DEE ROZE: A RESURGENCE OF R&B

Depending on who you ask, many will agree that R&B music has been at a disadvantage for quite some time. A lot of the formula many had grown used to throughout the years has been lost in the process. Most will agree that you just don’t get a lot of the same quality anymore when it comes to the new projects we see. Surely, a lot of that has much to do with the “microwave society” that has resulted within the music industry. It no longer takes as much work to put together a project and get it out to music fans. Most artists are handling the entire process of recording, producing, so on and so forth, so they don’t have producers and engineers and A&R in their ears, saying this is good and this is bad. It’s mostly up to the artist now to make all the decisions when it comes to what the fans get, and unfortunately, the industry has suffered as a whole. 

It’s always a joy when I come across an artist who actually gets it, and lives by the process that existed some time ago and we had all become used to. With this feature, we’re thrilled to introduce you R&B Singer & Songwriter Dee Roze. He’s worked steady over the past few years at building a solid reputation and following for himself as a new artist. His recently collaboration with the ladies of June’s Diary has definitely broadened his reach with music fans, and many are now anticipating music from him. Currently working on his debut album, he’s tiding fans over with his remake of R. Kelly’s classic album 12 Play. We recently had some time to talk about that undertaking, as well as the process of recording and organizing his official debut to the world. 

Dee Roze: I wanted to say it’s a privilege to be on the call with you brother. I really appreciate it. 

James: No problem at all. As I listened to your music, and listened to some of the songs you’ve remade, like R. Kelly’s and Part Time Lover from H-Town. You make mention of the people who have come before you. Who were some of the people you came up listening to when building your own style?  

Dee Roze: I go back as far as James Brown, Luther, Donnie Hathaway, and down the line to Stevie, R. Kelly, and Babyface. I pattern my writing after them because they had a blueprint of what works. That genre of music - I’ve been on tour with those guys and I see the money that comes in from it. People get sidetracked with the rap because that’s what gets pushed to the commercial outlets, but R&B and Soul makes a lot of money. You and I see that these guys are selling out. 

James: I think the reason this genre good, especially artists like Keith Sweat, and so on, they offered so much substance. You can see the difference when yo stand it up against what comes out today. It’s not to put anyone down, but the facts are there to see. There was a song you were doing on YouTube, and while I can’t remember the name of it, I could hear the passion in your voice. You remind me of the greats of the nineties like K-Ci and JoJo. It’s a good thing that you have more of an old soul. What goes into putting together your music?

Dee Roze: I definitely like to piggyback off K-Ci, because he’s my closest brother in this industry, and Fantasia would be my closest sister in this. He’s a king for allowing me to do that. In my process, I don’t write down anything. I turn the music on and it just pours out. I’ll reveal it all when we start moving around more. Music speaks to me in a different language. Just like on one of June’s Diary’s songs, I didn’t write. Sometimes I don’t even have a track - I just go. 

James: I certainly get it man. I think there’s a lot of people like you and I who just get it. For a lot of artists, this is all just a hustle, versus it being “life” for you. It’s in your heart. Where does your inspiration come from?

Dee Roze: I think Kristal and I have talked about it. I had to come to the conclusion and be humble that I was chosen for this. And God is using me as a vessel. It’s my purpose. It’s what I was put here to do. I don’t go through infidelity or drama, but I can look at everyone else’s life and put it out like I’m actually going through it. I have to be able to display that. It’s just like the song “Black Man”, I wasn’t even going to do it. I did a project called “12 Play Again”, which was based on R. Kelly’s album. Bad Man was not going to be remade, but there was a kid who was killed in Philly by the police. That night, I was recording something else. Kristal came in and told me about that, and it just came to me to rewrite Bad Man and we did the video the next day. I always allow God to use me. To people’s defense, if they’re not on that beat, they don’t understand what’s going on, or how this dude sound this good. I’m sure the greats like Marvin Gaye went through their trials, but I keep going and trusting God. Don’t get it wrong, I am a street guy, but I roll with God. 

