David Arnold Augustine Jr. (born April 10, 1985), better known by his stage name Dee-1, is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

from

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

New Orleans East New Orleans East is the eastern section of New Orleans, the newest section of the city. It is bounded by the Industrial Canal, the Intracoastal Waterway and Lake Pontchartrain. Developed extensively from the 1950s onward, its numerous resident ...

, David Augustine attended Audubon Montessori School (currently Audubon Charter School) through 8th grade. He was a star basketball player at Ben Franklin High School as well as homecoming king his senior year. He was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

Career

Early stages

Balls Augustine began rapping while in college. He began publicly performing while attending

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

. After graduating from LSU in 2008, he started teaching middle school math in Baton Rouge. By the end of 2008, he had released three mixtapes: ''It's Only Tha Beginning'', ''Still We Rise'' and ''I Am Who I Am''. Dee-1 has been featured in national media outlets such as CNN, ''Billboard'', and the ''Washington Post''. He has also received attention from Louisiana newspapers and music magazines. After two years of teaching, he resigned before the 2010–2011 school year to focus on his music as a career.

Growing popularity

His first studio album, ''David & Goliath'', was released April 13, 2009. In August 2009, Dee-1 released a

Saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...

-themed song with

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standar ...

player and Rapper Ty Ochsen, titled "Bring Em to the Dome". Additionally, Dee-1 performed alongside nationally touring acts such as

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, '' Lupe Fiasco's ...

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, '' I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, '' Trey Day'' ...

Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles ...

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's '' The Tonight Show Starring Jimm ...

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), (stylized as Mýa), is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born into a musical family, she studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Initially, Mýa began her career as a VJ ...

The Clipse Clipse, also known as The Clipse, is an American hip hop duo, chiefly active from 1994 to 2010. It consists of brothers Gene "No Malice" and Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton. Pusha T was known as Terrar during the group's early years, while No Mal ...

Musiq Soulchild Taalib Hassan Johnson (born September 16, 1977), better known by the stage name Musiq Soulchild or simply Musiq (pronounced "music") is an American singer and songwriter whose style blends R&B, funk, blues, jazz, and gospel influences fused w ...

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a so ...

Lil Boosie Torence Ivy Hatch (born November 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Boosie BadAzz or simply Boosie (formerly Lil Boosie), is an American rapper. Hatch began rapping in the 1990s as a member of the hip hop collective Concentration Camp, ev ...

, Juvenile, Big K.R.I.T. and

Big Boi Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), better known by his stage name Big Boi, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a member of the southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside André 300 ...

. In October 2010, he was named Artist of the Year at the NOLA Underground Hip Hop Awards. Dee-1 majorly rose to hip-hop's spotlight after the release of his song and music video, "Jay, 50, & Weezy" in 2010. The single received national attention and was praised for its narrative-driven storytelling and “sheer audacity that he displayed by calling out three of the game's biggest rappers, but mostly because of the song's strong message.” In the same year, Dee-1 released his fourth mixtape, ''I Hope They Hear Me Vol''.''1.'' The project received positive attention, and after his Vol 1.5 installation to the mixtape series, he released ''I Hope They Hear Me Vol. 2.'' With acclaimed tracks, such as "Jay, 50 & Weezy" occupying the 18-song track list, Dee-1's collaboration with

Mannie Fresh Byron Otto Thomas (born March 20, 1969), better known by his stage name Mannie Fresh, is an American music producer and rapper. He's best known for his productions on Cash Money Records releases, as well being half of the hip hop duo (alongside ...

made for another high-profile record from the project, "The One That Got Away". The track was produced by Flight School Productions complete with a music video for the 2011 single. In 2011, Dee-1 toured with Atlanta rappers

Killer Mike Michael Santiago Render (born April 20, 1975), better known by his stage name Killer Mike, is an American rapper, actor, and activist. Mike made his debut on Outkast's 2000 LP '' Stankonia'', and later appeared on their Grammy-winning single ...

and

Young Dro D'Juan Montrel Hart (born January 15, 1979), better known by his stage name Young Dro, is an American rapper. After gaining recognition with his regional hit song "Yes Sir", from his 2002 independent album ''I Got That Dro'', Young Dro aligned ...

, as well as the southern California-based rap group

Pac Div Pacific Division, better known as Pac Div is an American rap quartet from Southern California. Formed by brothers Like and Mibbs, Pac Div started rapping together in high school. Originally an eleven-member crew, they shrank to three in 2005 ...

