DeVante Swing
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DeVante Swing (born Donald Earle DeGrate, Jr, on 24 September 1969, in Hampton, Virginia), is an African American record producer, songwriter, and singer. One-quarter of the R&B chart-topping group Jodeci, Devante Swing served as the group's leader, and main songwriter and producer. He is the older brother of Dalvin DeGrate
DeVante was born Donald Earle DeGrate, Jr. to Donald DeGrate, Sr. and Mary DeGrate. His father was a pastor so he grew up in a very religious background. At the age of 16, Devante went to Minneapolis to join Prince's organization but was turned down. He went back to Charlotte to work on his production skills. Meanwhile, he recorded some songs with K-Ci and JoJo Hailey. They ended up with 29 demo tapes, and sent them to various labels. Soon, one of the tapes landed in the hands of Heavy D and Uptown Records CEO Andre Harrell. They both loved it, and signed Jodeci immediately.
Devante Swing produced nearly all of the tracks on all three Jodeci albums, and also did outside production work for artists such as Tupac Shakur. In 1992, DeVante founded the Swing Mob, a collective of touring musicians and upcoming musicians who were signed to his Swing Mob imprint with Elektra Records. Among its members were future stars Ginuwine, Magoo, Tweet, Playa, and Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, many of whom did work on various Jodeci recordings. Another Swing Mob member, Elliott's friend Tim "Timbaland" Mosley, was trained by DeVante as a production apprentice. After Swing Mob folded, Elliott and Mosley would become one of the most successful songwriting/production teams of the late 1990s.
