Dante Bowe is blazing a trail and doing so on his own terms.
Having earned accolades in earnest as part of Maverick City Music, the gifted star is shining solo.
This summer brought with it the release of his eclectic self-titled debut, which is home to fan favorites such as ‘Wind Me Up’ and ‘Fire.’
Igniting his heat streak the more, Bowe is gearing up to perform at the Soul Train Awards 2023 in what promises to be a must-see showing.
Ahead of the performance, That Grape Juice caught up with the singer who is clearly poised to make a renewed mark.
Our exclusive interview with Donte Bowe awaits below…
That Grape Juice: Congratulations on everything! Your Billboard Music Awards nomination, your upcoming Soul Train Awards performance, everything!
What would you call this chapter of your journey?
Dante Bowe: The beginning of everything, that’s what I would say. I feel that I’ve done a lot in my career. But this particular season of my life feels like this is actually the beginning of my career. I feel that when the Bible talks about Eyes haven’t seen, ears haven’t heard, all that God has in store for you. I feel that the things I’ve done prior were things that got me prepared for what’s about to come. What’s coming later is a lot more grander. And I think I needed to go through all this stuff that I went through prior to being equipped to have more wisdom to handle what’s about to happen.
That Grape Juice: The Soul Train Awards is such a major platform. What are some of your most memorable Soul Train moments?
Dante Bowe: I have a lot of memorable Soul Train memories. One would be, even last year just seeing Xscape. It was very, very cool to see Xscape perform and just watching them be legends and icons of R&B. But there are so many more, but I would say right now, it would be that Xscape moment was really cool.
That Grape Juice: What can we expect from your performance?
Dante Bowe: The performance of the night! I’ve worked extremely hard to not only be myself and bring Soul Train, Dante Bowe, but I am also trying to even elevate the performance value. I think I am going to be a showman that night. And I’m very excited for people to see it.
That Grape Juice: Who are some of your biggest inspirations live?
Dante Bowe: So many people. You know I just someone who left me like “wow” and who’s incomparable: Janet Jackson. I was just like, man, I was taking so many notes from her. And I added some of her steez into my performance for sure. I’d just been really admiring her for a long time, but to see her live and in person, you can actually see how in control of her performance she really is. She knows everything and she’s just a pro at what she does. There’s a lot more, but I will say, right now, I’ve been looking at a lot of Janet, going back.
That Grape Juice: Your album ‘Dante Rowe’ is such a mixed blend. What can listeners take away from the project?
Dante Bowe: It’s just a gumbo of sounds raised in the church, through my grandparents. My parents loved Hip-Hop, R&B. They weren’t really churchy at all. So, I just added all of my life experiences, all of my life’s sounds and things that I’ve learned through the years into this one project. So, it’s something on there for everybody. I feel that the whole album is for everybody. I hope that people can just take away the love stories and just how it’s a positive inspirational record.
That Grape Juice: For those still getting to you know as an artist, tell us a little about your journey…
Dante Bowe: When I was a kid, I always dreamt of being a singer and my parents would buy me CDs and DVDs for Christmas of performances and of albums that I really liked. That was my Christmas gifts and stuff instead of toys. Toys too, but the real prize would be whatever new album came out that year, my parents would wrap them all up and give them to me. Always had the imagination. I always dreamt of being who I am today. And my parents would take me to studios and pay for studio time. Then, I went on the road with Eddie James, when I was leaving high school.
I traveled as a background vocalist for six years and then I learned how to write there. So, I started writing. And then, I started writing a lot of gospel records for different people. Wrote with Travis Greene, and then Casey Jay. And it started getting bigger and bigger. The artists who would contact me to write for them started getting bigger. And then I just started becoming a feature and then became a solo artist. And I was part of two critically acclaimed groups. But it all happened naturally over time. I just went with whatever was presented to me, whatever God had for me, I just walked through. I wasn’t one that gave a lot of excuses. I took whatever I felt was allotted to me. And I made lemonade out of lemons.
That Grape Juice: You’ve gone from homelessness to winning GRAMMYs and going Platinum, what would you say is your proudest achievement to date?
Dante Bowe: My biggest achievement would have been I’ve kept all my same friendships. I’ve stayed the same. No matter from homelessness, until now, I’ve kept all of my friendships. I’ve brought them along too and a lot of them have number one records now and different things like that. I will have my friends right on my songs. I’ve got the same set of friends. They know who I’m talking about. And that’s a real big accomplishment to still have the relationships that I have. And as strong as they are.
That Grape Juice: Collaboration is a key aspect of the music industry. And we’ve seen you team up with the likes of Vic Mensa and Anthony B. Who are some of your dream collaborations?
Dante Bowe: Lauryn Hill, Victoria Monet, Janelle Monae. Just so many people, Chris Brown. A lot of people really.
That Grape Juice: For all the amazing things about pursuing one’s dream, there’s dealing with critique. Something you do with so much grace. What has been the best advice you’ve received when it comes to navigating negative remarks?
Dante Bowe: Oh, don’t comment back. You can get so into this where people are saying negativity and all those different things. I’ve had a lot of great advice, deep advice, but I would say right now, one that’s sticking out to me is, don’t respond to this stuff. Some things, you just ignore and you just shouldn’t respond to it. So, that’s helped me a lot, as far as just keeping my peace and just don’t respond. Just keep it moving.
That Grape Juice: Lastly, what are your future aspirations and goals as an artist?
Dante Bowe: That’s a good question. I have so many goals. I want to tour the world. I want to change the world with my music. I just want to have a broad, broad reach. I really want to pray that God allows me to have music that reaches the entire world and that it’s widely accepted.
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‘Dante Bowe,’ The Album, Is Out Now