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Beyoncé

Beyoncé

Photo: Ian West/PA Images/Getty Images

News
Beyonce's Lion King Album: JAY-Z, Mr. Eazi, More beyonce-shares-epic-track-list-lion-king-gift-jay-z-kendrick-lamar-mr-eazi-shatta-wale

Beyonce Shares Epic Track List For 'The Lion King: The Gift:' JAY-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Eazi, Shatta Wale & Many More

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The GRAMMY-winning star of the Disney remake will share more details about her curated album in an exclusive interview on ABC
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jul 16, 2019 - 3:07 pm

Today, GRAMMY-winning multi-hyphenate Beyoncé offered the world yet another gift, the stacked track list of the forthcoming The Lion King-inspired album she executive produced. The 14-song LP features some of the hottest talent from the States and Africa, including her co-star Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino, her husband JAY-Z and past-collaborator Kendrick Lamar. Rising American artists Tierra Whack, 070 Shake and Jessie Reyez also contribute to tracks, as well as Nigerian powerhouses Mr Eazi, Burna Boy, WizKid, Tiwa Savage, Tekno and Yemi Alade, plus Ghanaian dancehall artist Shatta Wale, Cameroonian artist Salatiel and South Africa's Busiswa and Moonchild Sanelly.

Both the The Lion King: The Gift album and the new CGI-animated film will be released this Fri., July 19. The Lion King Soundtrack, along with Beyoncé's powerful new track "Spirit," which finds a home on both albums, was released digitally last week. The film's soundtrack and score were composed by GRAMMY-winner Hans Zimmer, with "Spirit" coming from Zimmer, Lebo M. and Beyoncé.

.@Beyonce on “Spirit”: “The soundtrack is a love letter to Africa…it becomes visual in your mind. It's a soundscape.”

See more TONIGHT on '#TheLionKing Can You Feel the Love Tonight? with @RobinRoberts' special at 8pmET on @ABCNetwork! https://t.co/mfhnDwDPg8 pic.twitter.com/mADrEkn1Gy

— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 16, 2019

Beyoncé offers vocals on 10 of the tracks on The Gift, including on "The Nile" with Lamar, "Mood 4 Eva" with JAY and Gambino and on "Brown Skin Girl" with her daughter Blue Ivy Carter, WizKid and St. Jhn.

"This soundtrack is a love letter to Africa and I wanted to make sure we found the best talent from Africa, and not just use some of the sounds and did my interpretation of it. I wanted it to be authentic to what is beautiful about the music in Africa," Beyoncé told ABC News in a segment aired on Good Morning America earlier today.

This clip is from her interview with GMA Anchor Robin Roberts; the full Q&A will air on ABC tonight, along with a premiere of the music video for "Spirit."

"We've kind of created our own genre and I feel like the soundtrack is the first soundtrack where it becomes visual in your in your mind. The soundscape is more than just the music because each song tells the story of the film," Queen Bey added.

More: Beyonce Gives A Moving Speech At The 2019 GLAAD Media Awards: "LGBTQI Rights Are Human Rights"

The original Lion King movie was released in 1994 and featured music written by Elton John and Tim Rice, including "Circle Of Life" and "Can You Feel The Love Tonight." Those now-classic songs earned the pair four nominations at the 37th GRAMMY Awards. John earned a fifth nod and a win; "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" earned him a GRAMMY for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The dynamic duo also offered the creative genius to a majority of new soundtrack.

