After school, Richard called to update me on his ongoing struggle with our company. It seems that, now, they're trying to get rid of him, because he's raised such a fuss. Richard hasn't been quite as tactful as I have in dealing with our company issue; he's sent mass emails to teachers, lambasting the company, and even been in verbal confrontations with company staff members and the president, which has left a bad taste in the mouth of the company. However, the company has been shady in how they've handled some business. They waited 2 weeks before the new school year starts to tell him that they don't want him back. Company policy states that they're supposed to give employees a month's notice before termination. The company may be mis-stepping, and Richard is talking of pursuing legal action. Even though I'm still employed, I still empathize and feel the struggle, because these English companies, schools and agencies make millions off of foreign employees, but don't give them the respect they deserve. Power to the Foreign People!
On an unrelated note, I still needed some info about this coming Saturday night's Hip-Hop event that Richard's Japanese graffitist friend, Koolaid, had told us about some weeks back. Koolaid invited me to the open mic segment, but we hadn't discussed any other details about the event or about entry fees. I told Richard I wasn't attending the event if I had to pay, so he called Koolaid up to investigate the issue, but it seemed Koolaid didn't remember who I was. Richard decided to go stop by hos studio again to refresh his memory. Richard picked me up and we headed to Koolaid's newest graf shop and studio in Tsuramai, on the same street as Radix, the club I'd performed at my first year in Nagoya. We arrived to the shop, where Koolaid and a couple of his people were straightening things out, while music played over the wall speakers. The place was pretty spiffy--the floor tiles were still gleaming white, and the crates of spray paint looked like they'd been just unloaded. Koolaid came down immediately from the second landing and shook our hands. Koolaid proceeded to show us around the small shop. There were all kinds of novelty decorations on the walls, including a big scary-looking Gene Simmons KISS rubber mask. He took me into a small room with a studio space where he'd started a wall mural. It was a cartoony depiction of a hip-hoppy-looking guy pointing a large black pistol at a hip-hoppy-looking girl. Interesting. Considering that firearms are completely illegal, I was wondering what inspired the painting, though I didn't bother asking. Apparently, we'd arrived on the opening day of Oriental Street Service. There were large, expensive-looking bouquets of real flowers all over the store. Koolaid offered a huge bouquet to Richard, which Richard accepted and immediately went out and stashed into his car. Koolaid offered me one, but I declined. He told me that it was a Japanese tradition for a business to give away bouquets of flowers on its opening day. First time I ever heard of that tradition. I was more taken by the irony of a graffiti shop giving away bouquets of pretty flowers.
But moreso, I was wondering HOW THE HECK did dude manage to just open up shops and studios as a businessman, and still be an artist. Plus Koolaid didn't come off as the business-type; he seemed really into creating his art. Richard told me that Koolaid had another shop in Tokyo. That shop, plus the studio and this new shop made 3 businesses nationwide. My question was answered when Richard also told me that the yakuza, the Japanese organized mafia, fronted cash to throw up Koolaid's businesses. Interesting. Somebody within the local "yak" probably figured they could profit of the niche talents of Koolaid.
Cultural note: The yakuza functions as a non-centralized entity within Japanese bureaucracy. They're present on all levels of business, and influence the police and government. Updated from some of the more ostensible thuggish appearances of old, many members of today's yakuza are everyday businessmen who work fulltime office jobs. In seedy Nagoya, the yakuza has its hands in all types of enterprises, such as: nightclubs, gambling parlors, loan companies, of course prostitution, etc. Wherever there are large profits being made in Japan, one can be sure the yakuza are involved.
Anyway, we asked about the event, and he agreed to put my name on the guest list, plus two guests of my own. Richard was scheduled to deejay in Osaka that Saturday, so he couldn't attend the event. My girl expressed that she wanted to go, and the other guest spot was in case someone else I knew wanted to come. Koolaid and I talked about the open mic a little. I told him that I wondered how thr crowd would react to all English lyrics. He suggested I intersperse some Japanese in my flow to arouse the crowd. I'm not really trying to rap in Japanese, but perhaps I could spin a line or two, for the crowd's sake. Dunno. I'll think about it.
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