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I BEEN

by Def Sound

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about

I BEEN FULL VISUAL: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiKmOVJT-R0

I BEEN is a poetic meditation exploring (re)memory, landscape, the mundane, and the concept of home.

Below peep some warm words from one of my fav collaborators and friends who just so happened to be the producer of the song/poem Kenny Zhao.

The arrangement for “I BEEN” came together remotely - as was the custom. By this point Def, myself and others had built a creative rapport in this liminal space called “quarantine.” This project was one result of that ongoing exchange, and in many ways it feels like a co-created diary entry for that moment. I recorded the keys live while listening to Def’s poetry, and the experience opened my eyes to how liberating it can be to be a bit less attached to the clock. A few weeks later I sprinkled in some recordings from a cabin at Lake Arrowhead - the pages of a book, a tongue drum, and a small rattle.

To me it’s a piece about the conversations we were having with our communities - the ritual of catching up that became central to our social experience at that time. And it’s also about how our own experiences become reinforced in sharing.

- Kenny

lyrics

I’ve been everywhere

I’ve at been home

I’ve been scattered

I been looking in mirrors

And Now I

I know I’m the answer



I been

reading in classes

I been out here living brand new chapters



I been





living in living rooms

I’ve been invisible

I’ve been seen

I’ve been def

And sometimes I’ve even been listened too

I been

Letting go of where my letters go

making moments more collectible



I been waaaaaaay less accessible

I been







I been working on my chair pose

I been speaking in moor codes

I been finding Lies in they libraries

Reparations is still owed



And I’ve been

letting my blessings in

I’ve been 12th And Jefferson

I been

Inglewood, Pomona and

Slauson, I been Crenshaw

South Central, and Compton

I been gang affiliated and conscious



In my reality Banging was never an option

But

Those was my references

And Those where my settings is

I been

in all of these places of reverence

I been

And my life is just living evidence







I been





Chi town

south side

everywhere my mother was watered

I been wanting to go to Panama

And thats the soil of my father

I been

knowing it’s such a dirty game I can’t promise I ain’t coming out spotless

I know

all of they gossip

I’ve been in relationships and most of em toxic

To thee point where you couldn’t wash off the toxins

I been thirsty

I’ve been water

I’ve been plant based my whole life

And they finally dropped a vegan a** whopper





I been

I been at war w/ my demons

I got New greys every day

I see my Stress been increasing

I been stuck on the deep end

I been joining book club’s Noname got ya boy reading



I been unlearning

I been Searching



I’ve been flexin

I’ve been flexible

I been taking hella days to reply to text from you

I’m sorry

I been honest

I’ve had my heart broken like promise

I been decolonizing my closet

I been intentional w/ my dollars

I been





I been learning boundaries

I been done w/ jobs payin hourly

I been thinking a lot more while I’m showering

I been putting my 10, 000 hours in

I been thinking bout ownership

I been thinking bout about how nah I don’t really want the sh*t

I’ve been thinking about meaning

I been thinking bout us

I’ve been thinking bout freedom



I’ve been thinking about loyalty

I Been loving more openly

I been collecting more royalties

I Been flourishing whether or not you notice me



I’ve been doing more paperwork

Ya know signing more signatures

I been seeing how people work

I been seeing my people hurt

I been

I been everywhere

been everywhere

I been



doing hella things

Repressing hella sh*t







I been privileged

I’ve been generous



I been dodging hella sentences

I been running hella streets

And hella business

I been wearing everyone’s version of what they vision is and it doesn’t fit

and it doesn’t fit





I been

outside of your algorithm

I been deconstructing the whole system

I dunk on em

I don’t diss em

I been

So different my soul different

So different my soles different

I been

So different my souls different



I



BEEN

credits

released February 24, 2022
Artwork by Ema Reis da Cunha
Original photo by Daniel N. Johnson
Song Produced + Mixed by Zhao
Mastered by Important Horse aka Delwin Campbell
Video directed + edited by Sara Suárez

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Def Sound Los Angeles, California

Def Sound is an Afro-Caribbean transdisciplinary artist. born and based in South Central LA. Def is a non binary Grammy Award considered contemporary hip-hop artist, producer, published poet, and award winning academic. Def is currently teaching Hip Hop Critical Theory & Practice at the California Institute of the Arts. ... more

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