Today has been a big day for Beyoncé; her moving Homecoming documentary received six Emmy nominations. Along with the star-studded new album, you can finally watch the Beyoncé and Glover-starring film this Fri., July 19. If you can't wait, you can also tune into her interview with Robin Roberts airing tonight, July 16, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Carlos Santana On Woodstock & The Power Of Music: "These People Wanted The Same Things We Want Today"

Afro Nation

Afro Nation Portugal 2019

Photo: Andre Machado /Mai Magazine

News
Afro Nation PR: Patrice Roberts, Beenie Man, More afro-nation-puerto-rico-patrice-roberts-beenie-man-2baba-afro-b-more

Afro Nation Puerto Rico: Patrice Roberts, Beenie Man, 2Baba, Afro B & More

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The four-day music festival features global artists making waves, highlighting the biggest players in Afro-fusion, reggae, dancehall, soca and more
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Nov 5, 2019 - 1:54 pm

Today, Afro Nation Puerto Rico announced the first wave of its (stacked!) inaugural lineup, featuring Beenie Man, Burna Boy, Chronixx, Davido, 2Baba and Patoranking as headliners.

Following this summer's sold-out Afro Nation Portugal, the 2nd edition of the fest will make its North American debut beachside in San Juan, Puerto Rico, March 18–21, 2020.

The four-day music festival features artists from around the world making waves on a global scale, highlighting the biggest players in Afro-fusion, reggae, dancehall, hip-hop, soca and other black-led musical movements. As the press release states, the new event was "founded on good vibes and #BlackExcellence."

In addition to GRAMMY-winning King Of dancehall Beenie Man, other Jamaican acts on the first-round lineup include 27-year-old GRAMMY-nominated reggae prince Chronixx, reggae/dancehall singer Kranium and rising dancehall queen Shenseea.

Afro Nation

Afro Nation Portugal 2019 | Photo: Samuel Martins

Nigeria's rich, diverse Afro-fusion scene are headliners Burna Boy, 2Baba and Patoranking, as well as singers Rotimi and Teni. South-African poet and singer Busiswa, who is featured on Beyoncé's Lion King: The Gift album, will also bring heat to the fest.

One of Trinidad's First Ladies of Soca, Patrice Roberts, will also perform, as well as rapper Afro B, a leading force in U.K.'s rising Afrowave sound. Ghanaian dancehall artist Stonebwoy rounds out Afro Nation Puerto Rico's initial lineup, with "loads more [artists] TBA."

https://twitter.com/AfroNationPR/status/1191719325213831170

Wave 1 HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN ANNOUNCED! 🎉🎉@kingbeenieman, @burnaboy, @chronixxmusic & @iam_davido are headlining #AfroNationPuertoRico 🇵🇷

🎟 Early Access tickets, Thursday 9am⁣⁣⁣ EST
🎟 General sale, Friday 9am⁣⁣⁣ EST pic.twitter.com/YSKjwVsDmH

— AfroNationPuertoRico (@AfroNationPR) November 5, 2019

The ticket pre-sale opens Thurs., Nov. 7 at 9 a.m. EST, with general sales opening up the following day. More info on the fest, as well as the email sign up for pre-sale tickets can be found on its website here.

Sudan Archives Talks Mystery, Representation & Embracing Duality On 'Athena'

GRAMMYs

Obi Asika & SMADE

Photo: Courtesy of Afro Nation

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Afro Nation Founders On Uniting African Diaspora afro-nation-co-founders-smade-obi-asika-talk-festival-origins-uniting-african-diaspora

Afro Nation Co-Founders Smade & Obi Asika Talk Festival Origins, Uniting The African Diaspora & Celebrating Diversity

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Afro Nation Puerto Rico, taking place March 18-21, is the first-ever American edition of the swiftly expanding event
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Mar 5, 2020 - 10:23 am

With Afro Nation Puerto Rico around the corner on March 18-21 (and a second Afro Nation Portugal in July), the fast-growing new music festival is bringing its vibrant energy to the U.S. for the first time. The first-ever American iteration of the fest—taking place beachside at San Juan's Balneario de Carolina—will be the third event in total since its launch last summer.

Nigerian superstar singers Burna Boy and WizKid, American rap kings Fabolous and Rick Ross, Jamaican reggae act Chronixx, Nigerian Afropop songstress Yemi Alade and Trinidadian soca hero Machel Montano are among the headliners for this month's event. Those are just a few of the names within the epic lineup, which has been rolled out in waves over the past four months.

