Deno (singer) explained

Deno
Birth Name:Deno Michael Mebrahtu
Birth Date:day=23 month=9 year=2002
Years Active:2016–present
Birth Place:Brixton, London, England
Alias:Deno Driz
Label:Columbia

Deno Michael Mebrahtu (born 23 September 2002), known mononymously as Deno, is a British singer, songwriter, rapper and actor from London. His parents are originally from Eritrea,[1] and he was raised in South London. He came to the forefront of London's afro-wave music scene beginning in 2018 with a number of viral music videos and hit songs.

Music career

Beginnings (2016–2017)

Deno attended Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton, London.

In 2016, a friend of Deno asked him to freestyle and sing on his Snapchat after school. This was posted to Instagram with the "#imjustbait" hashtag. He gained thousands of followers. Further videos caught the attention of Stormzy, who retweeted one of them, got in touch, and took Deno into the studio with him to guest on his album Gang Signs & Prayer.[2]

In 2016, Deno met rapper AJ at a Stratford Westfield get-together. The two began a creative partnership, beginning with Deno singing the chorus on AJ's track "Know Me". The video netted over 2.5 million views on YouTube. The same year, the pair, often styled AJ x Deno, recorded multiple songs. They began performing more consistently, including opening for Migos at IndigO2.

Deno & AJ were signed by Sony Columbia UK in 2017. They released singles from 2017, but did not find commercial success until 2018 with the hit "London" featuring EO.[3] The video for "London" was streamed over 45 million times and peaked at No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart.

Rise to fame (2018–2021)

Deno met rapper Cadet on the set of the short film Shiro's Story Part 3 (2018). His ensuing collaboration with Cadet, the track "Advice", went viral, with over 30 million YouTube views. It reached No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart[4] with over 500,000 sales, earning a Brit certified Gold Award.[5] More singles followed as he featured on the hit "Pumpy" by Da Beatfreakz, also featuring past collaborators AJ, Swarmz and Cadet.[6] In 2019, Deno released "First Days", a tribute to Cadet, who had died in a road collision in February of that year.[7]

In September 2019, Deno released the single "Change" featuring DigDat, with a video directed by Darnell Depradine.

He teamed with men's global fashion wear brand BoohooMAN for a 30-piece fashion collection, launched in September 2019.[8]

Deno appeared singing in the 2018 season of Idris Elba's TV series In the Long Run.

In late 2019, Deno released the EP Eye 2 Eye which has features such as Krept, Jay1 and DigDat.[9]

In 2021, Deno released the mixtape "Boy Meets World" which has features such as J.I the Prince of N.Y, Chunkz, Unknown T, Cadet, Craig David, DDG, Jade Silva and Bandokay and Double Lz of rap collective OFB. The mixtape peaked at 31 on the UK Albums Chart.

Discography

Singles

As lead artist

Title! scope="col" rowspan="2"
YearPeak chart positionsCertificationsAlbum
UK
[11]
"London"
201845
"Advice"
14
  • BPI: Platinum
The Rated Legend
"Pumpy"
70
  • BPI: Silver
rowspan="4"
"First Days"201971
"Lifestyle"82
"Motorola"
32
  • BPI: Silver
"Change"
53Eye to Eye
"Walking On"
"Link Up"
8422
"Self-Obsessed"
202026
  • BPI: Silver
"Circles"
36Boy Meets World
"Lingo"
202157
"Drizzy"
"Reload"
rowspan="2"
"Better Now"2022

As featured artist

Title! scope="col" rowspan="2"
YearPeak chart positionsAlbum
UK
"Lamborghini"
2020rowspan="2"
"Purple"
"Baby"
202198

Guest appearances

Title! scope="col"
YearOther artist(s)Album
"Home Alone"2019D-Block Europe, SwarmzHome Alone
"Chase Cash"Lil Berete1 Way Out
"J LO"2020Nafe Smallz, ChipGoat World
"Ying & Yang"GRM Daily, ChipGRM 10
"Gang Gang"2021KSI, Jay1All Over the Place

Filmography

Web

YearTitleRoleNotes
2018Shiro's StoryBaileyPart 3 (Short YouTube Series)[13]
2020The Re-UpBrandonMain Role, both parts

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Deno Driz, the 16-year-old Eritrean singer in the UK is surely the next big thing . Face2Face Africa . Dawkins . Farida . 14 August 2018 . 28 August 2019 .
  2. Web site: Stormzy teases February release with mysterious London billboards . Fact . Welsh . April Clare . 30 January 2017 . 28 August 2019 .
  3. Web site: AJ and Deno . Allmusic . Martin . Liam . 28 August 2019 .
  4. Web site: OFFICIAL SINGLES CHART RESULTS MATCHING: ADVICE. Official Charts . 13 September 2019 .
  5. Web site: 11 young musicians to listen to now - including a favourite of the royals . The Telegraph . 1 October 2018 . 28 August 2019 .
  6. Web site: AJ and Deno . This Must Be Pop . Hargreaves . Eilidh . 23 September 2019 . 23 September 2019 .
  7. Web site: Singer, Deno Driz, Releases Latest Track, 'First Days'. CelebMix . Jodi . 13 September 2019 .
  8. Web site: BoohooMan to launch collection with UK artist Deno . Fashion United . Wightman-Stone . Danielle . 22 August 2019 . 13 September 2019 .
  9. Web site: Deno Announces Debut EP 'Eye 2 Eye'. GRM Daily - Grime, Rap music and Culture.
  10. Web site: DENO full Official Chart History . 31 January 2022 . Official Charts Company.
  11. Web site: Deno full Official Chart history. Official Charts Company. July 5, 2022.
  12. Web site: BRIT Certified - Deno. 5 July 2022. British Phonographic Industry. To access, enter the search parameter "Deno".
  13. Web site: Shiro's Story: The UK rap action drama with Netflix potential. Mensah. De'Graft. 21 September 2018. Newsbeat. Bbc.co.uk. 14 February 2019. It's a gritty UK drama that's had more than 10 million hits and has seen the likes of Not3s and Headie One make their acting debuts.. https://web.archive.org/web/20190215075522/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-45594313. 15 February 2019. live.