James: I get it man. A lot of us have both sides to offer, and it just shows who you are. The track stood out to me vocally. Obviously you’re still growing, but I felt the track was good. On the YouTube video, you were explaining how you specifically wanted to do twenty-one tracks for your album. Why was that?

Dee Roze: I wanted like a two-sided album. I wanted up-tempos, the club joints, and then the more old school side. I put certain R&B joints on there with hip-hop joints. 

James: I think it’s good to have your album in this way, especially when it allows you to perform it LIVE with a band. What’s the album timeline?

Dee Roze: I have a few songs that’s out. Right now, considering I was in a group for a while, I’m building a brand as a solo artist. Thank God my cousin Cam came along. He really hit the ground running with building my brand. Thank God I received the placement with June’s Diary. I have a few other collaborations that will be coming out. I’m just building my brand. 

James: This is great man. You’re humble, and you’re doing the groundwork. The placement with June’s Diary is perfect because your journey mirrors there. You both have worked hard to get to where you are. 

Dee Roze: Right. I’ve never been the type to piggyback off my wife. I get a lot of throwback saying I’m holding her back, and so forth. I stay out of her business, but when she rings that bell, I show up and show out for my baby. Kristal is a bold lady. She can stand on her own. She handles her business, and we have a mutual agreement of trust and honor in our relationship. 

James: I think you’re doing amazing things. You have a great product. In the past I’ve been pretty critical with rising artists, and I can see where you’ve put in the work. I think you’ll go very far. What do you want people to get from your album?

Dee Roze: I want people to love again, make love, and start a new generation of a different thought process. I want people to be in love and have joy. My music is for everybody. I haven’t even gotten into the process of what it’s going to be. I listen to Bruno Mars; I listen to The Weeknd, but you hit it dead on the nail on the head with R. Kelly. It took me redoing 12 Play to realize I wasn’t tripping. I was re-recording the greatest artist of all times. I saw the LIVE show for two years and we started building a relationship. We had the same manager, and then we started playing ball together. We were going to the studio together until everything started happening. I’m praying for that brother and everybody involved. 

James: I think it’s great again man. Where can people find you online?

Dee Roze: Well again, my name is Dee Roze. If you just google my name, my music is on all platforms. I also have a website that’s being worked on, and it’ll be back up in a few weeks, and I’m on Instagram. Cam is great. He literally left his house in North Carolina and came to Atlanta with me. 

James: I get it man. It’s all part of the hustle and the journey. Not many people will do that, so it’s great you have him. He was willing to take that leap, and honestly those are usually the ones who make it first. He’s taking that sacrifice, and it’ll definitely help your career. You have the perfect persona for this industry and I believe you’ll do well. I’m so appreciative for you guys. Are there any type of final comments?

Dee Roze: Please continue to support my beautiful wife Kristal and her group June’s Diary, my uncle Frank, who has given me a lifeline of opportunity, and I’m blessed to help these ladies continue fulfilling their dreams. We’re off to the races man! It’s a blessing!

CHRISTIAN HIP-HOP ARTIST RHYAN LAMARR RELEASES 'RELIEF'....

Christian hip-hop artist Rhyan LaMarr has released the new single, ‘Relief’.

"RELIEF" was written by Rhyan LaMarr and produced by Mod G., Jack Red & Rhyan LaMarr. The inspirational Hip-hop single features Rhyan LaMarr alongside Canon, John Givez, nobigdyl., Kris Noel, Byron Juaneand Jack Red and is lifted from Rhyan's upcoming debut album, "Red Guerrilla Entertainment Presents- 

Rhyan Lamarr's: aPERFECTmess (Volume1)", is available now on all streaming platforms, via the Empire/RMG Amplify label imprint.

The powerful "RELIEF" music video was directed and conceptualized by Rhyan LaMarr.