Each Afro Nation fest highlights the biggest players—and up-and-comers—in Afro-fusion, reggae, dancehall, hip-hop, soca and other black-led musical movements. As cofounders SMADE and Obi Asika share, the idea for the event came from what they saw as a lack of representation in the event space for Afrobeats artists they worked with.

https://twitter.com/AfroNationPR/status/1234500294148608002

The diaspora united! 🌍 @ChronixxMusic performing in Kenya 🤩 ⁣
⁣
See him live at #AfroNationPuertoRico 🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷 ⁣ pic.twitter.com/k1vm7m3Hnw

— AfroNationPuertoRico (@AfroNationPR) March 2, 2020

We caught up with the two Nigerian-born, London-based music industry powerhouses over the phone recently to discuss their groundbreaking Afro Nation movement. Read on to learn about the story behind this successful partnership, how they're learning as they go, their hopes and vision for the future and more.

The next Afro Nation fest is coming up soon, the first-ever Puerto Rican event. What are you most looking forward to with this one?

SMADE: We're on our third edition now. The first one was in Portugal in August, and then we've just finished the second one in Ghana in December. We're moving on to Puerto Rico next month, which I'm excited about. I'm looking forward to enjoying the beautiful sandy beaches in San Juan and having fun, as we always do. I'm also looking forward to seeing people from different races and cultures coming together to celebrate African music and seeing the unity that Afro Nation brings to people.

Obi: SMADE and I are both Nigerian, so obviously we do these events to give a platform to artists from the African diaspora. We've done Portugal and it was a lot of the European diaspora. Then, we've done Ghana which is more like the brand coming home. But for me, I'm really looking forward to seeing America because we sold so many tickets to Americans interested in the brand, the music and culture, and the diaspora there.

Also, Puerto Rico is a really interesting place because it's America, but it's also the Caribbean. I can't wait to see how people are going to vibe there and what's going to happen. Every festival we've done so far in different places, they all have their own feel. I think that this is going to be a really interesting one. We've literally got people coming from every part of America. I think it's going to be super interesting and really cool.

Wave 1: Afro Nation Puerto Rico: Patrice Roberts, Beenie Man, 2Baba, Afro B & More

You've been announcing the Puerto Rico lineup in several waves, and it just keeps getting better! How did you choose who to work with?

Obi: When we kick off the lineup, SMADE and I always have a chat and go, "What do we think? Who do we think our crowd's going to be? What are they going to want to see and be interested in?" One of the reasons why we don't announce everything at the beginning is that we want to read the crowd. We read a lot of the messages, we get a lot of the DMs, have all our team telling us what they hear and we do adapt things on the fly. We say, "Okay, let's add that."

These events are something that haven't been done before. We have such a complex and layered culture in terms of from the east, to the south, to the west of Africa, and obviously all the diaspora as well. SMADE and I were saying, we need to go and do a trip to Angola and go and hang there, understand what's going on, so we can understand what the Portuguese side is at.

SMADE: Also, we research and see the best acts to be on the stage. The platform is a huge one. Our stage is one of the biggest stages in the world for the acts, to be honest. What we try to do is research, look out for people that deserve to be on that stage, both from Africa and the diaspora and everywhere really. There's so much talent.

Obi: It is a bit of a voyage of discovery for us. There's so much talent and we want to include everyone, and we want to include everyone for each destination, but it's a process even for us. We are constantly learning about new music and new artists. One thing that we're very fortunate in what we're doing right now is that there's just so much talent. It's a constantly evolving process.

Our crowd is very active on social media. You have some people like, "Why can't we have this person?" and it's always the same names. But we try and give other people opportunities. SMADE and I were laughing the other day because we can't wait to see a performance, I won't say who it is. We wanted to put these two acts together because when we know when they get on the stage, it's just going to be crazy and make new fans. They might be overlooked on social media, but we know that they will be one of the highlights. We try not to make it about booking the same people at every show. We really want to give a focus for everyone. Particularly in Puerto Rico, we are going to add some local acts but expect that year two, there'll be even more local acts.

