who is more transmasculine, experiences around homophobia and transphobia have really impacted me as an individual and how I hold my work/how I navigate the world. I hold so much love for my Black Trans fam that is silenced, our identities often rejected while we experience violence most at the hands of society. But Trans artists greatly influence society and create culture, music, spirituality and language as individuals that are on the “margins” of society. My whole family is interracial, I was adopted paternally and unteaching internalized racism and also cultural pluralism when you have grown up in different environments is something that is very important to me. Identity development and self actualization also informs a child’s sense of self. Many of us transracial adoptees/mixed kids with white parents can grow up with severe depression/issues with cultural identity if we don’t or can’t acclimate to a community that looks like us and shares our experience but we often grow up with this cognitive dissonance as to what it means to truly be “____ American” even having grown up overseas. The music community matters to me as music was a central element to my upbringing; I come from a family of classically trained BIPOC artists and that was the way I built connections with people I didn’t share a language with, music was the unifying language.
WHAT’S A HOBBY OUTSIDE OF WORK AND SCHOOL THAT YOU LOVE OR WANT TO GET INTO?
I’m a multi-media artist so photography and videography is alot of my side hustle. I really wanted a film dark room when I was a kid and when I got my first camera as a kid I was obsessed with this idea of becoming a photojournalist.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SONG TO RELAX TO?
“Midnight” by Lianne La Havas
IF YOU COULD ONLY FIT FIVE THINGS IN A BACKPACK, WHAT FIVE THINGS WOULD YOU TAKE?
Burner phone, wallet, car keys, portable midi/keyboard, and a laptop
WHAT IS YOUR DREAM VACATION?
I would want to go to Mellieha beach in Malta, a country which is located at the boot of Italy. I would love to visit and take out a boat and record a bossanova album out on the water in this boat home.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SNACK?
Steam pork buns or dumplings
WHAT IS YOUR LOVE LANGUAGE? HOW DO YOU GIVE LOVE, AND HOW DO YOU BEST RECEIVE IT?
I give love through acts of service and quality time, I’m a physically active person so I like running and getting my partner things or planning surprise birthdays. I receive love best through quality time and affirmations (all a blackboi really wants in life lol).
WHAT’S A PIECE OF ADVICE YOU GIVE OR HAVE RECEIVED THAT HAS IMPACTED YOU/HAS UPLIFTED YOU?
Try not to move at the speed of capitalism—Tricia Heuring said this and I thought it was a good reflection of what “productivity” means and how to balance being very proactive with relaxation and reflection.
WHAT’S YOUR VENMO/CASH APP/PAYPAL?
Venmo: @Taylor-Seaberg-1
Cash App: $TaylorSeaberg
PayPal: tseaberg93@gmail.com
“Blackness isn’t a Monolith” is a series on Black FTW (femme, trans, women, non-binary folks) organizers in the Twin Cities. This series is meant to show that Blackness is nuanced, and to uplift the diversity and uniqueness of our Black staff.
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