The "Relief" visuals just made its world premiere on BET Jams this past weekend and is coming following the critically-acclaimed recently released and (in-real-time) music video for "Fight Another Day".

"RELIEF was inspired by the message of testifying through transparency," mentions Rhyan. "Together these artists each bring their challenges to light, lifting each other up. Humbly, they profess Jesus Christ as their one true RELIEF and cure during their darkest of times," he adds.

Rhyan shares, "When shooting this video, all we wanted to do was join forces and bring light to this powerful message, but never in a million years, did we think that a week after shooting the video in Los Angeles, that the nation and the world be "sheltered in place", due to a pandemic. And to think that this song was created after the album was already completed, is an extra enforcement in the message of the song... all of us uniting as one."

The Chicago native, readies the release of his debut musical project, "Red Guerrilla Entertainment Presents- Rhyan LaMarr's: aPERFECTmess (Volume1)". The inspirational and thought-provoking album features appearances by Charlamagne the God, Sway, Jonathan Mcreynolds, Twista, Social Club Misfits, Don Benjamin, Canon, 1K Phew, Destorm Power, Da Brat and more.

Look for more info on this release here at U.G. Digital Magazine in the coming weeks!

ABOUT RHYAN LAMARR

A true renaissance man. That’s what Rhyan LaMarr proves with the release of his debut musical project, aPERFECTmess. The Chicago-based artist taps into his first love of music to tell his life story through 20 tracks bringing together a list of who’s who in the industry. A cross between DJ Khaled-esque curation and Quincy Jones-like craftsmanship, the album unites voices from across genres and regions, including skits from radio personalities Sway and Charlamagne Tha Godto tell LaMarr’s story of hope and perseverance. aPERFECTmess holds dual meaning to describe the mashup nature of the music and LaMarr’s personal journey enduring homelessness on his way toward establishing himself as a reputable filmmaker.

Lead single “Stayed Down” enlists 1K Phew, Social Club Misfits, Jack Red, Mico Wave and Chi-Town legend Twista for an epic posse cut. “The Remedy” brings listeners a reflective note with Jonathan Mcreynolds and Jack Red as LaMarr expresses gratitude for the light he found when he was at his darkest point.

“It took me my whole life to make one album, but this album is my whole life,” he shares of aPERFECTmess.

Canal Street the film was released in 2019 and was LaMarr’s big break as a producer/director/screenwriter that gave him confidence to continue pursuing his artistry. It allowed him to travel across the country to share his story and build his own entertainment production company Red Guerilla Entertainment with fellow business partner Bishop Eric D. Garnes. After doing projects with late comedian Bernie Mac, Grammy-winning musician Common and Academy Award-winner George Clooney. He’s come a long way from having nothing but a pen and notepad.

LaMarr isn’t reinventing the wheel by combining his love of music and film. He’s following in the footsteps of Kanye West, Pharrell, John Legend and 50 Cent by taking ownership of his craft and putting in his own spin of positivity.

ROGER ORTEGA [@RnBPoPWrytr]: LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

We recently had to catch up with writer and musical superstar Roger Ortega, and the conversation was amazing. We get to hear all about his most recent project, The Lottery, and what else he has in store now that the music is pumping out consistently again. Check out the exclusive below!

Thank you so much. You have so much going on. Obviously, your progression is something to be noted. I love what you’re doing. This is especially good because we work to promote and push independent acts, so in that respect, there’s so much to talk about. It would be good to start with what brought you into music. I know you’ve been here…

It’s funny man. Long story short, I was born into a musical family. I didn’t want to do what my dad’s band was doing, but I listened to them practice. I knew this was what I wanted. At 14, I put together a group with my cousin and another guy. We changed members and names, but maintained the R&B and Pop feel. Eventually, we got a record deal. 

