Dean is a 22-year-old artist who describes his genre as ‘Future R&B’. Before emerging as a solo artist, with the name ‘Deanfluenza’ he has worked on a team of writers and producers under Joombas Music Group. He wrote and produced ‘Black Pearl’ (EXO), ‘Voodoo Doll’ and ‘Miracle’ (VIXX), ‘EOEO’ (UNIQ), as well as his songs ‘Here & Now’ with Mila J and ‘I’m Not Sorry’ with Eric Bellinger.
Here’s more about him from his official website:
“DEAN began his musical journey as a hip hop artist at age 16, beginning his career as part of a crew with Keith Ape (whose single “It G Ma” boasts over 7.5 million YouTube views). By the age of 18, DEAN discovered his talent for singing and his gift of creating infectious melodies.
For his own project, DEAN successfully created a hybrid sound, for himself as an artist, that is uniquely his own, but still captivates the listener. The project covers a myriad of styles ranging from indie rock, pop, EDM, hip hop, UK garage, Trap Musik, and soul; while still remaining rooted in R&B. His first single released only on Soundcloud, “Here & Now” featuring Mila J garnered over 180K playsin less than a month.”
In this interview with All Access, he shares about what inspired him to start a career in music, the music influences he grew up with, what it was like to work with Eric Bellinger and Mila J and who he hopes to work with in the future.
Dean plans to release music with both English and Korean lyrics and I think that this will definitely continue to contribute to his expansive fan base.
Unlike other artists who begin in Korea and then try to break into the U.S. market, Dean has done the opposite, collaborating with talented American artists first and more recently working with Korean artists to jumpstart his career in Korea. There is a video on his Youtube channel with behind-the-scenes footage of him appearing at venues and radio shows in Atlanta, Miami, DC and Chicago this summer.
He was featured on the new Junggigo song and his two most recent releases feature rappers Dok2 and Zico.
Check out the listening session below to hear snippets of more songs Dean is preparing to release soon! It was cool to see him receiving feedback and encouragement from well known vocal artists like Jeff Bernat (who was present at the listening session) but also dance artists I’m familiar with (CJ Salvador and Mykell Wilson) who were there as well.
I think that it is very significant that Dean has started his career in a genre pioneered by black people by taking steps to connect and work with so many African-American artists.
I am looking forward to great things from Dean in the coming months!
Seoulrebels 
nice 🙂
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