It's funny, year one of Portugal, everyone was like, "All you guys are about is West Africa." We are West African, so we're understanding things as we go along. SMADE and I spent a lot of time in France this year, because a lot of French people are coming to our show and we didn't even push it for France that much. It was organic. Then we had a couple of shows in France. It was crazy. We realized the market is massive. So, we were like, "We've got to include more French acts next year."

Sometimes we need to push our customers to new things. You don't have to worry about maybe someone doesn't speak the language, because with music you can feel it. When people are on stage, even if they're singing in Spanish or Portuguese or French, we don't actually see an issue in mixing everything up. It can be quite powerful. It's not a worry for us if we think it breaks those barriers.

Watch: Burna Boy Talks 'African Giant,' Damian Marley & Angelique Kidjo Collab, Responsibility As A Global Artist

It sounds like it really keeps growing naturally as you meet more people and explore different scenes. Do you have any plans or ideas for future locations this year or next?

Obi: Yeah, it does. We've already confirmed another location for this year that will be announced in another month or so. We want to always let people focus on what's next. Right now it's Puerto Rico and Portugal, but yeah, we've got another really great location.

SMADE & Obi Asika at Afro Nation

SMADE & Obi onstage at Afro Nation | Photo Courtesy of Afro Nation

Looking back a bit, can you tell me a little more about what inspired you to start Afro Nation together?

SMADE: I think Obi and I, we noticed a lack of representation of our acts. We know how talented they are and how much work they put into their music, but we weren't seeing them on the big stages. So Obi and I came together and we were like, we're just going to do it ourselves. We didn't even think it was going to be this big.

Obi: It's exactly what SMADE said. I'm a talent agent and he is a promoter. One of the things you do as a talent agent is headline shows in order to get your artists on big stages at the festivals. We struck up a partnership quite quickly, because SMADE is incredible. He was selling tickets for Afrobeats where all the big promoters weren't able to do it. We both obviously had a passion for this music, this genre, the culture because of our background. We struck up a partnership and we started having real successes, selling big tickets in London.

It wasn't really translating to the major festivals booking the acts. They wouldn't give them what we perceived as the respect they deserved, and I know a lot of these guys, they're my friends. It was like, "Obi, man, we just got our heads around hip-hop a few years ago, and now you're telling us to put these Afrobeats acts and give them serious, high up billing? We started off as a rock festival." They were also like, all those Afrobeats fans, they won't come to the festivals. They don't buy tickets. Everyone said it's not possible and I was like, how can we be selling out the O2 Arena with WizKid or SMADE selling them out with Davido, and then you're telling me that they can't play this?

"At our events, all the fans are very passionate. It's more than just going to a festival. I feel like it's the pride in their heritage and their culture and in their identity." - Obi Asika

We were just like, "Look, we're just going to do ourselves." And when we did it, it just felt—we weren't expecting it. We just wanted to prove a point, and within 24 hours, all the tickets were gone. People decided to buy a flight, buy a hotel, buy the ticket and go to another country, all for their love of Afrobeats. That's not small, it's a real commitment. I think that's why at our events, all the fans are very passionate. It's more than just going to a festival. I feel like it's the pride in their heritage and their culture and in their identity. It's driven us to keep going. We're having so much fun with it.

It's a very unique situation. Our people are everywhere in every part of the globe and the fans are everywhere. The biggest thing is if you just went on the norms of our industry of music and you say, "Oh, this person isn't on the charts or that person isn't signed to that label," but Afrobeats doesn't actually move to that. One of the things, obviously the success of Wizkid, Burna Boy and Davido, all the younger guys coming through is now shining a light on that in the records world. In the live music world, I think Afro Nation has shocked a lot of people that this crowd will buy tickets in advance and [pauses] I don't know many festivals that most of the crowd are female. In Portugal, we had 85 percent female.