Almost like a new edition…lol

Right. And New Kids on the Block played a big factor. One morning I saw them on TV, and was like who are these guys. Being a solo artists as a kid, I felt like I’d have more support with a couple other guys on stage. Eventually, some faded away, and I found more guys. We got a deal in Kansas and moved to New York. Universal was buying out everybody. We got locked into this deal where they just wouldn’t do anything with us. We eventually got out of that deal. By age 24, I said I was done. I went on about my life, but would write more for the love of it. Through a random series of events, at 37 I got a deal. I started off as a writer, and eventually they wanted a record. I quit at age 24 because I thought I was too old. How would it be at 37? I reluctantly said yes, and it ended up being number 62 on iTunes. I kept at it, and worked on a second album. The Lottery came out last year, and hit number 8. There’s so many good songs on the album, and you learn from your mistakes. You put all this work into an album, and you are to let it breathe. With the new single, The Worst Hangover, it’s actually a remix to the album’s first single. It’s doing pretty well. Not the same rules as an independent artist. You don’t necessarily have to do something new every year. You can work with what you have. 

Now that you’re independent, how does it feel, having been with a major before? I see a lot of artists who don’t do well in the transition. Many artists don’t realize the level of work. How has it been for you?

I hate being told what to do, and am a lot less motivated when I am told what to do. So it’s one of those things where I’m in control. Failure or success comes back to me. My team is amazing, but they’re name is not the brand. If it doesn’t work out, it’s on me. I can sit with a little more pride when things go good. 

I think it’s cool. What you have is hot and in so many ways, you break the stereotypes, and break the color lines. What has been your experience with connecting with other artists? I turn 40 this year, so I appreciate the fact that you pay respect to the artists before you of our era. I find it so funny that because of this new edition movie, our kids know all about New Edition now. My son is ten and is so enamored with Cool it Now like it just dropped yesterday…lol. 

I think that has driven the direction of my music and where it comes from. Like you, I grew up on all that. It’s infused in my DNA. The Lottery album pays homage to a lot of those artists, and has a 90s appeal. That was one of the biggest things. I definitely wanted to be taken serious with this, but I knew my fanbase was 28+, and people who knew that era. That’s what was so cool. 

I also think it’s cool because a big part of me misses that era. I make it a point to look back and connect with artists of that era now with the magazine. I like to be able to show what these artists are doing now, and how they impacted music. The blessing is I get to connect with my favorites, the ones who don’t get the respect. As far as shows go, what have your shows and tours looked like? Are you doing a lot of shows?

Yea, I have been. My last show will be in New Mexico. The last few months, I’ve had shows in New York, Miami, and so on. The shows have been great. One of my favorite shows was a tribute to George Michael. 

Awesome. I grew up listening to him in Wham, and so much of his music. 

He was one of the first to really cross over to R&B and radio play. I can remember hearing him on Hot 97. He had a lot of respect for R&B and Soul, and vice versa. I respect how he rode that line, and was one of the first major stars to cross over. I released a cover of Father Figure a few months ago along with a video. The video was to tie into the next video. That and The Worst Hangover is like a series. It was a cool concept. 

I saw the father figure video, and I heard the single first on reverbnation. What are your plans moving forward and progressing?

What I feel like right now; someone asked me when the third album was coming. I don’t think I’m in a place emotionally to do a third album. I’m just writing right now. When something hits me emotionally, I’ll do a third album. With The Lottery, it was a lot of start and stop. I immediately went to work on the second album, but the owner of my independent label passed away and the label shut down. I lost a lot with that first album. All the stuff I had before was good, but not as good as this album. My dad developed cancer in the process and passed away as I started on the second half of the album. That gave me a lot for the album. I wrote three songs on the plane back from his funeral. One of those is Never Forget, which was a tribute for my dad. I also wrote The Worst Hangover, which is about losing someone and how you feel. I changed it to be more about losing a girl, but I pulled the pain from losing my dad. I also wrote a song called Put It On Me. Through darkness comes light and that’s where that came from. My plan moving forward is to work on singles and get as many people to hear my projects. 

What else is to come for people to look out for?

