DeNiro Elliot, Derrick and Milo, 2018. Digital image. Courtesy of the artist and SON.

SON. (Justen LeRoy)

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SON. (Justen LeRoy)

Justen LeRoy explores the multidimensional experience of the Black life through music, conversation fragments, and sound bites culled from voice messages. These parts are collaged together to create a soundscape in the collective and intimate spirit of home and his father’s barbershop space.

Please call 310-209-7999 and leave a message of gratitude at the tone. Messages will be considered for inclusion in future episodes.

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BIOGRAPHY
Founded in 2016 by Justen LeRoy, SON. is a platform that aims to showcase the “multi-dimensional experience of the black male identity.” Thus far, SON. has taken shape in print, online, and as a monthly radio program on NTS Radio. Since 2019 SON. has taken over Touched by an Angel, a barbershop and community hub in South Central Los Angeles, as its new headquarters with the intention of bringing its programming—discussion series, book clubs, exhibitions, even a running club—to the shop’s local and intended audience. The barbershop has historically functioned as a third space, a place to gather and engage in casual conversation, particularly within the black male community. SON.’s ambition is to infuse the dialogue of this space with self-awareness of masculinity, thereby upending the norms of such discourse to make it more inclusive.