Building something from the ground up is hard. What may be even harder, is building your own path after people have come to know you for something they completely associate you with. The transition isn’t easy, but it is possible. Singer Dante Bowe is on that journey, creating a lane in R&B music. If you’re new to him, it’s a pleasure to have you join in and experience his talent. If you’ve experienced another version of the journey, embrace the potential for a shift, and hopefully you’ll continue on the ride for what’s next. Our Dante Bowe interview is just a taste of the roads traveled and what’s to come.
Dante Bowe is an amazingly talented artist!
He’s proven time and time again throughout his musical career what he is capable of vocally and with a pen. He’s a Grammy Award winning, Dove Award winning, 2023 BMI songwriter of the year! And oh, yes, he was also a founding member of popular Gospel collective, Maverick City.
Before we get there, you have to understand where this journey all started.
Dante Bowe is a country boy, born and raised in Rockingham, North Carolina, where he discovered his different genres of music. With his mother representing the modern R&B, his father more into Hip-Hop and his grandparents in their Christian bag, Dante was blessed to understand the differences and intricacies between all genres of music. Dante invested his time into singing in the choir at his grandparents church until he was about 17 years old, then by 18 he was recording his own Christian music.
He took his talent and embodied artists such as Mary Mary and Tye Tribbett, while also discovering the Usher, Aretha Franklin and James Brown in him. He used his opportunities and connections to fund his 2017 album, Son of a Father, which reached number 21 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart. An amazing entry for Dante, despite him doing it independently.
From there, Dante started collaborating with friends who also were creating similar music, on similar paths. It started as a means to get their songwriting out there to have other artists sing the songs, but instead they recorded the songs on their own. They became known collectively as Maverick City Music in 2019. Part of what made (and makes) the collective special is that they are all individually talented so they can branch off and work on their own projects and write songs with and for other artists, but then come back to the group when the time is right to make and release new music. As a member of Maverick City Music, Dante was featured on a number of albums from 2019 to 2022, with varying degrees of success, and a growing fanbase that even included many of their peers in the music industry.
The collective collaborated with Kirk Franklin on an album in June of 2022 and things couldn’t be going better for Dante Bowe, with his stock seemingly being higher than ever.
And then in September 2022, Maverick City Music released a statement saying that they, “decided to put a pause” on their professional relationship with Dante, citing “behaviors that are inconsistent with our core values and beliefs.” No more explanations were really given, but Dante shared with Insider a few months ago his feelings on the statement.
A setback, maybe, but the Dante Bowe story doesn’t end there.
Dante used the period of uncertainty to shift his focusing to R&B. Earlier this year, in July, Dante released his third studio album, a self-titled, 14 song project, of mostly R&B music. The project was released independently on his label, True Music, teaming him with Artist Relations maven Sabrina Harrison, and famed producer Jon-Jon Traxx.
The album is the start of Dante coming out of not just one door, but opening them all as he shifts into a new perspective of music. He continues to invite his roots in Gospel, R&B, Afrobeats and Reggaeton into this latest album Dante Bowe, welcoming the evolution of who he is today.
The shift hasn’t been easy for Dante, but with his new album he is sharing the new direction, with an understanding that it may not be what everyone else expected for him to do, but it doesn’t negate who he is a person or most importantly as a child of God. Everyone has a purpose, a journey that they have to walk in order to achieve the purpose that God has for them. It may not make sense to the next person but it doesn’t have to.
From Gospel to R&B, Dante Bowe shares his transition in music, and the obstacles that he has overcome during his journey. Dive into our Dante Bowe interview for more.
Parlé Mag: From being apart of Maverick City to now becoming a solo artist, how has that transition been for you?
Dante Bowe: Before Maverick I was a solo artist and had my own success as a solo artist, but it was in addition to being with Maverick. So now, it just feels like I have more time to focus on what God is doing for me. Its a new season, a new era. It can be a little challenging, but it’s also amazing.
Parlé Mag: What have been some of the challenges?
Dante: Starting something from the ground up. True Music is started from the ground up, my R&B career is from the ground up. It’s the first time that I have done any of it. It’s just a lot of experimenting and finding God in everything so that I continue to make sure that I am still being led by Him and constantly trying to do the right things. But it is definitely challenging because you never know what the outcome will be.