There’s a song I’ll be working on for a project that my fans had been inquiring about. I can’t say much about it yet. I’m working on a song with another guy which will eat up a lot of time. Two guys from my group joined me for the George Michael show. I put up a video of us practicing Careless Whispers, and they agreed to do an album. That’s down the road, but right now, I’m focusing on me. I have to get to the Grammys, one way or another, even if I got to work the door [laughing].

Where can people check you out online?

Everything is at rogerortega.com. I’m on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. 

I look forward to your upcoming projects. You clearly love the music so much that you’re still here. I appreciate having the opportunity to connect with you. I feel like you’re breaking barriers. Thank you. 

Thank you. I appreciate telling my story.

[EXCLUSIVE] @IAMCHANTEMOORE : THE RISE OF THE PHOENIX

I can’t begin to speak on how excited we are for the release of Chanté Moore’s new album, The Rise of the Phoenix. It’s one thing that she’s releasing a new project. Sure, there’s a certain level of anticipation that’s already there, yet, there’s something different about this project. This truly is a rising for Chanté. Her life has taken her in so many different directions. She’s had an amazing career, but like any other artists she’s experience some good and definitely some bad. This album represents her new beginning. She has truly risen to the top again, and the result is a beautiful project that the world can enjoy in it’s entirety. She also has a bonus coming in the form of a Christmas album that all release two weeks after The Rise of the Phoenix. It was an absolute blessing to connect with Chanté to talk about the new projects and what we can all expect. If you’ve heard the new singles ‘Real One” and “Something to Remember”, then you know she ain’t playing no games with this album. So enough talking on our end. Let’s jump right into the exclusive….

U.G. Digital Mag: Ms. Chanté Moore! How are you?

Chanté Moore: I’m great and you?

U.G. Digital Mag: I’m doing great. I have to thank you for doing everything you are to keep good R&B music alive. You are absolutely killing it right now. 

Chanté Moore: I’m trying so hard, so thank you [laughing].

U.G. Digital Mag: You make it look effortless. I was at Essence Fest, and you were so beautiful, professional, and I could see this beaming happiness on your face when you spoke about the project. Obviously, at that time, I hadn’t heard any of the songs yet, but I’ll tell you .. with Real One, I have absolutely driven that song into the ground with my wife and she thinks I’m crazy. I love the song, and love the video. With the pre-download, you also get “Something to Remember”, and you get the Intro. What went into putting this together, because it’s almost like a new artist who comes in and kills the game. 

Chanté Moore: You know, I just feel renewed. I really do. The Rise of the Phoenix is purposeful. The title is very purposeful. I feel like I have been through a lot of ups and downs, some good stuff, negative and positive, and it all worked together for the good. I’m just trying to give it my best. I feel like it’s time to be authentic, as usual, but what I love is the new producers I work with on this album are people like Lil’ Ronnie. I’m sure you know who he is, with songs from Usher’s “Same Girl” with R. Kelly, and the new song with K. Michelle, and he’s been doing very well. I love that he understands the music. It’s like adding chemistry. It’s like adding one thing with another and it doesn’t cease to just be one. All the elements are still present, but it becomes something new. That’s what I think happened with the music. With the writers, Felly the Voice is amazing; I love singing his words and writing with him. The melodies he comes up with are so beautiful. A new guy, @Sickpen, @beats4thestars is lil’ Ronnie, and we had so much fun making this record. We had so much fun that we did a Christmas album as well. So that’s pretty exciting, and we had so much fun. It has been work, but good work. We had the best time. 

U.G. Digital Mag: I was going to ask about the Christmas album, and still will, but I have to say that the producers and writers you’re connecting with stand as a testament to the type of person you are as an artist. These people see how genuine you are, and they want to work with your caliber. It speaks volumes. It’s people like you, and I also credit Faith Evans because she is amazing, but going back to the songs, I always say if they have a good intro, they got me. I interviewed Faith as well, and every single interlude and intro she does to me should be a full song. 

