In this episode of Ear Expansion, host LaMont Hamilton engages in a profound and evocative conversation with Onyx Ashanti, an innovative artist who merges music, technology, and self-expression. Onyx recounts his journey from early influences in Mississippi, where the church and marching band played pivotal roles, to discovering Beat Jazz and the Metabyte system. He highlights his transformative experiences at Grambling, Atlanta Underground and within the rave scenes of California and Europe, which led him to his improvisational style and unique sound creation through digital interfaces. The dialogue delves into Onyx’s explorations with tech tools like Pure Data and Arduino, enabling him to create Beat Jazz controllers that allow gestural manipulation of sound. He discusses his concept of sonocybernetic language, where sound operates as a form of communication and memory. Reflecting on his work’s emotional and philosophical dimensions, Onyx shares his vision of merging human experience with cybernetics, aiming to dissolve boundaries between tool and creator to achieve a state of perfected self-expression. The conversation concludes with a mutual reflection on artistic evolution, memory, and the cyclical nature of creativity.