DEVON FINDS BREAKTHROUGH WITH UNIQUE SOUND
DEVON DP has found a corner for himself in this vast music industry.
Boasting Caribbean roots, the 27year-old musician is making a derivative of hip-hop that he calls RPD – Rhythm and Post Dancehall. He says the genre has been spreading throughout the continent.
He names Khuli Chana and Pantoranking as some of its pioneers.
But he shares that he has been making the music since 2013 when he released the single Bereka that even charted on Trace TV without any radio airplay.
“The sound appeals to a large South African audience,” he says.
Devon DP, whose real name is Devon Pyoos, says although he is enjoying some traction in his career, it wasn’t an easy journey.
“There could have been an easier route to get there faster by perhaps doing another genre, but I didn’t do that. Instead, I resorted to writing and producing for others and managing artists for the last five years.”
He was in a duo called FMB, which disbanded after a few months and the release of their single Music With Your Body featuring Ishmael. He’d worked with the likes of music mogul Lance Stehr of Ghetto Ruff fame, but after the break-up the project flopped.
He opened a management company that specialised in producers who went on to make hits for the likes of DJ Ganyani, DJ Kent, Matthew Gould and Lloyd Cele.
But he always wanted to work on his own career and getting his name out. So he re-released Bereka as
Bereka 2.0, which he says is getting him some airtime and could prove to be the one record he needed for a breakthrough. “I might have to drop something more before the end of the year judging by the way things are escalating,” he laughs.
Born in Johannesburg, Devon’s father came from Kokstad in KwaZulu-Natal while his grandfather is from Trinidad and Tobago. His mother is from Eshowe, and this is where he spent his formative years before moving to Somerset West, Western Cape, for school. He moved back to KZN for high school and then later Johannesburg to study law at university.
He dropped out due to a lack of funds and headed to the Middle East to teach English for two years. He is now back home pursuing his music career.
Devon talks about his love for poetry and his wish to be part of the mainstream.