Afro Nation

The crowd at Afro Nation Portugal 2019 | Photo Courtesy of Afro Nation

That's so cool.

Obi: I tell you, they are really amazing. Watching, I felt, "This is girl power going on." It was crazy. We'd never seen anything like it. It's a very powerful statement. It was a very unique festival. [Afro Nation] is such a positive event and is very special to us. We're very proud of it.

When you think of Afro Nation, what song comes to mind?

SMADE: For me, it's Fela [Kuti], any sound that comes from the legend Fela. Because a lot of these new acts now and the ones that have done great, from Wizkid to Davido to Yemi Alade to Burna Boy, when you see them on stage, that right there, for me, is Fela. That reminds me of Afro Nation. It's not just in West Africa alone. If you look at the highlife artists or the dancehall artists in Ghana, Shatta Wale, Stonebwoy, the way they present their performances and all the stuff that they do on stage just reminds me of Fela.

https://twitter.com/afronation/status/1232726873614028800

🇬🇭 Afro Nation is all about celebrating & promoting our culture. Not only do we want to have fun, we also want to make sure that we do a little something extra for the beautiful countries who host us.

Thank you to everyone involved and thank you Ghana. 🙏🏾 ⁣#TogetherWeMove 🌍 pic.twitter.com/JL5bxJfn47

— AfroNation (@afronation) February 26, 2020

From your perspective, what you think real diversity and inclusion looks like in the music event space?

SMADE: Honestly with this, it's hard to define because everyone's got a different perspective of what equality looks like. However, right now in the music industry, I think we are heading in the right direction although we still have a long way to go. There needs to be more recognition of all types of genres.

That's the beauty of Afro Nation. Even though the most [focus is on] Afrobeats and African music and the culture, we also infuse the Jamaican acts. Like in Portugal, we had Busy Signal, Buju Banton. And there's the different genres, there's your Afroswing, soca, bashment, reggae, and then Afrobeats. There's also hip-hop. We bring everybody together as one on our stages. We had acts from the U.S., the U.K. and then also from the Caribbean and Africa. Bringing them all together to celebrate the African culture and music in Portugal was a great experience and feeling. The way everybody just connected, I felt like it was part of it.

Obi: I really agree with what SMADE said. To be honest with you, as we said before, it's ever-evolving. As an event and as a brand, we are constantly learning about new genres and what different parts of the world are listening to. It's just about trying to push the envelope. There's a lot of people involved in Afro Nation, from all different parts of the world, putting the show together. We're a very diverse brand and company, but we're always trying to do more. We all have to strive to include everyone and just give everyone an opportunity to do their thing. I think we're a very diverse event. I don't think there's many events that have French, Portuguese, Spanish and English speaking artists.

At our first couple of events, we were very aware that we didn't have enough female acts. There's a lot more female acts for Puerto Rico, and that is something that we have to check ourselves on a little bit to make sure. You just can't be lazy with it. Sometimes, you have to just take your time and find new acts. Maybe if your first choice wasn't available, take a risk on a younger act or newer act. It's important.

Read: Beyonce Shares Epic Track List For 'The Lion King: The Gift:' JAY-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Eazi, Shatta Wale & Many More

What is your biggest hope, for the next five or so years, in connecting the African diaspora through music and entertainment?

SMADE: My biggest hope is to connect and to use this platform to unify not only the Africans in the diaspora but also for other races as well to also experience and know the African culture. I'll give you an example. We just finished Afro Nation Ghana, and we had people from different races and different culture come down to Ghana. We had [Jamaican act] Popcaan buy a house in Ghana, and shown interest in Africa. We have people that never ever thought they would be in Africa celebrating, leaving their homes, or coming with their families to celebrate in Africa during the festive period.