. Following that tour, between 2011-2013, he has also toured with artists such as

Macklemore Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; (formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper and songwriter. A native of Seattle, Washington, he has collaborated with producer Ryan Lew ...

(opening for The Heist Tour), Murs (Ridin' All By Ourselves Tour), and

Lecrae Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979), mononymously known as Lecrae, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record and film producer, record executive, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the president, co-owner and co-founder of the in ...

(Higher Learning Tour). Dee-1 developed a close relationship with Chicago rapper

while joining him on the Tetsuo Youth Tour of 2013 as well. Dee-1's unique artistry brought him to BET's 2014 Hip Hop Awards along with

O.T. Genasis Odis Oliver Flores (born June 18, 1987), better known by his stage name O.T. Genasis, is an American rapper, actor and singer. Early life Odis Oliver Flores was born on June 18, 1987, in Atlanta to Garifunas from Belize. He is a Garifuna Amer ...

Lil Mama Niatia Jessica Kirkland (born October 4, 1989), better known by her stage name Lil Mama, is an American rapper, singer, actress and television presenter from Brooklyn, New York and Harlem, New York. She experienced top 10 ''Billboard'' placemen ...

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premis ...

and Detroit Che. Dee-1's ''The Focus Tape'' helped sustain his career momentum next, released in 2012 and featured a handful of hip-hop's biggest names; "Work" featuring Lecrae, "The Man In My City" featuring Juvenile and Mannie Fresh, "The Very Best" featuring Yassin Bey and Mannie Fresh, and "Never Clockin Out (Remix)" featuring Killer Mike name a few. His released the consciously-driven singles such as "You Stupid Fool" and "Shut Up And Grind".

Record deal

After signing with RCA Inspiration in 2013, he released his first EP, ''3s Up'', featuring six tracks and heralding Dee-1's three-piece motto: "Be Real. Be Righteous. Be Relevant.". The EP peaked at No. 9 on ''Billboard'''s Top Rap Albums in 2015. "Against Us" was the first single from the EP, released in 2014. The track delivered a powerful testament combating the ills of society and the Hollywood industry. Dee-1 created the "Against Us (Remix)" in 2016 and enlisted

Big K.R.I.T Justin Lewis Scott (born August 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Big K.R.I.T. (a backronym for King Remembered in Time), is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he started his musical career in 2005. A ...

. and Lupe Fiasco as featuring acts. Among other topics, he addressed his affecting lyrical subject matter and personal faith, like that of "Against Us", on popular radio segment Sway's Universe with

Sway Calloway Sway Calloway is an American journalist, radio personality, executive producer and former rapper. Known as Sway, he is known for hosting music, news, and culture programming. He was the co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show ''The Wake Up ...

. He discussed the importance of improving his personal life and increasing his faith among some of the music industry's moral corruption. The interview inspired the track on ''3s Up,'' fittingly titled, "The Sway Interview". Dee-1 admitted that he was spiritually in a dark place during the time in his life when the interview was conducted. He credits it as "life-saving", to which Calloway praised as a "Grammy" honor for him. "I'm Not Perfect (I'm A Christian)" from the ''3s Up'' EP also emphasizes the depth of his Christianity. What would have been Dee-1's latest mixtape, ''Separated at Birth'', was influenced by the sound and production of Lil Wayne, scheduled to be released in 2015. Due to conflicts concerning the mixtape's lyrical content and

Cash Money Records Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Bryan "Birdman" Williams. Distributed by Republic, formerly known as Universal Republic, the label has been home to a roster of mostly hi ...

, Lil Wayne's home label, the project was not publicly released. Dee-1 released "Sallie Mae Back" in 2016, a hyper-energetic track celebrating the completion of his student loan payoffs. In addition to his own budgeting, he used a part of his label signing advance to pay off the loans. The track received critical acclaim from CNN, ESPN, Forbes and ''Time'' magazine. ''The Washington Post'' called it the "anthem of a generation" and landed Dee-1 a seat on Fox's leading talk show, ''The Real'', as well as ESPN's ''His & Hers'' with Michael Smith and Jemele Hill. The success of the track also led to ESPN recruiting Dee-1 for the theme song, "We Are The Undefeated", of its sports, race, and culture website, The Undefeated. He also penned lyrics for the "F.A.S.T. Song", a track for the American Heart Association raising stroke awareness. Dee-1 headlined his first nationwide tour of 2016 in 2016 titled The Slingshot David Mixtape Tour, following the release of ''The Slingshot David Mixtape'' in July that year. His first studio album under the RCA imprint, ''Slingshot David'', was released on November 10, 2017. The album's lead single, "Hood Villains", was handpicked by Lupe Fiasco, and the project boasts names such as

Sevyn Streeter Amber Denise "Sevyn" Streeter (born July 7, 1986)S ...

and Avery Wilson.

