DeVante Swing

DeVanté Swing
Birth name	Donald Earle DeGrate Jr.
Born	(1969-09-29) September 29, 1969 Hampton, Virginia, U.S.
Origin	Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Genres	R&B hip hop soul new jack swing
Occupations	Record producer singer rapper songwriter
Years active	1987–present
Member of	Jodeci Swing Mob

Donald Earle DeGrate Jr. (born September 29, 1969), better known by his stage name DeVanté Swing, is an American record producer, singer, rapper and songwriter. He is the older brother of fellow Jodeci member Dalvin DeGrate.

Career

In his early career, Swing served as a mix engineer, while simultaneously producing for other acts. He mix-engineered Hi-Five’s "I Just Can't Handle It" as well as producing several remixes for the track. Swing rose to prominence in the 1990s as the founding member of the R&B group Jodeci, one of the most notable R&B acts of all time. Swing served as the main songwriter, producer and leader of the group. Jodeci also featured his younger brother Dalvin DeGrate. Swing is also credited for discovering several groundbreaking acts such as Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Ginuwine, Stevie J and Static Major. He is also credited as a video director for Jodeci, co-directing the videos for "Feenin'" with the legendary Hype Williams and "Freek'n You" with Brett Ratner.

Swing also mentored Flo Rida in the early stages of his career.

Discography

Main article: DeVante Swing production discography

Main article: Jodeci discography

• Forever My Lady (1991)
• Diary of a Mad Band (1993)
• The Show, the After Party, the Hotel (1995)
• The Past, The Present, The Future (2015)

External links

• Devante Swing Interview with Sterlen Roberts
• James T. Jones IV (March 10, 1992). "Jodeci throws its voice into the doo-wop". USA Today, p. 4D
• DeVante Swing biography at AllMusic