Chanté Moore: She is so incredible. I love her so much. She’s so funny and talented. Every time she sings, it’s like dang, I want to do that. Ooh, that’s a nice run. Just the way she soulfully approaches every song, I love her too, so you got my praises on that.

U.G. Digital Mag: But it’s the same thing with you. With “Real One”, for someone like me who can not sing a lick, I can admit that I go to town in the car on that song. My wife and son are so sick of me right now, but I love it [laughing]. 

Chanté Moore: It’s funny about “Real One”. It seems like a really easy song to sing, but that sucker is hard. When I sing live, and this song is new for me. We just wrote the album, finished it and mastered it. It comes out in two weeks, so these are new to me. Singing them live is a new experience for me. I sang “Real One”, and “Something to Remember” back to back; oh that’s never going to happen again [laughing]. That made me so tired. Then I did “Chante’s Got a Man” after that? I was worn out. It was form, but it wore me out. I was like, OK, enough. 

U.G. Digital Mag: Why was it important to bare your soul with this? I feel like you give us your life with this album?

Chanté Moore: Absolutely. That’s been something I have done from the beginning. The songs I sing come from the heart. When I do it for my own learning and growing experience, I also do it for others. So many times, people come up to me on the road, and after the show there are tears for both of us. They say things like “if it wasn’t for your music, I wouldn’t have made it through this breakup”, or “I wouldn’t have made it through losing my mother”, or “if I didn’t know you were alone like that, I wouldn’t have felt like I could deal with it too”. Everyone always makes this thing of who they think you are and that regular stuff doesn’t happen to you, but it happens to everybody. We all get our hearts broken. We’re all get let own sometimes. We let other people down. We’re not exempt and we have that human life experience, so that’s what I endeavor; for people to know they are not alone. I’m not alone either. I put on my music sometimes and sing it to myself. 

U.G. Digital Mag: The Christmas album. It’s amazing, but my biggest question is why it’s so close to this album?

Chanté Moore: Stuff kept happening over and over to push it back. We’ve been trying to release this project for like six months. My fans on Instagram and Twitter are like yelling at me like, Chante, really? If you push this back one more time, we are coming after you. It’s been for different reasons, and I don’t know exactly why because I really wanted it to be released February 17, 2017. It’s the 7th album release for me. 2/17 is my birthday. Then it was pushed back. I don’t know what happened, but I do know at the end of making this, and finishing up and adding new songs, we still wanted to keep working. We said let’s do a Christmas album. We had no idea it would happen so quickly. We said let’s just put it out. Radio just plays the radio stuff, and they don’t play a lot of R&B and the other genres. We’ll be in the middle of that, and then next year, we’ll add another, and another the following year. What’s beautiful is it keeps living on. We were excited about making more music, and it made sense to capture the holiday spirit because I love Christmas so much. 

U.G. Digital Mag: I like the concept of adding a new song each year so you don’t get the same thing over and over. 

Chanté Moore: This CD is so unique that I can’t wait for the world to hear it. I play both all the time, and put them on shuffle. That’s how I know this is music I love and I’m happy about singing it because I’m playing it. Usually, I finish a record and want to take a break from myself. Listening is work, singing it is work, and performing it live is work and making sure people get it, and there’s so many aspects that can be tiring and draining. I find that these two CDS are my favorite listen right now. 

U.G. Digital Mag: Any last words or comments that you want to get out, and what can we look forward to in the next couple weeks?

Chanté Moore: I’m trying to do as much press as I can. I’m going on tour. I can’t give you the exact dates, and if I did, I’d be wrong [laughing]. Go to chantemoore.com, where we will put up the calendar. Please come see these LIVE. We’ll be performing the Christmas stuff as well as the new album. I’m having a great time. The band is amazing; I have a new band. The dancers are there when I have room on the stage. I’m giving my all like it’s my last.

VIDEOS: REAL ONE & SOMETHING TO REMEMBER...