Those who have survived the night’s unforgiving darkness cherish
basking in the light of dawn, in the warm promise of a new day.
Every so often, in the world of music, an act emerges like a beacon
of light, proudly proclaiming its uniqueness, its disinterest in the
norm, and its potential for sparking a sonic revolution. In 2007,
just like with The Fugees and the
Black Eyed Peas, a new era in urban music will be ushered in
thanks to a group fittingly known as The DEY. Composed of Divine,
Élan, and Yeyo (DEY), the bilingual Latino trio fuses hip-hop, R&B,
pop, and Afro-Latino influences for a unique, singing/rapping
fusion-heavy sound that celebrates Latinos’ rich cultural heritage
while also inviting non-Latinos to share in the festivities. Their
innovative Epic Records debut promises to unify English-only,
Spanish-only, and bilingual Latinos, and to address the interests
and concerns of today’s generations of multicultural urbanites.
Each of the group’s members boasts an extensive artistic resume.
Puerto Rican MC Divine started rhyming as a young kid living in the
South Bronx. He had a strong influence in the underground world of
hip hop, earning the public's respect for his hard-edged rhymes,
particularly for the single "Babyface," which was released in a
mixtape. Aside from his growing reputation as a clever lyricist,
Divine received accolades within the Latin market due to his work
with the Afro-Cuban hip-hop band Yerbabuena, for which he co-wrote
the Grammy-nominated “Guajira (I Love You Too Much),” which has been
featured in films like Honey,
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, and HBO’s hit series
Entourage. But the key to Divine’s creative destiny lay
in Puerto Rico. When a family crisis arose and he moved to the
island in 1998, Divine met a like-minded MC, Yeyo, with whom he
would form a creative partnership and establish the foundation for a
boundary defying movement.
Born in Cupey, Puerto Rico, to a Cuban father and Puerto Rican
mother, Yeyo was raised in a musical family: his father played
drums, guitar, and piano, while his mother sang in the choir. At 9
years old he began writing poetry — which, in Yeyo’s mind, “later
lent itself to being translated into hip-hop.” Inspired by Kool G
Rap and NWA, Yeyo immersed himself in the local hip-hop scene at age
13, when he bought his first turntable and proclaimed himself a DJ.
By 1992, he was rapping at impromptu neighborhood parties and
recording homemade mixtape cassettes. But Yeyo truly found his
artistic niche in 1999 when, alongside his collective, the Shanghai
Assasinz, he independently released the Spanish-language rap single
“Viequez.” The song addressed the Puerto Rican community’s hostility
toward the US Navy for occupying Vieques and transforming the land
into an epicenter for military activities. In April 1999 David Sanes,
a US Navy employee and Vieques native, was killed during a routine
bombing practice, leading to mass protests and calls for the US Navy
to leave the area.
“I wanted to honestly address the realities of what was happening in
Vieques,” Yeyo says. “My father is a product of the Cuban Revolution
and he was always making me aware of the fact that there are
circumstances beyond your control, such as politics, that can have
dire consequences, such as you having to leave your homeland. I
think that’s why I harbor a sense of responsibility about the type
of music I make and that’s why I’ve done songs like ‘Viequez.’”
Without the assistance of any major labels or marketing gurus, Yeyo
arranged for a music video to be released and independently
distributed an EP containing the single. Though the EP wasn’t a
commercial success, the reaction to “Viequez” made Yeyo one of the
most buzzed-about artists in the underground hip-hop realm.
It was Yeyo’s dedication to socially conscious music that drew
Divine to his work. Though the two weren’t acquainted, Divine was
already interested in Yeyo’s brand of work. Fate intervened one
night in 1999 when Yeyo, who had started tinkering with production,
received a call from a friend raving about a young MC from New York
who was defeating every opponent to come his way during a freestyle
bout at a local nightclub. Curious to meet this phantom lyricist,
Yeyo asked his friend to arrange a meeting later that night. Right
away, they knew they were kindred spirits.
“I was really inspired by Yeyo,” Divine says. “He wasn’t some super
conscious revolutionary — he was just a regular guy that didn’t like
the things taking place around him. I think that’s where everybody
needs to start. Instead of trying to read up on history and become
this revolutionary, can you start by identifying the conditions that
are destroying you now?”
That very night, Yeyo and Divine recorded the single “El Que Se
Pica,” and took it to X100 a local station where it almost
immediately entered rotation.
But despite their determination to work together, a piece of the
puzzle was still missing. In Spring 2005, they finally realized who
they had been waiting for: singer/songwriter Élan, the final member
of The DEY. Though they were introduced to Élan by management,
Divine had previously met Élan while performing with Yerbabuena at
the Soulfrito Festival in Miami and had expressed his interest in
collaborating. When their paths crossed again years later, they knew
it couldn’t be a coincidence. Élan’s addition to the group was
imminent.
New York-bred Puerto Rican and African-American performer Élan Luz
Rivera has been harnessing her vocal skills since the age of seven
when she first began her training. As a teenager, she enrolled in
Manhattan’s prestigious La Guardia High School, where she was a
vocal major. By age 16, she landed her first Broadway role as
Cookie, a flirty teen with a gift for Doo-wop, alongside such stars
as Marc Anthony and Ruben Blades in Paul Simon’s controversial and
culturally charged musical of New York history
The Capeman. After the
play closed months later, Élan received an offer to join salsa great
Frankie Negrón on tour as a back-up singer. “That was my
introduction to the salsa world,” Élan says. “I feel like I got to
Puerto Rico through my work.”
About six months into her work with former cast member Frankie
Negrón, Élan was asked if she’d be interested in singing back-up
vocals for salsa group DLG. Élan, who was fascinated with the
group’s original vocal style and presence, accepted the offer and,
after the group’s breakup, went on to accompany former lead singer
Huey Dunbar on his solo tour with the release of their hit Duet "Sin
Poderte Hablar" on his Grammy nominated album
Music For My Peoples.
She also toured Korea and Japan with the Armed Forces Entertainment
band Lugo Latin Soul Tour before returning to the U.S. and signing
on to join The DEY.
After holing up in Miami, the location of Yeyo’s The Art of Sound
Group production company, for about 4 days, the three produced
enough groundbreaking material to land a deal with Epic Records.
Since then, they co-wrote and were featured on pop star Paula
DeAnda’s hit “Walk Away,” which reached No. 4 on Billboard’s Pop 100
Airplay chart.
Now, The DEY is poised to revolutionize the Latin, pop, and urban
markets with its eclectic debut, which features production by
Timbaland, JR Rotem, Stargate, and more. The lead single, “Dame Un
Momento,” a sultry and clap-heavy bilingual club banger, showcases
Divine’s aggressive but playful lyricism, Yeyo’s flirtatious Spanish
rhymes, and Élan’s soaring vocals, which speak to influences ranging
from reggae to East Indian pop.
“¿Qué Vamos a Hacer?,” meanwhile, zooms in on the conditions
plaguing those in the ‘hood. The mournful track addresses political
corruption, the harrowing proliferation of violence, and the
never-ending problem of racial profiling and, depicts how, as a
result, people become hopeless over the governments’ refusal to
address these problems. “Bendecida
Mi Nación,” meanwhile, is an ode to our native lands
in the tradition of Marc Anthony’s adored “Preciosa” ballad. Each
single in the album showcases a different aspect of the group,
making them all the more relatable to audiences worldwide.
“We want to unify our communities,” Divine says of The DEY’s
mission. “By being bilingual, we address all those people — the
non-English speaker and the non-Spanish speaker — and we create a
bridge between them, a space where they can all exist.”
Here’s to a new DEY.
