Courtesy of Deonis Cook
Audio By Carbonatix
Deonis Cook is no stranger to the power of alignment. His decades-long career is defined by a series of introductions, chance encounters and happenstance. Known for inimitable vocals and one-of-a-kind arrangements, some of these occurrences have led to collaborations with Will Smith, Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Pharrell Williams, Kirk Franklin and more. With a resume that reads like Hollywood’s Who’s Who, to all who know him (and particularly those in Dallas), he’s just Deonis.
“Deonis Cook is love,” he tells the Observer coyly, as if piecing it together along the way. “I’m a father, a husband, and just a myriad of essential things — a gifting of multiple talents. That’s who Deonis is. …I just am. I am.”
The 44-year-old artist has come a long way since playfully tapping the keys of his Casio keyboard at age 4. Little did the Dallas native know that his ear for musical melodies and soulful sounds was merely a speck of his gift, one that would usher him around the globe and into the folds of some of the greatest entertainers in hip-hop, R&B and gospel.
We caught up with him while he was briefly on break from back-to-back rehearsals in Los Angeles. He was gearing up for a slew of performances with one of his mentors and friends, Jill Scott. Climbing to the top floor of the building, the musician captured a sliver of service, eagerly anxious to dive deep into what it’s like for him to work with the notorious “Jilly from Philly.”
Apparently, the feeling is mutual. In anticipation of her upcoming February 13 album, To Whom It May Concern, the multi-award-winning singer, songwriter and actress took to her Instagram to personally shout-out Cook, among other collaborators like David Banner, Too $hort, Tierra Whack and others. It’s been 11 years since the release of her last album, Woman, and from a cryptic post bearing “I miss you…”, her fans knew that greatness was soon to follow.
The first single, “Beautiful People,” is a bevy of sounds, softly blaring ’70s soul and percussion, light and uplifting, utterly reminiscent of the late Marvin Gaye. Post by post, she began naming her own collective of “beautiful people,” as if a love letter artfully on display, to which she acknowledged Cook.
“This 1st song is called ‘BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE’. Creating takes a village,” she wrote. “I’m sharing my beautiful people most literally. Deonis, thank you! [He] has been touring for me for at least a decade as one of the pipes, my onstage background vocals. Das my sugar. We’ve seen so much world together. When I realized a spice was missing for To Whom It May Concern at the last minute, I called Deonis for flavor. That ear yo!”
Church Influence Goes Beyond Sound
His ear is undeniable. It was one of the many talents he honed while performing with the Grammy Award-winning choir, God’s Property, in his teens, and then further finessed as he worked with Donnie McClurkin, Fred Hammond, Kirk Franklin and many more gospel greats.
Deonis Cook
“That church influence, it’s not just about music. It’s about relationships. You know, meeting people that you don’t know if they’re gonna be in your life later, and then they eventually show back up, that whole circular thing,” he says. “Those experiences honed my artistry and my gift. I don’t ever look at those times as bad. It was an amazing experience [from there] to where I am today.”
Despite an incredible trajectory, there was a time, he admits, when he was ready to close the door on music for good.
“I had moments where I was like, ‘I give up. I quit’,” he says. “I didn’t want to do music anymore.”
That changed when a chance phone call in 2013 from musician Thaddeus Tribbett, brother to Grammy-winning gospel artist Tye Tribbett, reignited the passion that had soothed Cook’s soul since the press of that first Casio key. Four years had passed since Tribbett had uttered that they should work together, and now he proffered Cook the chance of a lifetime to audition and sing with Jill Scott.
“It was hard for me to accept that this was happening because it just came out of nowhere,” he recalls. “But that doubt turned into a flight, and then I ended up going to Philadelphia. They gave me things to expect from her, like how she was gonna challenge me, and, you know, those types of things. So they start playing a chorus, and I start beatboxing, and everybody’s like, ‘Yo, this is different.’ Jill tested me, and she loved it — she loved me. We’ve been rocking together for 12 years this year. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
As Scott was in the studio recording her latest album, there was a particular sound she needed that only Cook could deliver: a choir arrangement. Admittedly a “last-minute” request, Cook dove deep into his roots, once nurtured by his time with Kirk Franklin, God’s Property and even Kanye West’s Sunday Service, to dish out the request. Although Cook is totally mum on the track’s title, when you hear a chorus, just know that Deonis did it. In the words of Jill Scott, “Deonis arranges choirs, honey.”
“Deonis Cook showed up as a ‘suggestion’ so long ago that I can’t recall who originally suggested him,” Scott told the Observer. “I remember him being quiet, but eager to assist. I love a team player and adore someone willing to try a ‘different tactic’. Deonis knows sound and how to make color with it. It’s a fun environment working with him; all the while, he’s 100% professional. Great talent. Great heart. Awesome friend.”
In addition to the arrangement, Cook laid vocals for the forthcoming album. From the jazzy, bass beats of “Pressha” to the passionately playful groove of “Don’t Play,” Scott is back, giving us all the sweetness and feels of “Grandma’s yams, with the marshmallows on top, pineapples and candied pecans.” For now, Cook presses on. He’s silently working on his own music and is on a mission to bring back “nostalgic” R&B. He’s tapping into the “boy-band” resurgence with a new group called Freeman, in addition to dropping his latest single, “Sunday to Sunday.” The catchy tune bears all the vibes of an ’80s sultry and steamy mix, along with noticeable influences by the Force MDs and Song by the System’s “Don’t Disturb this Groove.”
“I have this thing with nostalgia and feelings,” Cook says. “That’s what ‘Sunday to Sunday’ is pretty much about. It’s a reminiscing type joint, where you can roll your windows down and drive down the Pacific Coast Highway and listen to it, while the sun is setting and while looking at the ocean.”
We remind him playfully that he lives in Dallas.
“Or you know, driving around the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge,” he laughed. “And be stuck for three days.”
So just like Scott’s debut album title in 2000 asked, Who is Jill Scott?, we flipped the script once again and asked, who is Deonis?
“Art is evolution, and music is evolution. You can’t stop it from becoming what it’s going to become at the end of the day,” he says.
So maybe that’s just it. Deonis is evolution.