Parlé Mag: You’ve been making music for some time now, going back to the beginning, what first inspired you to release your first album.
Dante Bowe: I always wanted an album, I would always work in the studio because I am a very hard worker, especially when I am motivated. During that time I was a background singer for this Gospel artist and I decided to take the little money I had, which was $10,000. In the music industry, having only $10,000 and thinking you’re going to create an expensive project was just unrealistic. But during that time, I would sneak off from the Ministry school and I would go and record. It took about 6 months for the project to be completed but I was so happy and joyful because I finally had a project I felt comfortable putting out in the world. After I put that project out, it did chart 7 or something like that, which changed my life forreal. I began receiving calls from different artists and labels, it was an amazing experiencing.
Parlé Mag: How has the transition into the world of R&B been?
Dante Bowe: I just think it’s evolution. I still do Gospel music, but what made me want to take on R&B this year is just the evolution of who I am, I have always been a fan and student of R&B. I believe that I write it really well, I wrote my entire album myself, I had co-writers and things like that but I wrote on every song. So I wanted to really try something different, try something new. I think ultimately God gave me an open door, I didn’t really have to push it down, it just kind of came naturally.
Parlé Mag: Having a fanbase in the Gospel world and having to shift those fans to any new genre is difficult. Have you seen a drastic change in your fanbase in either direction?
Dante: You know its wild, because the majority of my fans were Christian fans so it was a drastic drop, but I have also gained a lot of R&B fans as well. The only difference is that it just isn’t the same amount of fans that I had when I was solely in the Gospel world. My R&B fans are brand new and my Christian fans have been around for 4/5 years. So the drastic drop from my Christian fans to the increase of R&B fans hasn’t leveled out when it comes to filling in the gap of the fans that I have lost, but all in all, I love my new fans & I love my old fans. I do believe that a lot of people will come back too, I just think that some people are afraid of what they don’t understand and then when you put religion in play, there are some people who believe that you can’t talk about anything but God.
I enjoy it all though, I believe that I am doing exactly what God has intended for me to do and I am in the right place and the right time.
Parlé Mag: R&B is not the only thing that’s new to you, you are also stepping into the fashion world as well. You recently attended Vogue World and you have some exclusive things in the works. How has that been for you?
Dante: It has been amazing. I love that I get to enjoy fashion not just from a consumer standpoint, but I actually get to be apart of the show before the clothes are in the stores. Being able to work with Dolce Gabbana on custom outfits, that are one of one that I have worn is amazing. A lot of times people look at it as vain or self-glorifying, whereas for me there is a certain level of fashion where you become more of a student. You are learning what it takes to create this masterpiece. For me it’s just about the art and the artist. I enjoy going to fashion shows and seeing a Schiaparelli outfit and then seeing the artist come out in the end that created it. I can say, I’ve been enjoying it. Although it all comes with it’s challenges because I am so tired of clothes, but once you start creating your image of a person that dresses well you kind of got to keep it up. Every outfit needs to be on point, the upside is that due to me being a new artist there’s not a bunch of attention on me right now but it is still a good amount. I feel like because I started it off so early in my career, I have been through a lot of outfits. I should take some of these clothes down to the Goodwill NOW. Seriously though, it has been a great experience, I love it.
Parlé Mag: Do you have any expectations/goals for yourself?
Dante Bowe: To keep growing, I want fruit to fall in my life in everything I do, whether it’s a podcast, fashion, music etc. I just want people to feel blessed, and I just want to continue to grow. Which I believe is already happening.
Parlé Mag: What can we expect from your new music, and from you as an artist in the coming months?
Dante Bowe: That it will always be different, everything that I will come out with will be different. I am not going to be stagnant as an artist, as of right now we are thinking about dropping our next song very soon. I think that it is something that will be good and explain what my fans and future fans can expect as a new R&B artist. I am also going to tour, it will be a small tour but I am really excited about it. All in all, I am going to keep evolving as an artist & keep believing in myself.
Walking in his purpose as he creates new music that shows his talent, his passion and his creative mind for not only Gospel, but for all genres of music, Dante Bowe will continue to be a rising star. Regardless of the genre, the goal remains the same: to make music that helps the world.
We are excited to see what’s to come, and will continue to uplift him in his journey.
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