Obi: Yeah, you were right, SMADE. It was crazy, wasn't it? We'd see the tickets sales and be, "Russia?" Russia, Australia, Ukraine…

SMADE: Right. It was amazing. This is what Afro Nation is doing. This can bring unity amongst everyone, every one of us. I hope the generation coming behind can also be inspired by the growth of the industry, and we can have many more superstar talent like Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade. And even the French-speaking and the Portuguese—there's Afro Portuguese now. From Afro Nation Portugal there are people trying to connect with the [Portuguese] culture, people going back home to check their DNA and all that stuff. This is what we're doing. This is what Afro Nation stands for, unifying.

Obi: I know for me, to be honest with you, I've got two real hopes. I want more, like SMADE's saying, of all these young artists coming through. I just want them to get through and become superstars, so we can have more headliners to keep pushing the industry forward. Now, in Europe anyway, every festival is booking Afrobeats, so half of our job's done. We want to see more commercial festivals booking Afrobeats. Those like Coachella, Reading and Leeds, Lollapalooza, we want to see them booking these acts. That helps the whole machine of it.

We got Ghana done and we're very proud of all we achieved because it's very difficult, as there's no infrastructure of the industry. Ghana is an amazing place. A lot of things work in Ghana like the roads, the airport. It's a safe place, it's super cool, but the entertainment industry, they've got lots of artists but there's no festival. You can't just call up someone and say, "Oh yeah, bring me this fence in and bring me this sound." It was really tough and we really put ourselves on the line because it's very expensive doing these events. But, we came through it, we produced something that we're proud of but we want to build it. We want to help keep building the African entertainment industry, because there's so much potential, there's so many acts.

Burna Boy Announces 2020 'Twice As Tall' World Tour

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Screenshot from Beyoncé's 'Black Is King'

Screenshot from Beyoncé's Black Is King

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Beyoncé Announces New Visual Album 'Black Is King' beyonce-black-is-king-visual-album-disney%2B

Beyoncé Announces New Visual Album 'Black Is King,' Out July 2020 On Disney+

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The visual album, which is based on the singer's 2019 soundtrack album for 'The Lion King: The Gift,' "reimagines the lessons of 'The Lion King' for today’s young kings and queens in search of their own crowns"
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
Jun 28, 2020 - 1:52 pm

Beyhive, rejoice! Beyoncé returns to the screens next month with Black Is King, a brand-new visual album written, directed and executive-produced by the 24-time GRAMMY winner. Set to globally premier July 31 on Disney+, the visual album is based on the music from Queen Bey's The Lion King: The Gift, the soundtrack album she curated for the 2019 The Lion King remake; Black Is King will be released nearly two weeks after the film's one-year anniversary. 

The visual album "reimagines the lessons of The Lion King for today's young kings and queens in search of their own crowns" and offers "a celebratory memoir for the world on the Black experience," according to a press release from Disney announcing the project. 

Black Is King, which was "in production for one year with a cast and crew that represent diversity and connectivity," according to the press release, stars featured artists from The Lion King: The Gift and includes special guest appearances. The visual album will include videos for The Gift tracks like "My Power," "Mood 4 Eva" and "Brown Skin Girl." 

"The voyages of Black families, throughout time, are honored in a tale about a young king's transcendent journey through betrayal, love and self-identity," the press release states. "His ancestors help guide him toward his destiny, and with his father's teachings and guidance from his childhood love, he earns the virtues needed to reclaim his home and throne.

These timeless lessons are revealed and reflected through Black voices of today, now sitting in their own power. Black Is King is an affirmation of a grand purpose, with lush visuals that celebrate Black resilience and culture. The film highlights the beauty of tradition and Black excellence."

Released last July, The Lion King: The Gift featured an epic artist roster comprising African and Afrobeats artists like Wizkid, Burna Boy, Mr Eazi and many others. At the 2020 GRAMMYs, the album received a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album, while album track "Spirit," performed by Beyoncé, received nominations for Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Song Written For Visual Media. (Beyoncé's 2019 concert film, Homecoming, based on her historic performance at Coachella 2018, won the GRAMMY for Best Music Film, her only win that night.) 

