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MALE SPEAKER: Ladies and gentlemen, I want to bring up
a good friend of mine.
He's going to perform for you guys and just amaze you like
he amazes me.
Ladies and gentlemen, Darien.
[APPLAUSE]
[MUSIC - DARIEN, "COMPOSURE"]
DARIEN DEAN: How y'all doing?
How y'all doing?
Let's not get it twisted.
He's talking $30,000?
Talking about $10 to buy a CD when I got $30,000?
Boy, you better listen.
Let's start this off, though.
Listen.
Hey.
[MUSIC - DARIEN, "COMPOSURE"]
DARIEN DEAN: We're going to get to know each other
tonight, y'all.
We're going to get to vibe, get to groove.
Short time, but we are going to get to know each other.
You all are going to know me as not the dude with the
$30,000, but the dude who was trying to bring y'all a little
bit of independent soul music.
You know what I'm saying?
So we're going to do it as little stuff like that.
[MUSIC - DARIEN, "COMPOSURE"]
[APPLAUSE]
DARIEN DEAN: Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, y'all.
So my name is Darien Dean.
I'm very, very excited to be here.
I don't know how many of y'all have actually been in the
Google building before, but it's a
pretty exciting building.
Ryan took me on a tour here a while back, and it's
incredible.
I mean, they have like a petting zoo, I
think, in the west wing.
And they paint your face in the bathroom.
It's bananas.
Seriously, like it's crazy.
You got to get a tour of this place.
It's real serious.
So, you know.
But no, real talk.
I'm very, very happy to be here today.
I'm very happy to be here during Black History
Month, to be real.
You know what I mean?
Especially as an independent artist that really--
I'm into message music.
So having a month where I can really listen to some
messages, not everybody is always open to those.
So this is a good time for that.
But speaking of messages, we're going to get on to our
second message of the evening from myself right now.
[MUSIC - DARIEN, "YOU"]
[APPLAUSE]
DARIEN DEAN: Thank you.
Thank you, y'all.
Thank you.
[MUSIC - DARIEN, "LOVE REVOLUTION"]
DARIEN DEAN: I like the groove.
Let it run some more.
[MUSIC - DARIEN, "LOVE REVOLUTION"]
DARIEN DEAN: Yeah.
You know what?
I need more space, a little more.
OK.
Talk to y'all.
Listen.
[MUSIC - DARIEN, "LOVE REVOLUTION"]
DARIEN DEAN: Stop it.
No, wait.
No.
TIFFANY T'ZELLE: You're not feeling it, right?
DARIEN DEAN: My thing is, if it was [INAUDIBLE] day, that
level of enthusiasm would have been fine.
But this is Black History Month.
TIFFANY T'ZELLE: That's right.
DARIEN DEAN: So the sign is-- you're right.
The sign is right there.
So I got to be real.
I got to be real.
I wasn't feeling that.
TIFFANY T'ZELLE: Me either.
DARIEN DEAN: The energy was 63.
TIFFANY T'ZELLE: Not even.
DARIEN DEAN: It was 44, about 44.
So we're going to have to get that other-- let me do the
math real--
56%.
That it.
Going to have to get the other 56 from y'all.
But it could be that the problem is me and my delivery
and the way we're doing this.
Or probably maybe y'all, too.
I mean, I'm not trying to point fingers.
I'm not even.
So let's try this again, shall we?
But let's try it again.
Let's just get it started.
[MUSIC - DARIEN, "LOVE REVOLUTION"]
DARIEN DEAN: So maybe if I give y'all the message
differently first and then we try, can that work possibly?
OK.
Maybe.
OK.
I'm not sure everybody's-- some of y'all look confused.
All right, we'll try it.
OK, listen.
Hey.
[MUSIC - DARIEN, "LOVE REVOLUTION"]
DARIEN DEAN: That's how you do a revolution.
So next time don't get caught out there with your 44%.
You got to come straight with the 100.
You might only get one shot.
My name is Darien Dean.
I want to thank y'all.
I want to thank all of y'all for participation and for
giving me a moment to get up here and do what I do.
I want to thank this incredible band, Tiffany
T'zelle, Les Cleveland, Andrew, Eli, they
just killing it.
Thank yourselves once again.
Be blessed.
Darien.
[MUSIC - DARIEN, "LOVE REVOLUTION"]
RYAN LOREN: Tell us about yourself, where you come from,
your heritage, and what Black History Month means to you.
Because this is a celebration of Black History Month.
DARIEN DEAN: Absolutely.
Well, my name's Darien Dean.
I'm an independent soul artist out of Mount Vernon, New York.
It's a great time to be an independent artist, especially
one who has message-driven music.
And during Black History Month I have an opportunity to
really, really showcase some of the message music that I'm
putting forth.
So right now I'm in the process of working on a new
record, "Notes From the Journey," but my previous
record, "If These Walls Could Talk," had a song called "Love
Revolution." And I was able to really tour with that song and
move throughout the country with it really, and really not
just have it be a month, but have it be something that is a
lasting effect and goes wherever I go.
