Deshawn White

Deshawn White
Born	July 3, 1986 Johnson City, Tennessee
Nationality	American
Occupation	Artist American rapper

Deshawn White (born July 3, 1986) is an American rapper from Johnson City, Tennessee. He has released three albums, an EP, and several singles since 2007.

Early Life

Deshawn was born McArthur Deshawn White, he was born and raised in Johnson City, Tennessee, he loved a wide range of music at a young age. He listened to everything from Linkin Park to 2 Pac.

However, it was when he heard the late rapper DMX that his world changed. It was the raw, aggressive sound that voiced some of the pain he was dealing with internally. Growing up in Carver projects was difficult, but music became an escape for him.

Career

Seven years after he recorded his first song on a karaoke machine, Deshawn started gaining recognition in the music industry. In 2007 his single, "Drop It To The Ground," hit a local radio station and spread across the region. After this release, he went on to release his first studio album, "My Story." The second single from this project, "East Tennessee," quickly became a significant success across East Tennessee.

On November 29th, 2007, Rapper Bryan "Birdman" Williams was among 16 people pulled over in Kingsport, Tennessee (15 miles from White's hometown) and charged with possession of marijuana. It was unfortunate for Bryan Williams. However, through a chain of events, Full Grind, White's former production team, was able to show Bryan and his team around the area while they awaited their hearing.

This forged a relationship that allowed Deshawn to travel behind the scenes with Cash Money Records. While touring with Cash Money Records, he released a mixtape called "ET Phone Home" in 2010. The mixtape included a song called "What Up" that featured Memphis rapper, Yo Gotti. It was produced by Hot Rod, another Memphis native.

Later that year, he left the music industry to "find himself." While on Lil Wayne's "Americas Most Wanted" tour, he had an encounter that he described as "a God moment." He moved back to his hometown and went on a spiritual journey studying Islam and Christianity.

In 2011 he released his first Christian single, "Hold On." He didn't release another body of work until 2015 when he released his first full-length Christian album, "Before The Ceiling Falls."

In 2018 he launched 323 Records and started carving out his own lane by creating an inspirational style of music with a mainstream flare. He released singles "Dance Party" and "Power Trippin," which gained national and international attention by charting at #84 on the Digital Radio Tracker top 150 independent airplay chart.

In May of 2019, he released a politically driven EP titled "Power Trip. The EP featured "Dance Party" and his chart-topping single "Power Trippin." However, it was an unexpected track on the EP "Blood In The Water" that took his popularity to the next level a year after the original release.

The track had over 2,000,000 Spotify steams and was growing at a rapid pace. However, the track along with the "Power Trip" EP later halted due to a sample that was unknowingly not cleared. "Blood in the Water" was later reproduced and re-released, but it didn't find traction like the previous version of the song. As of now, he has yet to re-release "Power Trip."

Following "Power Trip," in March of 2020, he released an R&B/Hip-hop Ep titled "Good Thing." This work found a home on the iTunes R&B music charts debuting at #8. With the R&B EP being a significant shift from the rapper's comfort zone, he quickly followed that release with a hard-hitting single titled "Trayvon," a song that addresses social justice. He also released "Sauce Inme," an upbeat track "featuring Grammy and BMI award-winning songwriter and producer Kia Shine. While working on his full-length album, on November 5th, 2021, he released a tribute song for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Personal Life

He began his music career writing music for mass audiences, but later became a pastor and shifted his music to Christian audiences. By 2017, White had a family of his own and moved from Johnson City, Tennessee, to Umatilla, Florida to pastor at Victory Church. White made the local news for being the first African-American pastor at the church. He stayed less than a year and moved back home to Tennessee to promote racial reconciliation in his old home with a team of pastors, law enforcement officers, and other leaders.