Def Sound (pronouns they/them/he/hims) is an Afro-Caribbean transdisciplinary artist born and based in South Central LA. Def is a postbinary Grammy Award-considered contemporary hip-hop artist, producer, poet, and award-winning academic.

Def’s work as a poet has been included in Saul Williams’ Anthology CHORUS, while their music has been featured in LA WEEKLY, LA Record, The L.A. Times, The Frieze Art Fair, the Emmy Nominated Television series Music Diaries, and the Emmy winning Artbound on KCET. Def is currently teaching Hip Hop/Black Critical Theory at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).

On this episode of Something Else, Def Sound interviews Jason E. C. Wright.

Jason E.C. Wright is an Indiana born educator, design researcher and philosophical writer based in Los Angeles, exploring themes of critical thinking and cultural reverence in design, speculative fiction, and the human experience.

With a 20 year+ career spanning hip hop & spoken word, fashion industry retail, production and higher education, Wright founded Burntsienna Research Society in 2018. An artbook reference library and slow-research institute — ‘bridging the gap between knowing and doing’ — Burntsienna has facilitated programming and research offsites at ARCANA Books, Berluti, Black Image Center The Huntington, LINE Hotel, Meadow, RIVIAN Venice Hub, Soho Warehouse, UEC Hawthorne House and more.

As an educator, Wright has instructed at FIDM, OTIS, moderated for AIGA, LA Design Festival, and MOCA, and has served on the board of the LA Design Festival. His writings have been featured in publications by Jacques Marie Mage, Adam Davis, Schessa Garbutt, and Medium, with artistic performances at The 14th Factory, SKOS, and Just For The Record.