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Dende Wants to Bring Back ‘Yearning’: ‘There’s a Certain Amount of Emotion That R&B Requires’


Billboard spoke with April's R&B Rookie of the Month about the evolution of his sound, the origins of his stage name, his favorite ad-libs and more.

The toxicity of contemporary male R&B has been a talking point for nearly a decade, and Texas-bred R&B crooner Dende is ready to take action and bring “yearning” back to the forefront. From church choir stints to makeshift bedroom studios in college, the soulful multihyphenate has spent years honing his sound into its current amalgamation of passionate ad-libs, gospel chords, pop inclinations, and hip-hop cadences. Earlier this year (Feb. 12), Dende (born Jeremi Lewings) signed with Def Jam, marking an end to his time as an independent artist – an era that led him to close studio collaborator Billy Blunt and his CXR management team.

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