DenG

Daniel Tom George (born September 1, 1984), known professionally as DenG, is a Liberian singer and songwriter from Bong County.[1] He started his music career as an R&B artist before making a guest appearance on Emma Smith's single "I Want to Go". DenG rose to prominence after being featured on Queen V's 2013 hit single "Jue You Bad".[1] Following the success of "Jue You Bad", he switched from R&B to Afro pop.[1]

DenG
Birth nameDaniel Tom George
Born (1984-09-01) September 1, 1984
Bong County, Liberia
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Associated acts

Music career

A descendant of the Kpelle tribe, Daniel Tom George was born on September 1, 1984, in Bong County, Liberia.[1][2] He developed an interest in music at a young age and joined his church's choir. DenG's family relocated to Ghana during Liberia's second civil war; he attended Achimota School while living in Ghana. DenG returned to Liberia and studied business at the United Methodist University.[2] He started his music career as an R&B artist before venturing into Afro pop music, and was featured on Emma Smith's single "I Want to Go".[1] DenG gained prominence in 2013 after being featured on Queen V's hit single "Jue You Bad", which also features vocals by Tan Tan.[1][3] In 2014, he released the single "They Vex", a song that addresses the jealousy associated with fame and recognition.[1] His management team announced a tee-shirt collection, featuring the phrase "If they vex, let them buss", would arrive in Liberia.[4] DenG collaborated with F.A and Soul Fresh to record "Ebola is Real", a hipco track that informs Liberians about ways they can protect and prevent the spread of Ebola.[5] Recorded in colloquial English, "Ebola is Real" was created in partnership with Liberia's Ministry of Health & Social Welfare and the radio station Hott FM.[5]

In 2015, DenG won Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for "They Vex" at the 2015 Liberia Music Awards.[1] He also won Best Artist and Song of the Year for "They Vex" at the 2015 Liberian Entertainment Awards.[6] DenG signed a $50,000 endorsement deal with Novafone Liberia, a GSM carrier.[1] He released "Kemah" in 2015; it earned him a nomination for Best New Artist at the African Entertainment Awards that same year.[1] In January 2016, DenG posted a note on his Facebook page, expressing his desire to quit music.[7] However, in a telephone interview with LIB Life, he clarified his post was intended to find out whether Liberians still had interest in his career.[7]

The music video for DenG's "Put Foot" was released in January 2016.[8] DenG first announced plans for the video's release earlier that month.[7] He accused his manager Alice Yawo of downgrading the video's quality after she thanked a fan, who belittled the video, for their comments.[8] In June 2016, DenG and Yawo had a fallout from their unwillingness to communicate.[9] DenG was nominated for Listener's Choice at the 2016 MTV Africa Music Awards, becoming the first Liberian artist to receive a MAMA nomination.[10] In late 2016, he performed alongside Christoph the Change, Kcee and Tekno at Beach Jam, a concert sponsored by Lonestar Cell.[11] On June 9, 2017, DenG released the Sarkodie-assisted track "Janjay".[12] It was jointly produced by Liberia's Stone Luckshine and Ghana's Possigee.[12] Described as a Liberian highlife song, "Janjay" contains lyrics about a girl's dream.[12] Prior to the song's release, DenG enlisted Kcee to appear on his track "Make Dem Talk".[12] In July 2017, Emma Smith recruited DenG to lent vocals to her single "Hold Ground", an up-tempo track that has elements of Afrobeat and dancehall.[13]

In May 2018, DenG organized the first leg of his American tour; it concluded with a concert in Washington DC.[14] In August 2018, he performed at the One Africa Music Fest, becoming the first Liberian act to perform at the festival.[15] Held at the Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island, the festival featured additional performances from Wizkid, Flavour N'abania, Tekno, Sarkodie, Cassper Nyovest and Diamond Platnumz.[15] DenG was one of the Liberian acts who performed at a concert headlined by Nigerian singer Davido; the concert was held at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in November 2018.[16]

Personal life

In January 2018, The New Dawn newspaper reported DenG's brother Smith George died in Margibi County.[17] George's body was discovered with foam around his mouth.[17]

Awards and nominations
Year Event Prize Recipient Result Ref
2015 Liberian Entertainment Awards Best Artist Himself Won [6]
Song of the Year "They Vex" Won
Liberia Music Awards Won [18]
Artist of the Year Himself Won
Afro Pop Artist of the Year Nominated [19]
African Entertainment Awards Best New Artist Nominated [1]
2016 Nigeria Entertainment Awards African Male Artist of the Year (Non Nigerian) Nominated [20]
MTV Africa Music Awards Listener's Choice Nominated [21]
2018 Tunes Liberia Music Awards Artist of the Year Won [22]
Song of the Year "Grateful" Won
Liberia Music Awards Artist of the Year Himself Nominated [23]

References
  1. Tete Bropleh (September 8, 2016). "DenG Turns 32". Daily Observer. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  2. "Who is DenG? A Brief Profile". Liberia Broadcasting System. November 9, 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  3. "'Jue You Bad' Artist QUEEN V Raps on Celebrity, Motherhood". Daily Observer. March 30, 2014. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  4. "If They Vex, Let Them Buss". Daily Observer. November 27, 2014. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  5. Uri Friedman (August 25, 2014). "How to Make a Hit Song About Ebola". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  6. "DenG Grabs Double Awards". Daily Observer. February 26, 2015. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  7. "Why DenG Said He Quit". Daily Observer. January 14, 2016. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  8. "DenG and Manager Argue Over "Put Foot" Video Quality". Daily Observer. January 21, 2016. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  9. Tete Bropleh (June 2, 2016). "DenG and Manager Alice 'Split for Good'". Daily Observer. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  10. Tete Bropleh (October 6, 2016). "DenG Makes History". Liberian Observer. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  11. Tete Bropleh (December 1, 2016). "Concert Review: KCEE Out-performs Tekno at Lonestar Cell Beach Jam". Daily Observer. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  12. Edwin Mohammed (June 15, 2017). "Deng and Sarkodie collaborate on Janjay". Liberian Listener. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  13. Robin Dopoe (July 20, 2017). "Emma Smith Back with DenG to 'Hold Ground'". Daily Observer. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  14. "The Phenomenon of DenG's Musical Career". Front Page Africa. May 11, 2018. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  15. T Kla Wesley Jr. (August 14, 2018). "DenG Becomes First Liberian to Perform at One Africa Music Fest". Bush Chicken. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  16. Robin Dopoe (8 November 2018). "Liberia: Davido Billed to Perform in Liberia November 29". Daily Observer. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  17. Ramsey N. Singbeh, Jr (9 January 2018). "Liberia: Deng's Brother Killed At SRC". The New Dawn. Archived from the original on 5 June 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  18. "K-ZEE, Eric Geso, DenG Win Big at LMA". Daily Observer. July 2, 2015. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  19. "Liberia Music Awards Foundation Announces the Nominees for 2015". Daily Observer. May 6, 2015. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  20. Adedayo Showemimo (17 June 2016). "FULL nominee list for 2016 Nigerian Entertainment Awards (NEA)". Nigerian Entertainment Today. Archived from the original on 2017-01-02. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  21. Alyssa Klein (October 22, 2016). "Here's the Full List of Nominees at the 2016 MTV Africa Music Awards in Johannesburg". OkayAfrica. Archived from the original on 3 November 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  22. "DenG wins big at Liberian awards ceremony". Music in Africa. 2 March 2018. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  23. "Liberia Music Awards 2018: Stunna tops list of nominees". Music in Africa. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
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