Blending styles and bending rules, DE'WAYNE has quickly made a name for himself in the music scene with an exceptional sound that's just as fearless as it is unique. With a radiant mix of past music fusing punk, alternative rock, and hip-hop, he's back and continues pushing boundaries once again with his third rock album, june, releasing July 30. His most recent single release, "june," offers listeners a glimpse into a more vulnerable and authentic side as he gears up to share this new chapter of his artistic growth. I recently had the chance to chat with DE'WAYNE about the inspiration behind his latest title track release, "june," the evolution of his sound, and what he hopes listeners take away from his music. Here's what he had to say.
MSM: So you have a new album coming out in July, what would you say is the biggest difference in how you approached this album compared to your previous work?
DE'WAYNE: I picked a whole new team of producers and writers. I had a whole new musical sonic landscape that I was inspired by. I think from my previous albums, I was kind of pulling from a more punk realm, like Patti Smith, the Ramones, and TV On The Radio. For this one, I kind of dove into artists like Sly & The Family Stone, Bill Withers, and Marvin Gaye. A more funky, R&B, Black sound from the 70s and 60s. I think it really just helped me with my musicianship and helped me write better songs. It really felt like I was myself for the first time on the songs and what I was speaking about and how I was saying things. I'm really happy I made that choice, and I'm really proud of this record, so yeah, that was a big change for me.
What was the creative process like for this album—did it come together quickly, or did it take more time to fully develop?
Yeah, it took a little bit more time than usual, I think, just because I was musically starting over. So, I kind of had to listen to albums that I was inspired by a lot because it kind of has to sink into your blood and bones. I was kind of taking a new approach with everything. So it took a little bit longer than I expected, but I think things turned out for the best. I wrote songs again and would rewrite stuff before I went to the studio, other than just taking my first ideas to the studio and then bringing in musicians to play on songs and also not just having me and one producer in there. I wanted to make a record like how older people made records. So, it was different, but I would say it was definitely better for the album, for sure.
You've always been fearless about blending genres—what do you think that freedom in your sound says about you as an artist?
I think genre still matters in a way for some artists, but I think it shows that I'm always looking for the next best thing or the next best sound within the space that I occupy. So, that's kind of where I wanted to hone in more on this album. I think it's beautiful to be able to create left and right, and up and down, or center. I wanted to kind of show people that I could just make a really freakin great rock album with this and for it to be soulful, funky, and pop, but I think they all exist in the same way. I think it says that, yeah, I ain't scared, and I'm just trying to make really freakin' good songs and big songs! I think it's really cool for a lot of artists when they do their thing, but that fearless thing comes from me wanting to write songs that can change people's lives around the world and not just in my little small circle. I would say that's what it says about me truly.
When did the idea for your latest song "june" first come to you, was it something that that just flowed or took a little more time to work on?
It took some time. The June character is a combination of inspirations from all the women in my life. So, it's coming from my mom and my grandmother and my five sisters to friends that I've had since I've been in LA, even girlfriends that I've had in Houston when I was still home. The main idea came when I was doing this plant medicine, and I was around friends and family; this divine, beautiful being kept just coming to me. I've always dug on the feminine vibe for myself, like I've always felt that I was just respectful of both sides of the man and the woman. It took a little bit of time because you have to listen better to understand what's going on, and usually women are like ten steps ahead of men, so we're already a little slow. I don't say that to be disrespectful; it's just like it takes a while for us to catch on to things. So, it took me having a lot of conversations and really listening to the women in my life, more than I was before. Yeah, it took a little while because I really had to find out how to really speak about a woman in a way that seemed right for me and for the women around me. So, it was dope, but it took a little minute, but I'm happy that it came together. I hope that women who hear this record will understand that I'm just trying to surrender to the being that is a woman. It's been too long; we've been on the bad side of history for so long. I just want us to do better as men and as individuals to uplift those people around us. If I can be the first one or one of the ones in rock music right now to surrender and to say that I love you, I'm here for you, and I want to support you. I'm on my knees, baby, and I love you. That's what I wanted to use for inspiration.
"june" feels really emotional and personal—can you walk us through the inspiration behind the song?
It was kind of a combination of things. I mean, it definitely deals with a personal aspect as well, but it was me just getting to the point where I wanted to give my heart a voice in me realizing that love is a superpower and not a weakness. Once I got into that mode, it just helped me move forward with "june" and with the other songs on the album. I was like, "Yeah, I can just speak from my heart, and I'll be ok." I don't worry about if it sounds corny or cheesy or cakey, whatever, because I'm all those things, and love is all those things, but it's also the greatest thing ever. I completely realize that, so I think once I got to that point, it was easy for me to put the emotions in it, put the melodies in it, and put the songwriting in it as well, but also make it something that people can feel and relate to ultimately.
