Donald Earle DeGrate Jr. (born September 29, 1969), better known by his stage name DeVanté Swing, is an American record producer, singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known as the main songwriter and producer of the R&B group Jodeci, which includes his younger brother Dalvin “Mr. Dalvin” DeGrate. DeVante Swing also created

Swing Mob Swing Mob (sometimes known as Da Bassment Cru) was a loosely knit musical collective consisting of artists and record labels first discovered by Jodeci member DeVante Swing in 1991. The artists on Swing Mob included Missy Elliott with the group ...

, which consisted of various artists he discovered and mentored, such as

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

, Magoo,

Ginuwine Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (born October 15, 1970), better known by his stage name Ginuwine ( ), is an American R&B singer. He began his career as a member of the musical collective Swing Mob in the early 1990s. As a solo act, he signed with Epic R ...

Static Major Stephen Ellis Garrett Jr. (November 11, 1974 – February 25, 2008), known professionally as Static Major (and previously as Static), was an American R&B and hip hop producer, singer, rapper, and songwriter from Louisville, Kentucky. He is be ...

with Playa,

Darryl Pearson Darryl "Day" Pearson is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist, best known for writing and producing "It's All About Me", a Mya/Sisqó single that peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, "Part Time Love ...

, Tweet, Jimmy Douglass, Stevie J, and Chad "Dr. Ceuss" Elliott among others.

Career

At age 16, DeVanté Swing traveled to

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, hoping to visit

Paisley Park Paisley Park is a 65,000 square foot estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States, once owned by American musician Prince. It was opened to the public as a museum in October 2016. History Construction of the $10 million complex began in Jan ...

in order to audition for

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

. Swing would later say, "I was up at Paisley Park every day begging for a job, asking people to listen to my tape. The receptionist kept saying she couldn't help me". The rejection motivated Swing to relocate back to North Carolina, and work to improve his songwriting and production skills. In his early career, Swing served as a mix engineer, while simultaneously producing for other acts. He mixed and engineered Hi-Five's 1990 single "I Just Can't Handle It", along with its accompanying remixes. Swing rose to prominence in the 1990s as the founding member of the R&B group Jodeci, which he formed with his younger brother Dalvin DeGrate, and singers Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey, and Joel "JoJo" Hailey. Swing served as the group's leader, and primary songwriter and producer. Swing founded the musical collective

in 1991, which was joined by then-unknown regional acts including

Timbaland & Magoo Timbaland & Magoo were an American hip hop duo, composed of Virginia natives Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley (born March 10, 1972) and Melvin "Magoo" Barcliff (July 12, 1973 – August 13, 2023). Formed in 1989, the duo signed with Blackground Re ...

, Tweet,

, Stevie J and

. He is also credited as a video director for Jodeci, co-directing the videos for "

Feenin' "Feenin'" is a song by American R&B group Jodeci, recorded for their second album, '' Diary of a Mad Band'' (1993). It was released as the second single from the album in March 1994, by Uptown and MCA Records. It was both written and produced ...

" with

Hype Williams Harold "Hype" Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video and film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adelphi Univ ...

and "

Freek'n You "Freek'n You" is a song by American R&B group Jodeci recorded for their third album, '' The Show, the After Party, the Hotel'' (1995). It was released as the album's first single in June 1995 by Uptown and MCA Records. The song was both writt ...

" with

Brett Ratner Brett Ratner (born March 28, 1969) is an American film director and producer. He directed the Rush Hour (film series), ''Rush Hour'' film series, ''The Family Man'', ''Red Dragon (2002 film), Red Dragon'', ''X-Men: The Last Stand'', ''Tower Heist ...

. Swing has also mentored Florida-based rapper

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), known professionally as Flo Rida ( ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 debut and breakout single "Low (Flo Rida song), Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the ...

in the early stages of his career.

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)

References

External links

Devante Swing Interview with Sterlen Roberts
*James T. Jones IV (March 10, 1992)

. ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', p. 4D * Record producers from Virginia American soul singers Jodeci members Living people Place of birth missing (living people) American hip-hop singers Singer-songwriters from Virginia Musicians from Hampton, Virginia 1969 births African-American male songwriters 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers {{US-hiphop-bio-stub