Denise De’ion

Persistent, playful and passionate, Denise De’ion is a Juno winning producer, singer and artist. She has been writing and singing from a young age, and strategically added music production to her already robust skillset in 2007. As a young, black, female artist, Denise felt she did not have as much exposure and accessibility to music studios and beats, so she took matters into her own hands. If you had to put a traditional label on her music you may call it an R&B, pop, Caribbean, hip hop medley but in actuality it’s a vibe all on its own. A very colorful person to the core, this is reflected in both Denise’s wardrobe and personality. The bright colors and patterns she wears on the daily match her music; not dark or moody, nor happy or excited, rather a vibrant and unique palette of varying emotions - it stands out! And Denise knows how to stand out from the competition too.

Her musical journey began with her writing as a small child. Her parents got her a Yamaha keyboard and she gravitated to making up her own songs. Oftentimes just pressing her fingers on keys, trying to match the tunes she heard in her head. She also had a cousin that was in the Juno winning group In Essence, and seeing him live out his dreams was a catalyst of inspirationfor Denise to do the same. Hailing from Toronto’s west end, Denise celebrates her Jamaican and Grenadian. Knowing that she is of a small handful of black women in the GTA that produce and create their own music has played a significant role in shaping Denise’s career to date. She firmly believes that the world needs to see more strong, empowered, female powerhouses in the music scene, and through what she is doing with her career, Denise hopes to inspire women around the globe to follow suit.

Some of her most recent accomplishments include producing on Haviah Mighty’s Juno winning album Stock Exchange. In 2021 she was selected along with two other female producers for the Bacardi Music Liberates Music Campaign in partnership with Boi1da. Denise was granted the opportunity to work with and be mentored by the Grammy winning producer and release the NFT single Juice available on streaming platforms. She has also participated and won several beat battle competitions including winning Canadian Beatmakers League (now Global Beatmakers League) in 2020, the IStandard beat battle at the 2019 Ascap Music Expo in LA, and being in the top four, chosen out of thousands of entries, of the Remy Martin Producer challenge in New York.

“Sometimes I can’t find the right words, but with music I can say whatever I want. There is such a freedom in that. I’m passionate about being able to communicate that language to my listeners,” says Denise. “Above anything, I am a black female who is a producer. I am an artist and songwriter but the former drives me so much. It has become a huge part of my purpose to fill that gap. The representation of females in technical roles in music is about 2%. It’s even less as a woman of colour.”

She is set to release her self-produced EP Peace of My Soul in the first quarter of 2023.