Really, I’m seriously conflicted right now. Indieterria is a blog dedicated to the unsigned, independent and unprivileged artists trying to give them a platform so more people can discover their music. My dilemma is, I have fallen in love with an artist that does not need our assistance or platform at all. He is not yet widely known in the US, but popular enough to become a hot topic on the Hollywood gossip site, next to blockbuster A-listers. He was mentioned in the UK press before, mostly in NME and the Kerrang! Magazine but I haven’t heard his music being played on British radio at all. His name is De’Wayne Johnson and he performs under the moniker of DE’WAYNE, all in capital letters. DE’WAYNE is absolutely bloody brilliant so I will go ahead and review his latest single “Highway Robbery” as the song has been living rent free in my head for the last week and a half. DE’WAYNE is like a mix of David Bowie (extravagant fashion sense), Prince (his looks) and Lenny Kravitz (guitar playing skills). I can only describe him as a rock and roll star and I swear there is not an ounce of exaggeration in that statement.
Highway Robbery single cover, picture by Shai Paul Lev
Official bio: An artist who has taken risks his whole life is now putting that exact energy into the music he creates. DE’WAYNE is an alternative rock singer from Houston, Texas who is redefining music today by showcasing a raw and tasteful blend of genres. The music combines elements of rock, punk, and pop with a mission to show people we shouldn’t live in boxes, and neither should our music.
DE’WAYNE was born on the 27th of June 1995 in Houston, Texas. He moved to California at 19 years old and he has been making music since early 2015. He is known for effortlessly moving between genres from jazz, pop to gospel, soul, Americana, hip hop, rap and alternative rock. His musical beginnings were rooted in soul and hip hop, but his personal interest lie with rock music, grunge and post grunge – he is a big Jimmy Hendricks and Nirvana fan.
This is the second time this month that we cover an artist of colour on Indieterria and for the second time British press comes across as ignorant, if not straightforwardly prejudiced. Quite recently, I took part in an online discussion with several British industry professionals, who after hearing DE’WAYNE’s new single and calling it a “soul infused rock and roll”, seriously pushed theory that rock and roll was invented by white entertainers, namely Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley. Every single time, a current leading British artist of colour is mentioned, be it Bob Vylan, Nova Twins or ALT BLK ERA, this misconception is also mindlessly repeated, questioning Black artists rights or even their ability to play rock music. I would like to set the record straight: rock and roll as we know it, has been created by Black artists: rhythm, blues (R’n’B) and black spiritual performers to be exact. Before Holly and Elvis, there were Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Sister Rosetta Thorpe or Big Mama Thornton. And before them came T-Bone Walker, Willie Dixon, Howling Wolf, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Ora Alexander and thousands of others. Rock came out of black music: gospel, blues and traditional folk and then morphed into every genre of popular music that exists today. Anybody looking for a crash course in music history in the form of a song? Look no further – here is Garland Jeffreys and his “Hail Hail Rock and Roll” to the rescue. Sometime in the 70’s and 80’s, black artists were practically pushed to the verges of rock music and then consistently removed from other developing genres such as prog, alternative rock, punk and metal. Growing up in the 90’s, I was happy to see black artists pushing back to reclaim their right to play heavy music. Soul divas En Vogue experimented with heavy riffs on “Free Your Mind”; Bad Brains, Ben Harper and Rage Against the Machine played the biggest festivals such as Lollapalooza. Skunk Anansie and Living Colour were not only hugely successful in the UK, but also in Europe. Their videos were in constant heavy rotation on MTV. The biggest winners of the decade were definitely Lenny Kravitz and Prince, who absolutely dominated the charts and sold out several of their world wide tours. Even Michael Jackson collaborated with Slash and Sheryl Crow on “Give it to Me” and “Dirty Diana” respectively.
DE’WAYNE on the set of “Highway Robbery” by Shai Paul Lev
But back to DE’WAYNE. His natural aptitude to play any kind of music he wishes is derived directly from the wealth of black culture and heritage he grew up in. His versatility, ability to change and adapt shouldn’t be surprising to those who write about music for a living.
