Colorado-based R&B artist Deon Wilson should be an act that you should look out and listen for in the upcoming months. (Photo property of Prime Music Entertainment.)
By: Jacob Elyachar
A lot of artists are trying to break into the music industry. Some have failed in music glory while others continue to defy the odds and are one step closer to realizing their dreams. R&B singer Deon Wilson is one of the latter artists that I am talking about. The Denver-based performer successfully combines his natural swagger along with several elements from current Top 40 mainstays Usher and Ne-Yo to develop his personal brand of music that been seen on the multiple venues across the country including the world-famous Apollo Theater in New York City.
I had the chance to sit down with the rising R&B singer and we talked about how he got interested in music, his first official mixtape and working with multiple acts including Twista and Wiz Khalifa.
Jacob Elyachar: When did you get interested in music?
Deon Wilson: There are two people who got me interested in music: my parents. My mother and my father were choir singers at church and both of them have great talent and I am very lucky to inherit that talent. I have been singing since I was three or four-years-old, I sang at her wedding and at that point I developed what I was trying to do in creating my own persona through the music. It’s a godsend for all this and I appreciate God everyday for the musicality he gave me.
JE: Who are your biggest inspirations in the entertainment industry?
DW: When I was younger, I was inspired by old school Usher, Tyrese (Gibson), Babyface, Brian McKnight and Joe. But as I got older, I developed my own personality. Those guys inspired me but I did not continue to write the same kind of music that they were doing. So I decided to go into the hip-hop route and made my stuff “hippity-hoppity” and I am a huge fan of Rick Ross’s music and he helped me change my state of mind and helped me with my motivation.
JE: Who is on your wish list of artists that you want to collaborate with?
DW: I would love to do a track with Ne-Yo because he is a singer-songwriter as well. I think that Trey Songz and I would kill it in the studio. I would love to work with Rick Ross and I loved Ja Rule as a child and I would love to work with him in the future. There are a lot of cool cats I would either like to write songs for them or straight up jump on the record with them.
JE: Recently, you released your first official mixtape. Could you please describe the recording process?
DW: It is always an hour drive to the studio everyday to where we are going to record. I also have a full-time job as well and I wrote a lot of music at my other job and at night I was traveling to Denver and I would hit the studio and record all the material. It wasn’t really hard for me to be inspired because I pull lyrics straight from my life.
JE: You have shared the stage with multiple acts including Twista, Chamillionaire, Young Buck and Wiz Khalifa. What was it like sharing the stage with these artists?
DW: It was a crazy, surreal feeling. They are performing, out there and making their money and some of these artists you see have the passion but some of the other artists that you see are all about the money and the hustle. When I am up on stage with them, it really makes you feel that my music is working and I am actually moving forward, progressing and people like my stuff. I always network whenever I can because networking is how we do business these days.
JE: What has been one of your favorite highlights in your career so far and why is it your favorite?
DW: I have to say performing at the Apollo Theater multiple times. When I was a kid, I watched all of these famous acts perform at the Apollo Theater like Michael Jackson that have performed at the venue and rock it out but you have also see the Sandman (the late Howard Sims) take people off of the stage and that’s real stuff right there. To actually be out there, meet the Sandman and get on the stage to perform and not getting kicked off of the stage and to have my mom there as well, it was the best moment of my life. As I was leaving the theater, we heard the exact same song that I won the competition with in our New York taxi. Out of all of the millions of taxis that were in New York City, we picked the one that was playing the same classic Stevie Wonder song that I won with: “Ribbon in the Sky.” While some said that was crazy, I think that God confirming for me: “Deon, I got you.”
JE: If you had the chance to meet with aspiring recording artists, what would your advice be?
DW: I would say that you have to be yourself. When you start to do all kinds of crazy things, you are not going to be as successful as you should be. You also need to build a team that has to help you support what you are doing and have people believe in you and have to roles to help you build your empire. There is too much that needs to be done for it to be done right. It’s better for you to do one thing while you give 100-percent rather than do six things at 10-percent.
To watch Deon’s latest video: “Does He,” click here: http://www.4shared.com/video/Vw0UGhTG/Deon-Does_He__Prod_By_Johny_Ro.html
For more information about Deon, visit his website at: http://www.deonwilsonmusic.com/
