Dequadray

Dequadray is a contemporary R&B and Hip-Hop artist hailing from Forest Park, Georgia. With the nostalgia of the 90s and a smooth, fresh voice, his lyrics touch on subjects of love, growth, and his experiences of being Black and Queer. "Dequadray! A Black Sitcom" is a wonderful example of everything contemporary hip-hop and R&B has to offer. The 2018 release by rapper and singer Dequadray White with producer Matt Cousin is an eclectic one, blending hip-hop with funk, soul, and gospel in an incredibly refined way. He invites you to the metaphorical set of his life and experiences that seem too odd to be true or the cameras must be rolling. Nevertheless, Dequadray does not take defeat as the end all be all; he continues to grow as everything around and within him tends to change.

The production, mostly from Matt Cousin, provides a lush, soulful foundation for the album. His background as a jazz musician is evident, not only when he breaks out his saxophone for the final track. The instrumental palate ranges from the sweet gospel progressions of Best For Me to the dense jazz harmonies of Southbound to the menacing 808 trap sound of In Another Life. Only such a variety could truly showcase everything Dequadray brings to the table. Equally comfortable grooving on a funk vamp with his mature falsetto and delivering bar after bar of clever, intricate rapping, he ties the project together into a seamless journey from beginning to end.