# DeVante Swing

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American record producer, singer, and rapper (born 1969)

DeVanté Swing Born Donald Earle DeGrate Jr. (1969-09-29) September 29, 1969 (age 56) Hampton, Virginia, U.S. Occupations Record producer singer songwriter rapper Years active 1987–present Children 3 Relatives Dalvin DeGrate (brother), Derek DeGrate (brother) Musical career Origin Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. Genres R&B hip hop soul new jack swing Instruments keyboards, piano, guitar Labels Uptown MCA Formerly of Jodeci Swing Mob Musical artist

**Donald Earle DeGrate Jr.** (born September 29, 1969), better known by his stage name **DeVanté Swing**, is an American record producer, singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known as the main songwriter and producer of the [R&B](/source/Contemporary_R%26B) group [Jodeci](/source/Jodeci), which includes his younger brother [Dalvin “Mr. Dalvin” DeGrate](/source/Dalvin_DeGrate).[1] DeVante Swing also created [Swing Mob](/source/Swing_Mob), which consisted of various artists he discovered and mentored, such as [Missy Elliott](/source/Missy_Elliott), [Timbaland](/source/Timbaland), [Magoo](/source/Magoo_(rapper)), [Ginuwine](/source/Ginuwine), [Static Major](/source/Static_Major) with [Playa](/source/Playa_(band)), [Darryl Pearson](/source/Darryl_Pearson), [Tweet](/source/Tweet_(singer)), [Jimmy Douglass](/source/Jimmy_Douglass), [Stevie J](/source/Stevie_J), and [Chad "Dr. Ceuss" Elliott](/source/Chad_Elliott) among others.

## Career

At age 16, DeVanté Swing traveled to [Minneapolis](/source/Minneapolis), hoping to visit [Paisley Park](/source/Paisley_Park) in order to audition for [Prince](/source/Prince_(musician)).[2][3] Swing would later say, "I was up at Paisley Park every day begging for a job, asking people to listen to my tape. The receptionist kept saying she couldn't help me".[4] The rejection motivated Swing to relocate back to North Carolina, and work to improve his songwriting and production skills.[5]

In his early career, Swing served as a mix engineer, while simultaneously producing for other acts. He mixed and engineered Hi-Five's 1990 single "I Just Can't Handle It", along with its accompanying remixes. Swing rose to prominence in the 1990s as the founding member of the [R&B](/source/Contemporary_R%26B) group [Jodeci](/source/Jodeci), which he formed with his younger brother [Dalvin DeGrate](/source/Dalvin_DeGrate), and singers [Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey](/source/K-Ci_%26_JoJo), and [Joel "JoJo" Hailey](/source/K-Ci_%26_JoJo).[6] Swing served as the group's leader, and primary songwriter and producer.

Swing founded the musical collective [Swing Mob](/source/Swing_Mob) in 1991, which was joined by then-unknown regional acts including [Timbaland & Magoo](/source/Timbaland_%26_Magoo), [Tweet](/source/Tweet_(singer)), [Missy Elliott](/source/Missy_Elliott),[7] [Ginuwine](/source/Ginuwine), [Stevie J](/source/Stevie_J) and [Static Major](/source/Static_Major). He is also credited as a video director for Jodeci, co-directing the videos for "[Feenin'](/source/Feenin')" with [Hype Williams](/source/Hype_Williams) and "[Freek'n You](/source/Freek'n_You)" with [Brett Ratner](/source/Brett_Ratner). Swing has also mentored Florida-based rapper [Flo Rida](/source/Flo_Rida)[8] in the early stages of his career.

## Discography

Main article: [DeVante Swing production discography](/source/DeVante_Swing_production_discography)

Main article: [Jodeci discography](/source/Jodeci_discography)

- *[Forever My Lady](/source/Forever_My_Lady)* (1991)

- *[Diary of a Mad Band](/source/Diary_of_a_Mad_Band)* (1993)

- *[The Show, the After Party, the Hotel](/source/The_Show%2C_the_After_Party%2C_the_Hotel)* (1995)

- *[The Past, the Present, the Future](/source/The_Past%2C_the_Present%2C_the_Future_(Jodeci_album))* (2015)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-AMGS_1-0)** Bogdanov, Vladimir (2003). [*All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul*](https://books.google.com/books?id=o552g5xRRiwC&dq=DeVante+Swing&pg=PA368). Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 368. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780879307448](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780879307448). Retrieved November 15, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Bogdanov, Val (2003). [*All Music Guide to Soul*](https://books.google.com/books?id=o552g5xRRiwC&q=DeVante+ran+away). Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 368. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-87930-744-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-87930-744-8). Retrieved March 2, 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["About jodeci"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150304134454/http://www.mtv.com/artists/jodeci/biography/). *mtv.com*. Archived from [the original](http://www.mtv.com/artists/jodeci/biography/) on March 4, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** S, Danyel (August 1, 1995). ["Tuff love"](https://books.google.com/books?id=YCwEAAAAMBAJ&q=Little+Cedric+and+the+Hailey+Singers&pg=PA67). *Vibe magazine*. Retrieved March 2, 2015 – via Google Books. I was up at Paisly Park...[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Smith, D. (Aug 1995). ["Tuff love"](https://books.google.com/books?id=YCwEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22prince%22+%22jodeci%22&pg=PA67). *books.google.com/*. Vibe Media Group. Retrieved March 2, 2015. ...So I took my ass...[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Hill, Tanaja (July 3, 2016). ["Will There Be A Jodeci Biopic?"](https://thesource.com/2016/07/03/will-there-be-a-jodeci-biopic/). *The Source*. Retrieved November 16, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Bezdecheck, Bethany (15 January 2009). [*Missy Elliott*](https://books.google.com/books?id=cTGDDwAAQBAJ). The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. p. 14. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781435857131](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781435857131). Retrieved November 15, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Billboard_8-0)** Concepcion, Mariel. ["Flo Rida"](https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1047198/flo-rida). *Billboard*. Retrieved 25 April 2016.

## External links

- [Devante Swing Interview with Sterlen Roberts](https://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/sterlenroberts/)

- James T. Jones IV (March 10, 1992). ["Jodeci throws its voice into the doo-wop"](https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/56192845.html?dids=56192845:56192845&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+10%2C+1992&author=James+T.+Jones+IV&pub=USA+TODAY+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Jodeci+throws+its+voice+into+the+doo-wop+battle&pqatl=google) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20121106121335/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/56192845.html?dids=56192845:56192845&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+10,+1992&author=James+T.+Jones+IV&pub=USA+TODAY+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Jodeci+throws+its+voice+into+the+doo-wop+battle&pqatl=google) 2012-11-06 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine). *[USA Today](/source/USA_Today)*, p. 4D

- [DeVante Swing biography](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p129974) at [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic_(identifier))

v t e Jodeci DeVante Swing JoJo K-Ci Mr. Dalvin Studio albums Forever My Lady Diary of a Mad Band The Show, the After Party, the Hotel The Past, the Present, the Future Compilation albums Back to the Future: The Very Best of Jodeci Singles "Gotta Love" "Forever My Lady" "Stay" "Come and Talk to Me" "I'm Still Waiting" "Let's Go Through the Motions" "Lately" "Cry for You" "Feenin'" "What About Us" "Freek'n You" "Love U 4 Life" "Get On Up" Featured artist "Treat Them Like They Want to Be Treated" "Lisa Baby" Related articles Discography Swing Mob

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