So far, DE’WAYNE has released two full albums (“Stains” from 2021 and “My Favourite Blue Jeans” from 2022), a four track EP “I WANT YOU MORE THAN ANYBODY WANTS YOU” from 2024 and at least 30 singles between 2016 and 2025. His most popular ones include “2 AM”, “synthesizer” and “Love Raider”, but it’s his collaborations that made him a (semi) household name. He worked with The Good Charlotte on “Take This Crown”, I Don’t Know How But They Found Me on “Simple” and with Chase Atlantic on “Adios”. He also sang lead vocals on Sophie Power’s 2021 hit “Greed” and provided backing vocals to Anti-Flag’s 2020 anthem “A Dying Plea”. Add touring with Willow Smith, Xavier Maybe and Waterparks, opening for Green Day on Lollapalooza, touring the UK (that included a slot at the Reading and Leeds Festival) and we have a CV that would make anyone proud. Did I mention more millions of streams on Spotify and clicks on social media? DE’WAYNE organically amassed over 20 million streams plus has more than 300k monthly listeners. With such achievements, he is probably the most successful artist we have ever covered on our blog.
Despite the lukewarm reception from the Brits, “Highway Robbery” received rave reviews in the US. It has been described as “brilliant”, “high energetic”, “anthem for a Z generation” and even a “rock classic”. The song stands at 3minutes and 28 seconds and I can only describe it as a very elegant mixture of rock and roll, funk, progressive rock, psychedelia and alternative pop. I absolutely fell in love with the dynamic guitars in the chorus, energetic delivery and DE’WAYNE’s perfect vocals. He has an extensive vocal range at his disposal going from what appears to be a tenor range into head voice, falsetto and vibrato.
“Highway Robbery” was inspired by DE’WAYNE’s partner, who as the singer jokes didn’t steal his heart, but sneaked her way into his life and “locked him in”, with his explicit consent of course. He actually admitted in interviews that the song was first penned as a love poem praising her, he liked the lyrics so much that he composed the music as well, turning the poetry into one of his most cherished compositions.
You have to see the video accompanying the song. It was shot in California and was directed by Joe Mischo, a friend and close collaborator of DE’WAYNE’s who already directed him in previous videos to “Family Tree“, “Walking To Work“, “synthesizer” and “Super 8“. Joe Mischo worked with Rita Ora (“Barricades”), Christine and The Queens (“Tears Can Be So Soft”) and Conan Gray among others. Joe has a very distinctive style of shooting: his videos are slightly blurred, incredibly colorful and use low light and shadow settings like early mornings, twilight or golden & blue hours. I love the pastel colours in the video: old motel with facade painted in blue and pink that matches an 1988 Nissan Desert Runner pickup track, DE’WAYNE dancing against the darkening sky and finally a night time concert that features drummer Terry Craft III (Willow, Scott Helman), guitarist Tanner Orange and bassist, Dylan Bauld (Halsey, Liam Payne, Smalpools).
DE’WAYNE promised that he will come back to the UK this year, and he will be performing at the Islington Academy on 25th of August. I’m sure more shows will be added but, just in case, this is his sole gig, you better grab tickets now.
“Highway Robbery” is out now on all streaming platforms through Fearless Records.
Follow DE’WAYNE online:
https://yeahdewayne.com/
https://www.instagram.com/yeahdewayne
https://www.facebook.com/yeahdewayne
https://www.youtube.com/@Yeahdewayne
https://www.twitch.tv/yeahdewayne
https://x.com/yeahdewaynehere
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4lpKeKXJYkglSWyEmnOF7O
https://www.tiktok.com/@yeahdewayne
https://soundcloud.com/yeahdewayne
https://idewaynejackson.bandcamp.com/
https://www.threads.net/@yeahdewayne
Further reading:
https://highschool.latimes.com/arts-and-entertainment/alt-rock-has-no-bounds-for-dewayne/
https://www.altpress.com/dewayne-national-anthem-hopeless-records-signing/
https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/dewayne-my-favourite-blue-jeans-review-3336683
https://www.kerrang.com/listen-to-dewaynes-new-rocknroll-soul-single-highway-robbery
Rita Dabrowicz
Indieterria 