Written by: Oliver Heffron

Deante' Hitchcock is playing with house money. Following the release of his critically acclaimed debut double album, Better, and an impressive concert album, Deante' Hitchcock: Live from Quarantine, Hitchcock has been elevated to the center of the South's lyrical renaissance, drawing comparisons to legendary southern M.C.s like J. Cole and T.I.. Sitting down with The Nuance for an interview, Deante' shares his grounded perspective and passion for music which helps him just be happy to pay the bills with the art that he loves: "I get to wake up and pay my bills on some creative shit. So even if the album didn't do anything but pay for those bills, that's something a lot of people can't say."

Deante' Hitchcock's journey started with a decision to drop out of college and commit to making music full-time. Hitchcock soon found success and a fanbase with his weekly "New Atlanta Tuesday" freestyle series, grabbing the attention of prominent artists like Wale. This paved the way to Deante's first official mixtape, Good, released on streaming services and serving as the first installment of the trilogy: Good, Better, and Best. Deante' is committed to his fans, dropping multiple E.P.'s and live projects between more extensive projects, including Thank You For Your Patience, an appreciation for the fans patiently waiting for his debut album as it went through sample clearances.

Commitment is a consistent theme in Deante' story, as one of the salient moments on his journey to musical success, which he returns to regularly, is the conversation he had with his Mom when she finally understood his artistic aspirations and decided to support his decision to leave college to pursue his dreams when he communicated just how determined he was to make what seemed unrealistic a reality: "I had a convo with my Mom right when I was going through dropping out of school, a real heated conversation, and I ended up asking her one question: 'Did you do the thing you wanted to do as a child? Your dream? Did you do it? Is this what you wanted to do?' She's a nurse right now. She looked at me and literally started crying. That was the start, that was the moment when she was like, 'Alright, I'm rocking with you, do your thing.'"

With those types of personal stakes dug into proving the validity of his artistry as a way of life and not just a dream, it's no wonder why Deante's musical success is bringing him so much internal contentment. Despite music's worldwide appeal and earth-shaking influence, it is ultimately a personal battle, one in which countless artists dream to one day make a living off their passion. Hitchcock never loses sight of those realities and the perspective that keeps him grounded: "That's why I say this shit is fun. This is what I wanted to do. I could be living in a box, and I'd still try to do this shit." While Deante' stays grounded in his success, he admits his Mom's apprehension has turned to proud jubilation she shares with the family: She's geeked. She loves that shit. Whole family for real."

While Deante's musical career, in its current form, started with that decision to drop out of school and move back home to make music, rapping stretches far back into his past. At twelve or thirteen, Deante' began spitting as one half of a group called Tiny Clique, which he formed with his friend. Deante's Uncle, a retired songwriter, best known for his credits on TLC's infamous hit "No Scrubs," helped Deante' with writing and the boys with production, guiding Hitchcock towards his passion for music: "From the start, my Uncle put me onto music. Music wasn't even something that I was really interested in on my own."

After the incredible support and push into music from his family and friends, it wasn't long before a young Hitchcock felt a desire to forge his own path and told his Uncle they were writing his own lyrics now and began to find his joy for writing and performing. Looking back, Deante' feels immense gratitude towards his Uncle for providing an ideal recording environment in his introduction to making music, setting the standards and practices, which he continues today: "When he started me off, I was always blessed to have people around like engineers and shit back at the time to record me." Nowadays, Deante' Hitchcock produces his own voice whenever he feels the creative impulse: "I learned how to record myself probably about four or five years ago. My producer now taught me because I wanted to be able to actually wake up and actually go down and put certain ideas down."

Deante Hitchcock grew up in Atlanta during the aughts listening to a "myriad" of different rap music, going to school during the era of Soulja Boy and Snap while picking up on classic southern hip-hop artists like Outkast and Kilo Ali that his parents played around the house. Despite his surroundings, Deante' broke regional bounds and listened religiously to artists like Jay-Z: "I was one of the only kids in my class listening to Jay-Z, kids in the south weren't fucking with Jay-Z like that at the time." Hitchcock's sound reflects a modernization of his influences, mixing skillful lyricism with emotional themes and polished contemporary Atlanta production: "I remember my favorite top three albums ever was: The Game's The Documentary, Frank Ocean's Nostalgia Ultra, and Kanye West's 808's & Heartbreaks, that's my favorite joints. They all play significant roles in my life."

Deante' Hitchcock doesn't have anything to prove. His standout appearance on Revenge of the Dreamers III symbolizes his place among the southern rap movement, as well as his tours and collaborations with other young standouts like 6lack and JID. Having achieved contentment and financial peace through his passion, Deante sometimes has a hard time pinning down exactly what drives him to get up early in the morning just to spit the rhymes in his head: "I honestly don't know. It's crazy too because I was asking myself this same question about two weeks ago, like, 'Why the fuck do I keep doing this?' I know the passion is there because I do keep at it--it's just something that keeps calling me back to it, that keeps making me want to do it. "

One possible aspect of Deante' Hitchcock's music that keeps him coming back is the emotional vulnerability of his lyrics and performances, finding the beat as the perfect place to verbalize the thoughts and emotions he usually keeps to himself: "There's a therapy to it for sure. I'm not the most talkative when it comes to personal situations. If I'm grieving or going through something, I like solace. I like sitting by myself. I'm kind of a recluse when it comes to times like that. So, I get to write those things out in my music." Eight years into a loving relationship, Deante' expresses the many phases and perspectives of that romantic partnership through his lyrics: "I've been through so many phases with shawty, I've seen her up, she's seen me up, I've seen her down, she's seen me down, I've seen her angry and going through loss, she's seen me angry and going through loss. We've seen so many different parts of each other that I had a lot of shit to talk about. At least 75% of the songs are about her."

Yes, Deante' Hitchcock is playing with house money right now. His heart, soul, and livelihood are fully immersed in music, and the way he is trending, it doesn’t seem like he needs to change anything. Nonetheless, he still wants to make time for the other passions in his life. He plans on soon crossing the street and taking his talents to the ice-rink next: "Bro, a lot of folks don't believe me when I say this shit: I legit want to ice-skate in my life." Learning to love the sport while visiting his family in Michigan during the summers, ice-skating is the perfect image to describe how Deante wields his grounded perspective to create uplifting music and remain content in a field where many are prone to slip and fall from the pressure. With Better in the books, we cannot wait for the trilogy's conclusion as Deante's Best is yet to come.