Black Is King follows Beyoncé's new track "BLACK PARADE," which she released last week on Juneteenth (June 19); proceeds from the track will benefit her BeyGOOD Black Business Impact Fund, which supports Black-owned small businesses.

Beyoncé: Justice For Breonna Taylor Would Demonstrate The Value Of A Black Woman's Life

De'Wayne

De'Wayne

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De'Wayne Talks L.A., Jimi Hendrix & Thom Yorke dewayne-talks-top-gun-jimi-hendrix-radiohead-finding-himself-la

De'Wayne Talks "Top Gun," Jimi Hendrix & Radiohead, Finding Himself In L.A.

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We caught up with the Houston-born singer/rapper at the show he recently headlined in Downtown Los Angeles, as part of Dr. Martens' new music and film event series
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 28, 2019 - 10:23 am

You can't contain De'Wayne. His energetic, raw sound evokes old-school hip-hop, punk, psych rock and '90s R&B, giving texture and grit to personal lyrics about family, growth, disappointment and uncertainty. As he explains, he's reinvented his sound several times over, given the time and space he took to explore and find his identity as a young man on his own in the City of Angels.

At 19, he left behind his close-knit family in Houston for Los Angeles, and now, five years later, he's really found his groove.

At Dr. Martens Presents: De'Wayne, the second-ever L.A. show in the new music and film series hosted by the London shoe brand, the rising artist brought rock star swagger and energy as he jumped and grooved around the stage at the crowded warehouse-turned-experimental-gallery, Superchief L.A. Along with the drummer and guitarist in his live band, De'Wayne performed an upbeat sampling of his music released the last few years. Before they ended with his latest track, "Top Gun," they took their time jamming out to Jimi Hendrix's "Red House."

The L.A. Dr. Martens series (there is also one in New York) is curated and documented by his friend, another talented up-and-comer, vibrant filmmaker/music video director Erik Rojas. In true punk fashion, this event featured impromptu live art in the form of free flash tattoos, by Jane Lee Hernandez, a San Diego-based tattoo artist De'Wayne had recently met and invited.  

The Recording Academy caught up with De'Wayne shortly before his explosive show. Read on for our full interview with the burgeoning talent. 

De'Wayne

De'Wayne at his L.A. show

You're about to go on stage here at the Dr. Martens Presents show you're headlining. How are you feeling?

It feels like it's about to be something special for me, at least because we just put out new music. We kind of started a whole new scene with what we're making and how I'm feeling, where I'm trying to go with it. It was perfect timing. I'm nervous but it's going to be great. I think that [Dr. Martens] is making something good for us.

thank you to everyone who came out tonight and made today so special for me! shit was beautiful. people raged and thanks to everyone who got tattoos. hope it was an experience you won’t forget it.

— de'wayne jackson (@idewaynejackson) October 24, 2019

What's your biggest hope for this live performance or even going on stage in general?

It's just to show people a great show. I just pride myself with putting on this show and giving people something great. And just to have, I'm more thankful as well that we could get this platform to play the show and to have people come and give them more of an experience. I'm hoping to give them an experience. Honestly, something special.

Hell yeah. Keep people coming to shows, get them out of their houses.

Exactly. I love the commitment that they have to make. It's a free show, but it's still a commitment. And I want to give them more than they're expecting.



View this post on Instagram


entertainment tour has two more shows left!!! wtf!! literally blood, sweat, a lot of tears and glitter and pure happiness have been put into this.

A post shared by de'wayne jackson (@idewaynejackson) on Nov 28, 2018 at 9:11pm PST

What does it mean to you to be a part of this new event series?

You can't really downplay the opportunity. When I heard about it, I was very stoked and, like I was saying earlier, the fact that it's even lining up with us putting out music and it's just perfect. It feels really good. I feel really thankful, a lot of gratitude around it, honestly.

