DEAN has amassed millions of views on his YouTube channel based off his smooth blend of R&B and Hip Hop. The video for his “Bonnie and Clyde” song has garnered nearly 1.6 million views in just over a month. The Korean-based singer made his debut in the United States at SXSW after bolstering himself in his home market.
“SXSW was crazy,” he says in an exclusive interview with HipHopDX. “It was great to see a whole city filled with live music and people who wanted to hear and experience live music…. or maybe they all just wanted to party and drink, either way it was dope. The energy was amazing. The people there really wanted to enjoy music so the atmosphere was crazy and passionate all day long. It was crazy to see so many people singing along to my songs already. Then seeing the reviews of people comparing me to Drake, Usher, and Bryson Tiller was unbelievable. It is hard to explain the feeling of being on stage and connecting with the crowd. I think festivals and events that create that atmosphere and love of music are really important.”
DEAN, who recently released his 130 Mood: TRBL EP, has helped his American crossover by collaborating with Anderson .Paak on “Put My Hands On You” and Eric Bellinger on “I’m Not Sorry,” which was his first English song. DEAN says that his label, Joombas Music Group, got him in connection with the Aftermath signee and Grammy Award-winner.
“Anderson .Paak has a really unique voice and style that I love so I wanted to try to blend it with mine in our record,” he says. “And Eric is a great singer-songwriter so I knew if we collaborated we could make a dope record.”
The singer is also a producer and writer and actually got his start as a rapper in the same crew as Keith Ape, who has drawn comparisons to OG Maco for his street sound. Ape has been able to crossover into the American market with his “It G Ma.” Epik High is a rap group who has been able to make waves overseas as they were the first Korean performers ever at Coachella last month.
DEAN believes that music has the ability to transcend culture and the quality of music is what has enabled himself and others to reach a global platform.
“I believe it comes down to the music,” DEAN says. “I think a dope record will be respected and given credit regardless of what language or culture it is based. We are called ‘Artists’ because music is art. If we create something that is authentic and connects with people emotionally, they will appreciate it. It might take some time for people to get familiar and accept the other aspects of the culture that it came from, but hopefully the people will eventually appreciate that too.”
Korean Bar-B-Que is good too
Dog eating bastard
Go fuck yourself racist bitch
Real funny asshole
How about you shut the fuck up and shove a cactus up your ass you racist piece of shit.
He’s so talented! I haven’t been this excited to see what an artist does in the future in a long time
Shout out to dean for always keeping it fresh! Great producer musician and performer! Shout out to eskimo club
fuck it up hoe Fuck It Up hold on to your wigs y’all hes coming
I’m super excited to see what he has in store. It’s always nice to see underrated artists receive the credit and recognition they deserve.
hands down the artist of the year he can never do me wrong with his music and his meaning to every song and album is so aesthetic and amazing I can’t wait for future projects from him!!!!! spread positivity and Stan dean 🙂
GO DEAN!!! Show them what you got!
He’s the future. His vision are so raw and real. Dean is an superb artist and he’s showing a very big light on the krnb/hh community.
yo dean’s music is too lit but he really gotta come to the us more often and he needs 2 chill w the 16+ venues but other than that lol love you bighead ????
Dopeeeeeee listen I use to sleep ok krnb but he really woke me up. His music never gets old!
Dean is such an incredible artist and with the combination of his talents and his knowledge of music I know that he’s gonna go far. He has so much to offer the music industry in general and I’m looking forward to seeing him take it over.
P.S. stan Dean y’all.
i really believe he’ll be the first to bring k-music into mainstream american music. get ready everyone hes coming..
Can’t wait for him to tour in the US !! Been a fan since Pour Up !!!
Dean needs to have a show in LA! He’s going to other American cities which is so amazing! Hope to see him in concert one day, his music is so iconic!
Dean blew me away with his music honestly ! His album is freaking legendary he needs waaaaay more attention !!! I still cant get over how good he is ! Can not wait for his english ep this summer !! #rebelfordean !!!!
Dean is so talented and deserves all the recognition he can get. I hope he gets even bigger and gets the credit he truly deserves. You can tell he loves music and he does this because it makes him happy, We need more artist like Dean.
truly a legend
DEAN is so talented! He is so amazing live, it was great to see him at SXSW because his vocals and music is lit in person
He’s such an amazing artist. His music is great and He will very far. I’m so glad to see him recognition. Rise Dean rise.
I’m so happy to see Dean rise he is an incredible performer and deserves all the hype and positive recognition he’s been getting.
What an incredibly talented musician, he is!
I had the pleasure of seeing him at SXSW! I was a fan before that but wow seeing him live…he’s amazing. I think he would do so well in the US
dean is super super amazingly talented and im super proud that he is getting all the recognition bc he deserves every bit of it. cant wait to see whats in store for us and hope he has a show in LA sooon!((:
you can see him at kcon2016 in la either on july 30th or the 31st they haven’t announced 🙂
Deans music is so unique, while there are similarities with other kr&b artist his is so different, his style is amazing and he has such an artistic perspective (his music videos and the way he presents himself) He will definitely go very far, I am looking forward for his next album and I know it be great.
This is an amazing artist. As a Kpop fan, he’s written many songs for some of my favorite singers. Seeing him come in to the spotlight and getting the attention he deserves is great. Can’t wait to see even more for him!