Hear It: Furloughed and Out of TP, This Rapper Blasts "Rona"

Denver-raised musician and producer DJ Zenas rages at COVID-19 in the new song "Rona," in which he raps about being out of work and out of toilet paper, to boot.

The song, which he wrote in early April from his new home in Fort Worth, Texas, is grim.

"It is serious and touches on lots of serious issues, but it can almost be taken as parody," he says. "That’s how my personality is. I joke all the time, and I don’t take anything too seriously. I do care."

"Rona" is not a happy song, but it is a reflection of the depression and despair that millions are feeling as they wait out the pandemic from a place of social isolation. That, Zenas says, is a universal experience that crosses race, class and social status. "Even celebrities are in the same boat," he says.

Sort of.

When he's not making music, Zenas is selling used cars. Last week, he learned he had been furloughed by CarMax; he's now one of the millions of people who've registered for unemployment in recent days.

Stuck at home, he's making music, working out with his roommate and girlfriend, going for occasional runs, but mostly watching Netflix and waiting for things to open up again. His plans for a summer tour have been dashed. Along with everybody else in the industry, he's wondering when live concerts will come back.

"I’m really interested to see how the entertainment industry bounces back from this," he says. "A lot of creatives and people are like, 'Shit has hit the fan.' I’m really interested in how we are going to recover from this."

Only one thing is certain, he says: "There is so much uncertainty out there. It’s concerning."

Hear "Rona" at DJ Zenas's SoundCloud page.