There are few people in Philadelphia with a more varied resume than Tayyib Smith: from working at Le Bec Fin to producing events for the Roots to starting Two. One. Five magazine to founding the coworking space Pipeline, he’s done it all. His company, Little Giant Creative, has also produced an exhibit showing at 600 Spring Garden from now until November 17th. Called Dream Deferred, it looks at redlining, a practice of systematically denying housing opportunity based on race. Growing up in what is now Northern Liberties, Tayyib saw redlining first hand.Â
In this podcast, we discussed with him other forms of racism in our society as well. We talk about things such as cultural appropriation, white privilege, and his views on race in hip-hop (including his thoughts on Kanye.) At a time where discussion on these topics often veers off into angry arguments and talking points, if you’d like to hear four adults discuss it maturely, this is well worth a listen. Tayyib also discusses politics, the “branding” of Philadelphia, and why he doesn’t like Gritty.Â
Â
We recorded at Pipeline Philly, a co-working space in Center City that Tayyib is co-owner of.Â
Â
LINKS: