WHO'S THAT? De'Wayne
De’Wayne’s Lenny Kravitz co-sign is well-deserved. On his own, the rising rock star already sounds stadium-sized — but together, they make even the biggest stages feel small. “Highway Robbery,” their collaboration from De’Wayne’s 2025 album, June, is just a taste of his larger-than-life, theatrical take on rock music. Songs like “Forever” and “Lady Lady” exist in the lineage of Prince and David Bowie — equal parts glamour, grit and showmanship — while pushing the genre somewhere new.
While on tour with Machine Gun Kelly, we sat down for coffee during his New York stop to talk about love, growth and ayahuasca.
I’m gonna turn 30 in Paris with Lenny Kravitz soon, so I’m feeling like a baddie right now.
That’s amazing. Turning 30 in Paris with Lenny Kravitz is a dream. [Laughs] A very specific dream.
Very specific, but it’s right up my alley.
Are you a Gemini?
I’m a Cancer.
I’m a Gemini.
I love Geminis. Two people in my band are Geminis. My ex-girlfriend is a Gemini. I love you guys.
We’re crazy, allegedly.
You guys are passionate.
So you’re a Cancer. I don’t know anything about astrology signs, but I still like talking about it.
[Laughs]
Same. We’re just creative, extremely emotional and nurturing. That’s what I’m looking for: someone I can nurture and love on.
That sounds nice.
I’ve been meeting people lately and I’m like, Are you trying to get married? I guess I’m just trying to be more intentional.
Well, it’s also the stage we’re at in life. You have to be intentional about everything at this point.
Absolutely, that’s why coming to New York feels so emotional for me. I feel like things are finally going in the right direction. I struggled for so long trying to be a musician and things are finally opening up. I’ve been intentional for the last 10 years and now it finally feels like that work is being rewarded.
That’s the best feeling. The worst is working hard and feeling like it’s not resonating.
Absolutely, I’ve felt that for sure.
But I think that’s what your twenties are for. If success came too early, you might be a little lost now. You need that period of building things, trying things out, figuring out what works and what doesn’t. So when you get to this point, you have real clarity. You know who you are, what you’re good at and why it’s working.
Did you find success immediately?
I spent my twenties overseeing a really massive brand. Now, things feel like they’re falling into place — not in an institutional sense, but in a way that’s much more creatively fulfilling.
It’s balancing both when things are a little rocky. During my first seven years in LA, I worked all kinds of jobs — Taco Bell, pizza shops. My previous partner, who’s an incredible artist, used to come into the pizza place where I worked. I needed those years. They gave me such a great foundation.
Looking back, what shifted over the last year since releasing June? What made everything start to align?
I had no vision or direction earlier. I just wasn’t that good, if I can be honest with you. I was around so many friends and so many artists, and they would have a hit or a viral moment, and then I would be driving them to the studio and then going to work. It was seven years of seeing my friends go on and be successful, and I just wasn’t ready. I was never weird about it, I just was like, One day when it’s my time. But seeing my friends succeed gave me the willpower to be like, This is not my time yet. With June, it was my first time in the studio where I knew how I wanted everything to sound and look. It’s paying off. I think I just matured as an artist and a human.
I’m really working this record — the MGK tour is going great, and me and Lenny are best friends now. The past few years I’ve been calling his name out, He’s gonna love me when he finds me. And for him to find me and be like, I see what you’re doing. That’s what I was doing at your age. Let me help you. Especially being a Black rock artist, even though we’ve been here for a long time, I’ll play these MGK crowds and for the first few songs people are like, What is this? And I’m like, It’s rock. It’s sexy and strong and it’s weird for some people, but I feel like I finally found my voice over the past year compared to what I was doing earlier. I was just a kid from Houston and it wasn’t connecting. I didn’t know how to write a hook, I didn’t know how to sing properly. LA was my time of learning everything, so last year, when June came out, I finally put the pieces together.
But leading up to that, you were always like, I want to be an artist?
Absolutely, that’s why I came to LA. I just sucked for a long time. [Laughs]
I think we’re missing that.
We’re missing that.
There’s no longer any room to be bad at something, to experiment, to learn as you go. The expectation is that everything should be perfect right away. But that’s not fair — and it’s not how it works for anyone.
For anyone, bro. And getting on this tour now, we’re killing it, because I’ve played clubs since I was a teenager. No one knows who the fuck I am, but they’re like, You have headline energy. Because I started playing with rappers in Houston — hard, masculine men. Even my dad’s always been like, What’s your vibe? And I’m like, I don’t know. But it’s mine and that’s what I have to offer. It’s just making sense now. But I hope that people can fail. It’s good to fail, it teaches you so much. Because now when you get the wins, it’s like, This is a new thing because I’ve experienced failing so much. Now I’m prepared and I can rise to the occasion.
People want you to be perfect right away and they want you to make sense right away. They want to be able to point to a reference and say, I get it completely. But why would you want that?
It’s true, bro. I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining. With being a rock artist, I feel like they only have 10 people to compare us to. You’re either Prince or you’re Little Richard or you’re Lenny Kravitz or you’re Fats Domino or you’re Rick James. Of course, there’s Lenny, he is my hero. But it’s Prince and Little Richard. There’s some David Bowie in there and the Beatles are in there, too. We’re like a soup of all these things, but it’s nice to have people finally understand me. Because for so long, people couldn’t box it in. But then with me liking pop music, I know there’s a specialty of being able to be boxed in a little bit because then people can put you in a certain category to where they’ll give you money. That’s really what it’s about, because it’s going to these older white men at these labels and they’re just like, What the fuck is this? Now, I’m happy with my deal. For so long, they wouldn’t take any meetings with us because they were like, We can’t put you in a box. Even though that’s bullshit, that’s their problem. But it was becoming my problem. [Laughs]
Well, the reality is you need money to be an artist.
You need it. And I’m starting to understand that. When I talk to Lenny, he’s giving me so much game, and even him standing beside me now is really helping me out. Because I’m okay with it now when people are like, You remind me of Lenny. I’m like, Fuck yeah. We also have a song together, go listen to it.
It helps that he’s a legend.
An icon. I feel like a bad bitch, right now. Nobody can tell me anything.
Was there a song on June where you were like, Okay, this is exactly what I’m trying to do?
Absolutely, it’s a song called “Highway Robbery” that Lenny hopped on to remix. But when I made the original one, I was like, I’m in my pocket now. This is my bag. It’s rock, it’s funk, falsetto, I’m showing you the vocals and glitter. It’s like my perfect world of Bowie, Prince and Mr. Kravitz all the way. It’s the glitz, it’s the glamour. We’re talking about something important, we’re talking about love, which has a wide spectrum. We’ve been trying to figure it out for millions of years, I truly believe that. So I think that’s my perfect song. This is me. If you need to understand me more, here’s a song.
What I love about your music is how polished it is. There’s this huge, arena-ready quality to it.
I’ve got big dreams, thank you for saying that.
It feels like the songs are manifesting on your behalf.
That’s what I’m trying to get across. The Lenny tour in Europe will be in big arenas. We do “Highway Robbery” every night, I want it to feel big. Everyone’s making cool, indie music and I get it. But I want to a Black pop guy. Even at these tours, I have little white kids coming up and hugging me. I feel like I’m curing racism and living the dream. These young kids are hearing this music and seeing me play it, and I want it to feel big. I feel like there’s no more real superstars and I want to tap into that.
Especially men.
We’re so boring.
There are a lot of extremely famous, extremely boring men. We’re missing larger-than-life sex symbols.
When Lenny calls me on FaceTime, we compliment each other for the first 10 minutes. You look so good. No, you look so good. What is that chain? What is that shirt? Even though we’re homies now, when I see him I’m like, That’s a bad bitch. So I’m just trying to grab onto some of that. And it’s tough because everyone’s so cool now. I get it, but I want to touch some of that.
What do you think about the state of rock music? Do you think there’s a demand for it?
I think there’s a demand for it, I think it’s just very one-sided. Everyone in there looks and sounds the same. You can put all these guys on the same ticket and it will sell because people want to see what they’re used to. I’m a bit tired of that. You know, I love Yungblud. I think Yungblud is a sex icon, he’s a great artist and he’s killing it. He got a few Grammys this year and thousands of people go to his show. MGK is right there. I just want it to also look different and I think there’s a demand for it. I want there to be some balance and I think that’s where I come in. [Laughs] I’m friends with all those guys and I think rock ‘n’ roll is in a very good spot. I just want there to be some balance.
You’re also very different from other rock artists today.
Yungblud has more of a vintage style, a lot of Ozzy and a lot of Rolling Stones. And MGK, he can do anything. It’s really impressive. In his show, MGK comes in on a helicopter. That’s sick. [Laughs] I’m extremely inspired by both of those guys. I Dont Know How They Found Me, they’re an indie band out of Salt Lake City. The lead singer used to be in Panic! at the Disco, he’s tall and sexy. He’s great. Also, Ecca Vandal, she’s an Indian girl from Australia who’s a fucking rock star. She’s great, I met her a few weeks ago and she’s bringing something new.
I think I live in a bubble of what I think is relevant and cool, and then I look at the Billboard Hot 100 and I’m like, Wait, this is what’s going on? [Laughs]
Bro, it’s crazy out here. But I think it’s starting to shift a little bit. Even with Ecca Vandal, she was just opening up for Deftones. We’re starting to get better and have bigger opportunities to play these stadium tours. Ecca’s a Brown girl, of course I look the way that I look. That’s why rock can feel so stale, right now. You look on IG and it’s just some guy with his guitar, riding in a car. He don’t got no cool clothes on, I don’t want to look at him.
Going back to what we said earlier about superstars, that’s an important piece.
When I perform, if the kids are shocked, at least I’m keeping them engaged. I’m making them think, I didn’t know I could feel that way.
When people have that immediate reaction to someone, if you really unpack it, it’s usually either jealousy or excitement. It’s I want that or I want to do that. I don’t actually think people look at someone they don’t understand and think, I hate that person. It’s more like, Wait, something’s happening here.
And that’s what I’ve been learning at these shows too. The people in the front are into it, but I can’t see everyone else because there’s usually a big lawn. Then, I walk around and watch a show, and people are just like, My friend wasn’t dancing, but I was freaking out and I didn’t want to be the only one with that energy. Most of these people that I see in the shows are so sweet, but they’re just nervous. I think we’re all a little anxious these days, so they’re just like, You be dancing up there all free. I don’t really dance that much, but I wanted to. And also, take this selfie, you know? We’re converting people.
Are these the biggest crowds that you’ve played for?
Absolutely.
What is it like preparing for that?
I was so in my ego, because before we were rehearsing we’d only done club tours. I was like, Of course, I’m gonna be able to do the same thing I did in a 200-cap venue for 15,000 people. Not true. You have to perform big and engage with people. MGK, the first day he called me into his room and was like, Yo, I know you saw me in arenas a few years ago. These crowds are different. You have to really engage with them. They don’t want to feel like you’re stunting on them. They want to feel like they are you. This is a bit difficult for me, because I don’t look like them. He gave me a really beautiful thing, he was like, Just make sure you touch them with what you do. So we had prepared really well, but we had to make some adjustments. It’s different playing from 200 people to 15,000 people, because the people on the lawn can’t see you and the people up close don’t know you. How do you make an impact every song? That’s something we’ve been learning every song and every show.
I guess you can’t really prepare for it. You’re learning in real time. And you’re learning in real time in front of a huge audience.
But it’s such a blessing. The last two shows have been fucking awesome. The first three, they were good, but I’ve never thought so much on stage. Every song, I’m like, Go here, go here, stay in the middle. Maybe don’t dance, maybe don’t hump the ground, De’Wayne. [Laughs] It’s all of that, but it’s making me really good at performing and preparing for hopefully headlining these one day. But yeah, we’re learning on the fly.
When you look back at June, a year later, what do you think it says about you now with some distance?
I think it says I’m just a big lover, and that it’s all about love.
It is.
I haven’t really changed much, to be honest. I’m looking for that still, but I think it shows who I am and shows how important music is to me and shows really how important love is. That’s something I’m trying to offer to people and show them how beautiful it can be when you find someone that impacts you and stops you in your tracks. And I never want to let that part go. If anything, I want to open it wider. So I’m super proud of it and everything I’m saying on it. I stand 10 toes on that. [Laughs]
Were you writing about the same experience?
Yeah, pretty much. The person is a really incredible artist, so I didn’t want to call the album her name. But we do medicine together, like ayahuasca and cactus, which is like peyote.
Wow, I need to do that.
It’s incredible. I’ve never done therapy in my life. I would love to, I haven’t got to it. And that was kind of like my form of therapy. This beautiful goddess just kept coming to me. I always thought she was this spiritual, flying, witchy lady, which I’m obsessed with, and I just wanted to dedicate my music and my life to that, because I’ve had so many women come in my life — my mom, my grandmothers, my aunties — I’ve always had a bit of a feminine energy. I don’t think there are many things more important to me than giving praise and love to the women that you come from. I’m super down to dedicate my life to that. I’ll probably do 10 more albums about love, because you can’t figure it out.
I certainly can’t.
Bro, I can’t either. [Laughs]
Tell me more about ayahuasca.
The past three years, we’ve done it about three times a year.
Three times a year? Isn’t that intense?
Extremely intense, yeah.
How was the first time you did it?
My best friend had been doing it since she was a kid. She comes from a very spiritual family, a beautiful, big family. When they asked me, I was really scared, but it was really safe. You’re all together with people that you love and you just go on your journey. It shows you all your fears, all your coping mechanisms, all the things you never said to your mom or dad, things they said to you. All of it comes up to show you why you’re exactly the way you are. And then it’s like, What do you want to do about it? Do you want to fix it? Stay the same? I think we’re always trying to grow, but this shows you why you are the way you are and it’s right there for you.
Do you think you’re a loyal person?
Extremely. To a fault, sometimes.
I’m the same way. It’s a good quality, but it can be bad.
It can be bad, bro. Like, You’re hurting me, but I think I’m supposed to stay here? I’m working on that, man. Even since leaving on tour, I feel like I’m growing up. I’m discovering so many things. Yeah, writing a lot, diarying a lot, calling my mom. I hope one day to be a dad and do all those things, so it’s weird for me to be like, This is your time to work and do your life. This is everything you’ve dreamed of. That was really tough for me the first few days of the tour.
Being separated from the close people you love?
Absolutely, yeah, because it’s lonely out here, and then you do stupid shit when you feel lonely. So I’m trying to keep it together. [Laughs]
Are you writing music on the road? Or at least thinking about music?
Yeah, I’m thinking about it, for sure. I have about four or five demos that I really love. I wrote two new songs so far, but I think I’m gonna wait until we get to Europe to record. It’s really nice to get out and find some new inspiration and write about shit, but it’ll probably be about the same–
The same stuff, love. [Laughs] Consistently–
Seeking love and trying to figure out companionship. [Laughs] I can feel the energy shifting in my life, which is cool, but I don’t want to abuse that.
You have to allow yourself to grow and change, and step into the new version of yourself. Because we’re constantly becoming new versions of ourselves and the worst thing you can do is stay back, stay the same.
I don’t want to do that. At this moment, I’m going towards that thing.
I read something today about how true freedom is breaking away from what you think people’s expectations of you are. And I feel that. You build this idea of who you are, and then suddenly you’re trapped inside it. Anytime you want to do something different, you’re like, Well, that’s not me. That’s not my brand. That’s not how people see me. But that’s such a limiting way to live.
I’ve been caught up in that, for sure.
When you’re playing these shows, what are you learning about your music? I imagine being an opener is a really interesting position because you’re getting people’s immediate reaction before they know who you are. Do you find yourself learning a lot about the songs by watching how people respond to them?
I’ve been learning that it’s good, if I can say that. I think I’m learning more about the perception or image I’m displaying. I’m starting to pay attention to little details. Like, the past two shows to my guitarist I’m like, You need a scarf, you need flare pants. The music is fucking good, but we need to now present it in the right way. Everything needs to be on lock. The torch is being passed to us. Lenny’s like, Here’s a tour. MGK has been so sweet. So we need to present like we’re already stars. The show is good, but you’ve also got to look like a baddie.
It’s a show, you’re building a whole world around you.
It’s a show. When I go to these pop shows, everyone’s hitting their moves, everyone’s swinging their guitars.
MGK is coming in on a helicopter. What would you come in on when the budgets are there?
I might just slide down a Black woman’s leg, like it’s a pole. [Laughs]
That’s really good.
That’s off the top.
I love the June album art, you’re perfectly framed in between her legs.
My mom was like, What’re you doing? [Laughs]
Are you a big Prince fan?
I’m a really big Prince fan. We just did a really big tribute with Sheila E. and his band, it was the 10 years of his passing. We’re under the lineage that he’s left for us, which we’re thriving off. Me, all the Black kids out here, everyone. He was the coolest.
I love him, I’m constantly discovering new music. His discography seems endless.
He shows you there are levels. I have friends like that, who’re always creating. I feel like, if I made a song a day, there’d be so many bad songs. I really admire that about him, but he could also play everything.
You mentioned you have four or five demos. So are you more focused? Like, These are the only ideas I feel good about, rather than making tons of song ideas.
I’m more specific. I like to create in buckets. Those four, I created for a month. I don’t like making music every day. I like writing every day, but making a song is such a feat and I want to be present for it.
If you’re writing every day, do you come back to these ideas?
Oh, absolutely.
So you’re collecting ideas over time and eventually sitting down?
That is me, for sure. I’m into taglines, like “Highway Robbery.” It’s the old man in me.
Well, really smart concepts are the hardest to come up with.
The songs are cool, but I want the concepts to be solid. I’ve been writing a few down like, These are cool. I can work on this.
What’s the last thing you do before you get on stage?
I’ve been yelling lately before I go on stage, honestly. I do warm ups before to get my vocals ready, but I always yell one more time to get the nerves out. Everyone else around me is like, This again? [Laughs] But it really helps me, man. It’s nerve-racking to go out in front of thousands of people. But I have the longest walk to the stage, I do this slutty walk. The kids are like, We don’t even know you, why are you walking like that? It’s great.
You need a slutty walk.
I love a slutty walk, I really do.
What’s the first thing you do when you get off stage?
A bit more yelling. I usually go to the sprinter van by myself and I’m like, That was fucked up, you made a few mistakes. You have to decompress. We hit it and then my band is unpacking, so I don’t see them for another 10 minutes. So I’m just waiting for them and I have to sit with myself. I’m like, That part was good, she was looking at you a little weird, how do you feel about that? Where’s my mom? [Laughs] It’s good to do those things.
I’d imagine you need to settle your mind and body down.
100% and then I’m like, Why did you choose to do this with your life? [Laughs]
Where does the theatrical quality come from?
I feel like you see me. Church, to be honest. I grew up in church and I used to back my mom up, me and all my siblings. She’s a really great singer. You perform in a choir and do all your moves, but the pastors were the best performers I’d ever seen. I think Jesus is super cool, I fuck with the homie, but I love the way that they can work a crowd and walk down the aisle. As a kid, I was so enamored with that and I use the same thing now. By the end of our set, I’m like, Put your hands up, like a pastor. That’s really where the theater comes from. I did theater in high school, too, but the pastors I saw when I was a kid were the most theatrical. And the way they’d talk about this guy that rose up on the third day, I just found it fascinating. I do the same thing, it’s like a rock ‘n’ roll church during my set.
The church really is so dramatic. Pastors are pop stars.
They are performers and they’ve been doing it for so long. As a kid I’d see that and be like, They get the people going, and they would get me going. I was like, I want to do that. I want to get people excited.
Also, to get people to believe in what you’re saying and want to come back next week.
We’re trying to sell merch, I’m trying to sell myself. That’s what MGK always told me, People want to look at you, you’re a star. Work that shit. They have to be moved by you.
At my church growing up, I once came out of a giant smoking Bible wearing a Christian Dior women’s blouse with a Britney mic. We were doing a musical, it was iconic. I was like, All that for church? This is the most dramatic, flamboyant thing.
Coming out of a smoking Bible is wild. So sick, bro.
Something to consider for your show. [Laughs]
I fuck with that.
Interview & Photos: Justin Moran
Art Direction & Design: Zach Pacheco