There’s that “aha” moment after some time of listening to tracks, watching videos, going to shows, reading interviews, following an artist on Twitter, Facebook and whatever social network that suits your fancy where you start to “get” them. I caught glimpses of this feeling while watching the Los Angeles based emcee Def Sound breeze through his charismatic verse on the standout track “Quicksand” from J*DaVeY’s recent mixtape “Evil Christian Cop: The Great Mistapes.” Rapping lines like “paintbrush lust…yeah we paint pictures,” paired with allusions to Salvador Dali and Picasso turn the dance floor at The Masquerade in Atlanta to Art History 101. And I can’t be mad a bit.
After our chat, I got it. Def Sound isn’t just a rapper, he’s a rapper that thinks like a painter. His approach, his output, demeanor and sound are all influenced by some of the same Art and Aesthetic aces we write about daily on Art Nouveau. A Rapper, excuse me, artist like that isn’t going to be your typical run of the mill.
“I was obsessed with Dali at the time,” Def Sound confesses. This heavy influence of visual art on his rhymes also has a deeper meaning and purpose. Def Sound frequents visual inspiration sites like FFFFound.com and Butdoesitfloat.com during the day. Part adoration, and part fascination, to him visual artists are respected more than rappers. “I want to make music that is so good it could be hung up in a gallery…I can’t draw, but I can draw lyrics,” he says before a quick laugh.
It’s no wonder Def Sound has found himself in good artistic company with the likes of Nikko Gray, Afta-1 and LA indie darlings J*DaVeY. Admittedly a huge fan of J*DaVeY, Def Sound met the duo a year and half ago through a mutual friend.
“A friend suggested, you and Brook should link up,” he says. Initially he was “nervous” meeting a band he’d obsessed over musically for a while. After sending music to Brook, with no response, chances of the connection seemed dim. Now a year later he’s working alongside the duo on multiple projects and has been afforded the opportunity to tour the country with them.
Like J*DaVeY, Def Sound is an artist that marches to the beat of his own drum machine. Anything that slightly bends the mold garners some resistance. He recalls a recent encounter at an unnamed Atlanta studio where listeners didn’t “get it.”
“They were hearing, but not hearing it,” he says with a sigh. “Everyone wants to label you, you might as well label yourself.” This prompted Def Sound to give a title to his sound, he dubbed it Trillwave. It’s a sound that Def Sound has pegged as his own, according to him, the main ingredients are that “it’s real, and it feels good.” We talk more of quirky song structures he’s attempting in newer works and nights spent in the studio recording from midnight until 5 a.m.
“When you’re been afforded the opportunity to solely create for a living, I don’t ever want to take that for granted,” Def elaborates on his mad-man like approach to productivity.
Looking forward Def Sound is ready to drop his upcoming project. The cliche for an artist is to say this is the best thing they’ve ever done. And Def Sound is aware of this, and puts out the disclaimer before telling me, this is “The best thing I’ve ever made.” Listening to his recently released mixtape “oooooH!thee.bitchtape” I can’t help but agree.
This Story appears in Issue #6: Kind of Blue available now via Magcloud.
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GREATeclectic aka Kendrick Daye is a DJ, artist and the Editor of Art Nouveau Magazine. As a freelance journalist and photographer his work has been featured in the NY Times Magazine, Ebony Magazine, Upscale Magazine, Creative Loafing, Honeymag.com & Yo-Raps.com.