Independent artist

In 2019, it was announced that Dee-1 left RCA Records and started up his own independent label called Mission Vission Music. He released his second studio album ''God and Girls'' under the new label.Stream Dee-1's New Album 'God & Girls'
/ref> On April 30, 2020, Dee-1 released a solo project titled ''Timeless'', ahead of his collaborative album with Murs, which followed on September 18, 2020. Titled, ''He's the Christian, I'm the Rapper'', the 11-track project was produced entirely by Curtiss King, and sees the rappers "swap bars and recruit a few collaborators for some standout moments". In 2020, Dee-1 was honored by the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

with the “Power of Image” award for his influential impact and promoting positivity in the community. In 2021, he became the first rapper in history to be appointed to a statewide position by a governor,

John Bel Edwards John Bel Edwards (born September 16, 1966) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 56th governor of Louisiana since 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the Democratic leader of the Louisiana House of ...

of Louisiana, joining the Louisiana Council for the “Success of Black Men and Boys.” He was also nominated for an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

in 2021 for hosting “The Manhattan Project”. In September, Dee-1 featured

The Game The Game or The Games may refer to: Sports and games * The Game (dice game) (German: ''Das Spiel''), a dice game designed by Reinhold Wittig * The Game (mind game), a mind game, the objective of which is to avoid thinking about The Game itself * ...

and Des Monroe on a single titled “Shine On”. The song spoke about his journey from interning for the successful west coast recording artist (The Game) in college to now featuring him on a song of his own, alongside other personal accounts of the his life shared in the track. In 2022, Dee-1 released another studio album as an independent artist on February 9 called ''Finding Balance,'' which debuted at #4 on the iTunes Hip-Hop/Rap albums chart. Days before the album-release, another nationwide tour (The Not Afraid Tour) was announced to begin in March.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Slingshot David: The Album'' (2017) *''God and Girls'' (2019) *''Timeless'' (2020) *''He's the Christian, I'm the Rapper'' (2020) *''Finding Balance'' (2022)

Independent albums

*''David & Goliath'' (2009)

EPs

*''3's Up'' (2015)

Mixtapes

*''It's Only Tha Beginning'' (2004) *''Still We Rise'' (2006) *''I Am Who I Am'' (2008) *''I Hope They Hear Me'' (2010) *''I Hope They Hear Me Vol. 1.5'' (2010) *''I Hope They Hear Me Vol. 2'' (2011) *''The Focus Tape'' (2012) *''Psalms of David'' (2013) * ''Psalms of David Vol.2'' (2013) * ''Free Lunch And Sallie Mae'' (2014) * ''Slingshot David (The Mixtape)'' (2016)

Singles

*2010: "Jay, 50 & Weezy" *2010: "One Man Army" produced by: Flight School Productions *2011: "It's My Turn" *2011: "Blue" *2011: "The One That Got Away" featuring Mannie Fresh produced by: Flight School Productions *2011: "I'm On It" featuring Shamarr Allen *2011: "Uncle Tom" produced by: Flight School Productions *2012: "SUAG" produced by: Flight School Productions *2012: "You Stupid Fool" *2012: "Work" featuring

*2013: "Dear Mr. Christian" by

Derek Minor Derek Johnson, Jr., better known by his stage name Derek Minor and former stage name PRo, (born December 16, 1984) is an American Christian hip hop artist, singer, record producer, entrepreneur, actor, and screenwriter. He co-founded the hip-hop ...

featuring Dee-1 and Lecrae *2014: "Against Us" *2015: "Can't Ban Tha Hopeman" produced by Greedy Money *2016: "Sallie Mae Back" produced by Justen Williams *2016: "Against Us (Remix)" featuring Big K.R.I.T. and

*2020: "Corona Clap" *2022: "No Fear" with

Mac Mac or MAC most commonly refers to: * Mac (computer), a family of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * A variant of the word macaroni, mostly used in the name of the dish mac and cheese * Mac, ...

Filmography

*'' Treme'' (2012) * ''Maul Dogs'' (2015)

References

External links

Dee-1
on

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Dee-1
on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dee 1 African-American Christians African-American male rappers Living people Rappers from New Orleans 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 1989 births 21st-century African-American musicians African-American Catholics 20th-century African-American people