So it's nice to have the month to focus, but for me it's kind
of like a constant journey.
RYAN LOREN: Great.
That's good to hear.
And what's the new album going to be called?
DARIEN DEAN: "Notes From the Journey."
RYAN LOREN: "Notes From the Journey."
DARIEN DEAN: Indeed.
RYAN LOREN: Cool.
All right.
You've been on the indie scene.
I wanted to ask you what is it that you think-- there's so
many talented people in New York and overall.
What separates those who have the talent, but those who get
more exposure, those who are more successful?
What's going on out there?
Like what separates the good from the better?
DARIEN DEAN: It's crazy, because there
are a lot of talented--
I mean, I see you on a regular-- we're out and on the
scene and seeing the talent that's out there.
So it's not necessarily like something that's split via the
talent at this point.
I mean, there's a lot of political stuff going on in
all areas of music, not just independent music.
I think the artists that hustle the most-- and by that,
I mean they're consistent and they're working and putting
out the best product that they can--
eventually do get a bit of a foothold and move forward.
But I think we're still at a space where we do need some
taste makers with a little bit more power to step up and make
some moves for these artists.
Because I always say, if I've got to step out of the
kitchen, I can't cook.
And that becomes part of the issue in being an independent
artist, is that you have to juggle so many things, be good
at your craft, but at the same time go out there
now, do this hustle.
And there's a myriad of musicians at this point, and
that actually makes it difficult as well,
RYAN LOREN: Definitely, definitely.
So can you describe your music for those who might not know
about you that are going to be watching,
and are here tonight?
DARIEN DEAN: Indeed.
Well I mean, my music is an amalgamation of all the things
that I've come across.
I mean, I started off as a dancer.
I was a choreographer, and I was deep into hip-hop.
So definitely have those hip-hop roots that
are infused in there.
I've been traveling.
The musicians that I play with, they range from church
musicians to jazz musicians, so they add their flavor.
But at the end of the day, the kind of music
that I write is--
I'm really into the craft of songwriting.
So I try to present stories.
Hence the titles, "If These Walls Could Talk," "Notes From
the Journey." Most of my songs are stories about life that
I've either come into contact with people and had
discussions, or my own life.
So that's pretty much the range.
But again, infused with a bit of hip-hop and a bit of jazz
and fusion kind of thing.
RYAN LOREN: Cool.
Yeah, and I think when I first heard your album title for the
first one, it actually evokes an image in my head.
DARIEN DEAN: It's a visual for sure.
RYAN LOREN: And I think it's really cool that that's how
you approach things.
DARIEN DEAN: Absolutely.
RYAN LOREN: So we're at Google, so I'd like you to
talk a little bit about technology.
I know you're a techie.
DARIEN DEAN: Oh, you know I'm a techie.
I'm into this.
This is my thing.
I mean, technology has been really helpful in my journey.
And I didn't get into it after the fact.
I had always been.
But it just helps so much in what we do.
As an independent musician, you're always fighting a
budget battle.
It's always a budget thing.
So the more that you're able to do on your own, the better
it is for your pocket.
And so in doing things like mixing the album, I have my
own setup, and we do that kind of thing at the house.
For instance with Google tools, like some of the things
that I do, there was a point where I was writing songs on
random pieces of paper everywhere, and I just could
never find them and piece them together.
And even later on, I got into something where I was writing
songs on my laptop, but I might not have it with me, so
now I'm doing something here or there.
But one of the things that I use now is Google Drive, and I
actually write songs, and I'm able to get into the cloud and
basically add to them from wherever I am, my phone, my
iPad, whatever.
So those are the kind of things that help
me get things done.
I find myself writing faster, and I find myself getting my
ideas out more clearly because I'm not looking for this scrap
and going, I know there's a good scrap here somewhere.
That's where I'm at sometimes with this.
So it's been really helpful, absolutely.
RYAN LOREN: Yeah.
Yeah.
And I know as a songwriter, you never know when you're
going to get that idea.
DARIEN DEAN: You never know.
RYAN LOREN: So if you have the phone and it all syncs, then
it works out really well.
DARIEN DEAN: Absolutely.
RYAN LOREN: Cool, I'm glad to hear it.
Cool.
So, I just wanted to thank you again for being here.
You have the album coming out.
When should we expect that?
DARIEN DEAN: As an independent artist, I don't
have the exact date.
That's how it goes.
But I will say I'm really, really amped
about the new project.
I have some incredible people working on it with me.
And I've been able to, I feel, really build off the last
record and build my skill set even.
And so I can't wait to present it.
I'm really excited about that.
RYAN LOREN: Great.
Well, we're really excited to have you here, and can't wait
for the performance.
And I wish you all the best.
And thanks for your honest music.
DARIEN DEAN: Thank you once again, man.
RYAN LOREN: All right, man.
DARIEN DEAN: All right, that's cool.