Maia Tharp
Audio By Carbonatix
Chef Dee — whose real name is D’Andre Pyke — has been working every minute on new music. This month, the multi-hyphenate dropped his fifth album, Crossfire, offering a snapshot of where he is now with his craft.
Up until this moment, Pyke has been keeping his new music close to his chest. In April, while playing Music Safari, a small front-lawn festival in Oak Cliff, just weeks ahead of record’s release, he still hadn’t shared new tracks; instead, he opted to perform mash-up covers.
Two weeks from the album’s official release, Pyke still hadn’t finished mixing and mastering all of the songs — he’s meticulous with demo recordings, constantly reworking each sound. But this slow-burn approach isn’t new. He was first fascinated by music at 14, after his father, a singer, died.
“I gained an interest in music organically,” Pyke says. “I started singing in my bedroom to myself, and I didn’t like the way I sounded, but I just kept trying to perfect myself throughout my childhood, all the way up until I was 19. I just kind of kept it inside, and I didn’t show the world until way later.”
Before sharing music, Pyke explored other creative ventures, like culinary arts.
“I’ve always liked the idea of feeding people,” he says. “That was my favorite part of cooking, just getting people’s reactions to my dishes. Even when I was little, I would sleep over with my friends, and I’d be up in the morning making pancakes and bacon breakfast the next day.”
When he turned 20, Pyke dropped his first mixtape titled “Chef Dee’s Cookbook,” a nod to his two loves: cooking and music. A month later, he performed his first-ever live show at the now-closed Tomcats West in Fort Worth. From there, he continued to step up to any mic he could find.
As Dee perfected his musical craft, he also honed his cooking, studying at Dallas College and the Culinary School of Fort Worth and holding stints at Harwood Hospitality Group and in the kitchens of Baylor Scott & White. Now, he owns a catering and event company called Taste Experience, which shares a name with his band.
It’s through live events, whether through food or music, that Pyke thrives, finding himself where he’s meant to be.
The Fifth Installment
Much of “Crossfire” is inspired by Pyke’s marriage last year. A rhythmic R&B-rap fusion track titled “Fortune Cookie” features a smitten Pyke delivering poetic, food-centric metaphors as he admires his wife.
“I feel like comparing love to culinary arts — you can be creative with flavor pairings and stuff like that,” Pyke says. “At the same time, you don’t want to do too much. You want to trust that people know their palate.”
Another of the album’s smooth tracks, “Ride,” is Pyke at his best, capturing a feeling of yearning and youthful love over timeless grooves.
But love wasn’t the only inspiration, and much of the work doubles as catharsis for the artist. The album’s titular track details the artist falling out with former music associates. He says the dissolution of his relationship with past collaborators energized him to get in the studio while he was balancing life and wedding planning.
“There’s been a whole lot of conflict,” he says. “There’s been ups, there’s been downs, and I’m actually putting a lot of my aggression into this album. It’s more so me speaking my mind. A lot of the time, I felt unheard. I was able to put that into music, and that’s what this project is about.”
Day one fans of Pyke might be surprised by his fiery bars on “The Comeback,” a cipher-inspired freestyle rap that would have Sway Calloway shook. But those who know him personally know he could never be confined to a single sound.
“[Pyke’s] knowledge of music and willingness to try new things musically sets him apart from others,” Pyke’s cousin, Austen Simien, tells the Observer. “When you hear his music, you can hear many different styles in not only his voice, but in the style of R&B. You hear versions of rock, soul and, sometimes, I hear a bit of calypso in the music.”
Letting out the emotions felt right for the artist during this era. While he’s a set fixture of the live music circuit, with a monthly residency at downtown Dallas’ Rodeo Bar, Pyke will always find a place to tap into the grooves.
“I feel like now I have a bigger audience, so I’m a little bit more aggressive with my promotion,” Pyke says. “But that was something I struggled with. Now, whenever I’m actually outside, I’m saying, ‘Hey, by the way, check me out… being independent, you have to do that. These people aren’t just gonna find out who you are. You don’t have to be weird and just start singing out loud to everyone. But if there’s an encounter, I find myself like saying, ‘Hey, you should definitely listen to this. I think you would like this, or you should come to the show.’”
With “Crossfire” finally out on streaming platforms, Pyke feels a sense of relief. And like with the dishes he serves up, the best part is seeing fans react to something fresh.
“As humans, we deal with a lot, and that’s what this album means,” Pyke says. “Even though there’s a lot of aggression letting out, and a lot of talking, I’m still letting people know that I didn’t give up. I stayed true to myself.”
Chef Dee will perform at Levitt Pavilion (100 W Abram St., Arlington) at 7 p.m. on May 30. The show is free.