Have any of the lyrics taken on a new meaning for you since the song was finished and released?
Oh yes, let me see. Ok, the one that I wrote, and I knew it was good because I'm a nerd, I was like, "Yeah, this is a good lyric," but "to love someone, you must set them free and watch them fly." That is on the bridge of "highway robbery," and when I wrote it, I was like, "Oh, that's some real shit." Yeah, if you really love someone and if you're dealing with different types of individuals in a way that you don't want to guard anyone or chain them down, whatever the patriarchy things we deal with on a day-to-day basis. If you really love someone, you have to set them free and watch them fly, not that they won't come back to you, but if you can just be someone who will be there for them no matter what role you're playing in their life. I think that's a really unconditional, beautiful love, and that lyric, I'm just proud of it more than anything, and it has a meaning to me that I hope I can achieve throughout every relationship in my life. Even if it's my mom, with her being in school now, she's 50, and she's getting her degree. If I could just be there for her in whatever way where she doesn't feel like I'm judging her, or I don't think she's cool because I make music and she's in school. Also if I'm with my sisters or anything like that. I want them to know that I'm here, and you have to fly; you gotta be free, but just know that I've got your back regardless. So, that one to me, I felt kind of wise, not to toot my own horn, but I felt like I had a little wisdom coming out of my heart when I wrote that lyric, and that was deep for me.
What's something your fans might not know about this album or era that you'd love them to understand from your perspective?
I'm going to keep saying it, but if it's fans or just new people coming in, I really just want them to understand that love is super sexy and it's a superpower, and it's not a weakness. I think we're taught to feel like, "I'm tough. I don't really care." I don't think that's cool, or I don't care to talk to people like that. I don't care to converse with people like that. I want people to know that it's fucking dope to wear your heart on your sleeve and to give your heart a voice. I'm just hoping that the kids hearing this and older people can really feel that and sit with that because at the end of the day, even with all the other stuff that we're doing, we're just looking for love. Even if it's drinking, which I love to do, even if it's drugs or dealing with other men, other women, or anything that we're putting ourselves through, it's just because we're looking for love in all those different ways. So, I just hope that people can get really close and dig on that and realize exactly what they're doing. Also, I just want to sprinkle a little joy into people's hearts with this record because the world is wack right now. I hope that I can be someone, especially in the rock space, to just give people a little encouragement.
As you move into this next phase of your music, have there been any meaningful interactions that have shaped or inspired you recently?
Yeah, I like that. I feel like it's helping me because I'm stepping into my body more. I've been talking about it for a few days, but I got to meet with my hero Lenny Kravitz, and I think the thing that he said to me was that "highway robbery" was one of the best songs that he's heard in the past 10 years. That was very inspiring to me, and that was an interaction I wasn't really expecting, and it blew my freakin' mind. I think it's going to keep me going for the next 30 years. As an artist, you'll hear songs that are really good, and usually some people will hate those songs, but some songs you'll hear from artists and be like, "Damn, I wish I wrote that song." So, for him to bring that energy to me was really beautiful and hot, sexy to me. That was an interaction that I just wasn't expecting, and it's probably going to carry me for a long time.
What do you hope people take away from "june" and the music you're creating right now?
Yeah, I think that's a great question. I'm just going to keep harping on this, but I really want people to take away a few things, actually. I want them to take away that love is a superpower and not a weakness. I really want them to take that. I really want them to just dig into their hearts and vibe on that. Also, not to be crazy, but I'm not tired of us not talking about it, the whole threshold that Black artists or people of color in the rock space have versus the other homies. The threshold is very tiny for us, and it's very small, and I'm hoping that they can hear an album that's full of pop songs, full of rock songs, and just because it's not hard or it's not screaming, it's just as much of a rock album as any of the rock albums that are coming out right now. I just want them to understand that the threshold should be bigger, especially when we're making really good art, and I think this album is really fucking amazing. I think anybody would say that about their album, but I'm hoping that I can just get a fair chance to be as ubiquitous as any of the other artists that populate the world generally. Maybe that's more from an ego standpoint, but I also think it's just a conversation that we have to keep having because it's so clear what happens in our industry. If the music is good, I think it should be able to get through and should be able to speak to as many people as the other people do. So, I'm putting my flag in the ground and my fists in the air to that as well. I hope people can dig that, and if they can't, we'll be ok.
