J. PERIOD and Josh Kun Present: The Art of the Crossfade (Musical Lecture)

A unique event expounding on the DJ crossfade & how it builds cultural bridges. Presented by culture critic Josh Kun & producer/DJ J.PERIOD.

Music historian and professor Josh Kun teams up with DJ/producer J.PERIOD (The Live Mixtape) for this two-night program that explores music at the 250th anniversary of the United States.

Night 1 will feature a musical lecture on the DJ crossfader, the horizontal slider on a mixer used to blend two distinct sound sources. Kun and J.PERIOD will explore how the idea of the "crossfade" can build bridges between cultures.

Night 2 will begin with a community workshop, followed by a dynamic Live Mixtape performance with special guests, to be announced soon.

The Art of the Crossfade is a live multimedia experience presented by Professor Josh Kun and DJ/Producer J.PERIOD that explores how music can connect people across cultures, generations, and communities. At the center of the experience is the crossfader — the horizontal slider on a DJ mixer that allows two songs to blend without erasing either. In the hands of a DJ, different sounds, histories, and perspectives can coexist to create something entirely new.

Using live DJ performance, storytelling, visuals, and conversation, The Art of the Crossfade explores how music can become a bridge between people and ideas — showing how connection does not require sameness, and how our differences can become the foundation for creativity, understanding, and community.

Part live mix, part cultural conversation, and part behind-the-scenes journey into the art of DJing, the program invites audiences to experience music as more than entertainment: as a powerful tool for connection.

Hailed as "the most creative mixtape producer of all-time” by music icon Questlove, J.PERIOD is a DJ, producer and musical storyteller who has collaborated with The Roots, Nas, Lauryn Hill, Dave Chappelle and Lin-Manuel Miranda on the Billboard #1 album, The Hamilton Mixtape. J.PERIOD’s resume includes: Music Supervisor for the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, founding member of The Kennedy Center Hip Hop Culture Council, and Music Producer for CBS’ primetime special “A Grammys Tribute to 50 Years of Hip Hop.” His “Live Mixtape” concert series has been featured at The Roots Picnic, Lincoln Center, Blue Note Jazz Festival, The Kennedy Center, Smithsonian NMAAHC and Sony Hall, featuring iconic Hip Hop artists Black Thought, Mos Def, Rakim, Queen Latifah, Method Man and Busta Rhymes. His forthcoming album, J.PERIOD Presents Story To Tell (Chapter 3), features new music from Wyclef Jean, Andra Day and more.

JOSH KUN is an award-winning cultural historian, curator, and MacArthur Fellow. A Grammy-nominated writer, he is the author and editor of books like Audiotopia: Music, Race, and America, Songs in the Key of Los Angeles, and The Tide Was Always High: The Music of Latin America in Los Angeles. He is Vice Provost for the Arts at USC, where he holds the Chair in Cross-Cultural Communication at the USC Annenberg School.

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