Deno (singer)
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Deno | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Deno Driz |
| Born | 23 September 2002 |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Labels | Columbia Records UK |
| Website | officialdeno |
Deno Michael Mebrahitu (born 23 September 2002), known mononymously as Deno, is an English singer, songwriter and actor from London, England. His parents are originally from Eritrea[1], and he was raised in South London. He came to the forefront of London's afro-wave music scene beginning in 2016 with a number of viral music videos.
In 2016, inspired by the enthusiastic response to a vocal performance at his school's end-of-year assembly, he made his first video. When it was posted to Instagram with the #imjustbait hashtag he gained thousands of followers. Further videos caught the attention of Stormzy, who retweeted one of them, got in touch, and took Deno into the studio with him to guest on his #1 album Gang Signs & Prayer[2].
In 2016 Deno met rapper AJ Jacobs at a Stratford Westfield YouTuber linkup. The two began a creative partnership, beginning with Deno singing the chorus on AJ's track "Know Me." The video netted over 2.5 million views on YouTube. The same year, the pair, often styled Deno & AJ, also recorded the song "How We Do" with singer Timbo. They began performing more consistently, including opening up for Migos at IndigO2.
Deno & AJ were signed by Sony Columbia UK in 2017. They released the singles "Ride or Die" (2017) followed by "London" featuring EO (2018)[3]. The video for "London" was streamed over 35 million times.
Deno met the rapper Cadet on the set of the short film Shiro's Story Part 3 (2018). His ensuing collaboration with Cadet, the track "Advice," went viral, with over 29 million YouTube views, and reached No. 14 on the Official Charts[4] with over 500,000 sales[5], earning a Brit Certified Gold Award[6]. More singles followed, featuring collaborations with Jae5, Geko, Team Salut, Da Beatfreakz, Swarmz, and Sophia Grace[7]. In 2019 he released "First Days," a tribute to Cadet, who had died in a road collision in February of that year[8].
In September 2019 Deno released the single "Change" featuring DigDat, with a video directed by Darnell Depradine.
That same month, he teamed with BoohooMan for a 30-piece fashion collection, launched in September 2019.[9]
As an actor, in addition to Shiro's Story Part 3, Deno appeared in the 2018 season of Idris Elba's TV series In the Long Run.
In late 2019, Deno released another EP. “Eye 2 Eye.” Which currently peaks at 46 on the UK Top 100 charts.
References
- ^ Dawkins, Farida (14 August 2018). "Deno Driz, the 16-year-old Eritrean singer in the UK is surely the next big thing". Face2Face Africa. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ Welsh, April Clare (30 January 2017). "Stormzy teases February release with mysterious London billboards". Fact. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ Martin, Liam. "AJ and Deno". Allmusic. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ "OFFICIAL SINGLES CHART RESULTS MATCHING: ADVICE". Official Charts. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ Homewood, Ben (23 September 2019), Big numbers aren't enough for this new kid on the block..., Music Week
- ^ "11 young musicians to listen to now - including a favourite of the royals". The Telegraph. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ Hargreaves, Eilidh (23 September 2019). "AJ and Deno". This Must Be Pop. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- ^ Jodi. "Singer, Deno Driz, Releases Latest Track, 'First Days'". Celeb Mix. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ Wightman-Stone, Danielle (22 August 2019). "BoohooMan to launch collection with UK artist Deno". Fashion United. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
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