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.

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

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