You've been working with Erik Rojas on a short film around it. How has it felt to work with him and tell your story that way?

It's been amazing because Erik's been my friend for about four years now. He saw me when I was still working multiple nine-to-fives and figuring out my sound. I really had a long time, like two or three years, which a lot of artists don't get, to develop, understand myself and what I want to make it my art. He was there through that.

So to see us both meet at this point feels great. he's doing his stuff on a high level and we want to take it to that level as well.

And it's probably nice to have someone helping tell your story who also understands you on a deeper level.

Exactly. When we were filming, we were going back to my old apartment and my old jobs and he knew the right questions. Even me telling my story to him again, he was just like, "Damn, that was some real stuff going on that we were dealing with," getting to this place right now. For us to tell that story together visually, it's beautiful. All the shots are really great too.

I'm excited to see it. And then yesterday you dropped your new song "Top Gun." Can you give us a bit of back story on it?

Yes, "Top Gun" dropped yesterday. It's my favorite song, honestly. I just started working with these producers that I love and have helped me create this [new] sound. It was the first song we did in our session. We met on basically a blind date and we ended up creating "Top Gun." So for it to be over a year now and finally putting it out, just makes so much sense for us. It's all lining up. You never know, but it lines up really perfect.

What was the emotion or the mood that you were putting out when you were writing the and recording the song?

I don't want to say angry, but I feel like my music is always me watching what's going on, having empathy and being able to understand it. You know, to tell stories that I see on the daily. And the air is so heavy nowadays. It's just meant for me to speak on the story of a "Top Gun," somebody who can't even understand or deal with middle class or lower class [people]. This person is so high above us, and doesn't even understand what we go through.

So it was more like, you got to stop being like that, the separation. So that's where it came from. And being from Texas too, I was able to dig in a little bit deeper into that. I was trying to stop the division with the song, that was the main purpose of it.



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last night was a dream bro!! entertainment tour ends in houston texas the place that raised me and the venue ive been wanting to play since i was 13. my mom in the crowd. my dad there, we shared a moment i don’t think ill ever forget. i left everything on stage plus a few tears. this run i will forever be thankful for. thanks @waterparks thank you @awstenknight for the opportunity. i love you foreal. my brother @domstepanian went crazy on the guitar! THE [circle] forever and ever. p.s everyone on this tour was pretty

A post shared by de'wayne jackson (@idewaynejackson) on Dec 2, 2018 at 11:00am PST

How do you feel that Houston influences your style and your sound?

I love being from Houston, especially where I'm from. But as far as sound, it was never much of an influence for me. It was more how we were living and more my family, growing up religious, and having a dad who was the total opposite of my mom, who was such a Southern belle. That's all my music is, inspiration from my family and life. So Texas, it's done a lot.

When did you move to L.A.? And how has it shifted your music career?

I moved to L.A. four years ago, not knowing anything, not knowing what I was doing. I was 19, straight out of high school, so I pretty much grew up here. A lot has changed. I was from a family that kept everybody very enclosed with a lot of rules. So L.A. has also done a lot. It was a huge transition and huge, huge transformation.

I really became a man here, like understood who I was, because I didn't know who I was at 19. I mean, you still don't know, even as 23 or whatever. But L.A. has been a big thing for me. I'm thankful for it, even the pain and the bad sh*t.

Who are your biggest role models and musical influences?

Role models, that's still my family. They give me so much inspiration on what I say and write about. And my influences are just life, and also legends. [I listen to] a lot of Radiohead, I love Thom Yorke. I got Jimi [Hendrix] tattooed on my leg and he's also playing right now. [De'Wayne smiles and points to his phone.] Kendrick Lamar, you know?

Living life gives me so much inspiration and so much of what I need to say. So that's where I get it from, just taking it day by day.

La Santa Cecilia Cover Radiohead's "House Of Cards" | ReImagined

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