#10 Defining Def.

📍Out of Place

Definition
noun

Intends to convey, indicate, or refer to (a particular thing or notion); 

Signify.

I found asking myself these questions over the past days:

As an artist, how would you define Def.? 
How would you introduce Def. to someone who doesn’t know his artistry? 

There is no one-size-fits-all answer or a clean-cut one. I always keep thinking that Def. goes beyond being JAY B’s alter-ego.

If you’ve recently discovered JAY B, you might ask why he is mentioned? Because there is another artistic side of him, Def.
Little did we know that a considerate number of Ahgases - and some Beomies - don’t know about Def. and his music. As Def.’s first EP, LOVE, will be released pretty soon - January 26 at 6 pm KST via Warner Music Korea - we thought it might be good to introduce Def.  

Disclaimer: we’re not in a Gothic novella like “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”; there is no good nature and evil nature of the same artist; if anything, they are both too good to be true. 

Def.’s story starts almost 8 years ago - with GOT7’s debut -  when Jaebeom used the pen name DEFSOUL for his works as a lyricist, producer, and composer. The moniker has then been shortened to Def.

What is the meaning of Def.? Quoting Jaebeom

I think the meaning is cool - or excellent. I first saw that in Musiq Soulchild music video for “Just Friends” and I thought “Wow, that’s cool!” So I wanted to make an “aka” for myself with that. 

Chatting with Eric Nam on his Daebak Show, the host asked JAY B if there was a specific difference between what kind of music he produces under the names of JAY B and Def.. JAY B explained that as JAY B, he tends to release mainstream music, particularly songs that he thinks his audience will enjoy. He considers what the crowd will like and what people in the Hip-Hop and R&B scene will like.
Def. is the complete opposite. He doesn’t concern himself about impressing anyone when he makes this music. Instead, he makes the music solely to express himself. When he releases songs as Def., it’s non-mainstream. It’s what he wants to do. He doesn’t consider if people will listen to it. 

It was around 2016 when ROSEINPEACE and Def. formed the music crew PARADISE and became known to the public thanks to Def.’s first release. On December 31, 2016, Def. made his solo debut with the mixtape 1/? vol.1  on SoundCloud with the username def_xxx - now off_def. The five tracks combine smooth hip-hop and R&B, showcasing Def.’s soulful vocals and production; the songs ‘SIN’ and ‘BAD HABIT’ feature rapping by artist JOMALXNE. This release made Def. one of the most interesting rising talents of the Korean R&B scene.

The PARADISE crew kept evolving under that name for a little while before changing to ØFFSHORE in 2018 and õffshore around 2021. 

In the years leading up to today, Def. worked hard on his blossoming and peculiar discography. In January and November 2018, 1/? vol.2 and 1/? vol.3 were released.

In both mixtapes, Def. explores romance in his trademark R&B and soul style. The lyrics are profound and deconstruct the emotions of falling in love, breaking up, praying to get over someone,  trying to get back together, and then feeling lost, not knowing if it’s better to try again or call it quits. 

These releases have shown the magnitude of Def.’s creativity and talent. They are also an essential medium for Def. as he can work and release music that he loves and he’s passionate about. In various interviews during that period, Jaebeom has mentioned that as Def., he can work on his favourite genres of music - R&B and Hip-Hop. For the lyrics, GOT7's JAY B and Def.'s songs are both based on his stories but emphasised that with Def.’s songs, he tries to share something a bit more personal.

The year was 2019 and the month was June when ØFFSHORE released their first EP Scene #1 featuring the members Def., Royal Dive, RoseInPeace, MirrorBOY, HNMR, iHwak, and JOMALXNE. Def. is featured on the songs ‘SURFIN’’, ‘LAZE’, and ‘PLAY’. 

Also, in 2019 two new mixtapes were released on Def.’s SoundCloud: 1/? Vol.4 in August and 1/? Vol.5 in October. 

Over the years, Def.’s has amassed 242K followers and over 25M streams on SoundCloud and earned his respect as an R&B artist. 

A personal take on the mixtapes - and I’m quoting myself as I’ve shared this before: Def.’s mixtapes are diaries, each narrating emotions that get it exactly right. Reading the lyrics, it’s clear that he poured many emotions when writing the songs, whether personal or fictional. In the lyrics, Def. explores and depicts romance, all the stages of relationships and their hardships; nothing is sugar-coated, all emotions lay beautifully raw over these R&B and soul songs. Def. gorgeous velvety, soulful vocals bring an alluring charm to each track.

Def. was booked and busy in 2020, and we loved it!

In March, ØFFSHORE released Scene #2 - Def. was featured on ‘Simple’, ‘Smoke’, and ‘Take A Walk’.

It was a fine June when the most underrated duo made up by Def. and JUNNY released the single ‘Just Stay’ as part of the ØFFSHORE release Cut #1, featuring the track ‘Sweet Dream’ - sung by Def.. 

Def. popularity was (is) on the rise when he featured on Jaebanoff’s ‘Calling’, making it his first-ever featuring outside the ØFFSHORE crew.

This was followed by a featuring on WavyCake’s ‘Dream’ and SUN’s ‘in December (sad night)’.

If you came across the episode of “Hyena on the Keyboard” with JAY B, you saw a glimpse of DEFSOUL at work: use photographs to evoke emotions, create a story, and so lyrics. Photography is one of Jaebeom’s passions and I think it was natural for Def. to hold a photography exhibition. Called “ALONE”, the exhibition opened in Seoul in October 2020, showing visitors moments of life, places, and emotions through Def.’s eyes.

2021 came with a wind of change for Jaebeom, and for JAY B, DEFSOUL, and Def. - artistic freedom cast light on Jaebeom after leaving JYPE and joining H1GHR MUSIC. 
In the same interview with Eric Nam on Daebak Show, Jaebeom said that while he used to feel that he had to create a separation between JAY B and Def. for himself, now he feels more freedom of expression. He felt he had boundaries; now (at H1GHR MUSIC), he feels none. 

Def. joined ØFFSHORE for a new release, Scene #3, in March 2021 - with remastered versions of ‘Just Stay’, ‘Sweet Dream’, and featuring two new songs, ‘Cold Night’ and ‘Call Me’.

More features were added to the list: first on s/s’s ‘Memories’ in August and then on Fudasca’s  ‘Is It A Dream?’ - you can read our interview with Fudasca here. 

A new Def. song was released in October on JAY B’s YouTube. This is ‘HONEY’. 

As we said, Jaebeom is too good to be true, and as Def. he launched his first clothing collection with Represent, “Live Without Regrets”, and donated its proceeds to disadvantaged children.

To top 2021 off, on December 31st, Def. announced his first EP, LOVE - set to be released on January 26 (via Warner Music Korea - yes, you’re reading this right!) and is available for pre-order now.

Warner Music Korea @Warner_Music_Kr

Def. 1ST EP 'LOVE.' 2022.01.26 PM 6:00 (KST) #Def. #LOVE. #20220126_PM6 #RELEASE @jaybnow_hr

This is Def.’s story so far, written from our side - which is way less fascinating than written from his side. 

Now, after reading this, do you think you can answer the question:
As an artist, how would you define Def.? 

Def. is _______

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a nice weekend.