Even if you haven’t been listening to the Joe Budden Podcast, if you were on social media a while back you heard his comment about the men in R&B. On an episode of “The Joe Budden Podcast”, Budden said that he believes all the new generation male R&B artists are “trash.” He also noted that the women are running circles around the men, and they seriously need to step it up. Now we have a verzuz between Anthony Hamilton and Musiq Soulchild which further ignited the conversation centered around, "where is real R & B ''. Here’s a thought, could it be that we make it hard in the music industry for amazing talent to get through? What if we are strongly gatekeeping talent out?

There’s so much talent out there. As a matter of fact, while I was healing and had nothing to do but sit in the house and discover new music, movies, tv shows, and restaurants on ubereats, I ran across an artist by the name of Desi Raines. Immediately I added a song of his called My Heart to my library. I want you all out there to meet Desi Raines! He is a phenomenal artist out of Atlanta that sat down with us in an exclusive interview. Check him out on all platforms where music is streamed. Then tweet us if you think the R&B gatekeepers should let him in @houstonstyle!

Who is Desi Raines?

Desi Raines is a husband, a father, a singer/songwriter, artist, brother, a son, a low-key producer, an aspiring DJ (I REALLY wanna learn how to scratch…and imma do that! ), an Atlanta native, a Waffle House connoisseur, and over all, a child of God.

When did you fall in love with music?

When I was 3 years old, I was flipping through channels and the video to “Remember The Time” by Michael Jackson can on and I was MESMERIZED!!! When he spun into sand at the end of the video, I ran into my folk’s room and said, “MAMA I WANNA BE MICHAEL JACKSON!!” And from that moment on, music has been all I could think about.

What influences are responsible for your sound?

I like to say that I’m a melting pot of everything I came up on, so I gotta start with MJ, Boyz II Men, OutKast, Goodie Mob, Maroon 5, The Beatles, Earth Wind & Fire, Take 6, Parliament/Funkadelic, Frank Ocean, and a lot more that I can’t think of at the moment.

Are you independent or want to be signed by a label?

I’m Definitely independent. My wife and I do everything in house, so at this moment, I’m not looking to be signed, but I would never turn my nose up at some folks tryna help us get to the next level, you know? You can’t control or own what comes from my artistry, but I’m game for a partnership that makes sense.

People say R&B guys don’t beg or love like the 90’s what do you say?

I’d say that they’re right…to a degree…because it all depends on what the industry is putting a spotlight on and where you’re looking for music. Because you can’t listen to Giveon and say that buddy ain’t begging on every track! Lucky Daye, Luke James, even Bryson Tiller. That form of R&B still exists, but the industry is so into the destruction of black folks right now…but that’s another topic…

Have you ever had your heart broken?

Definitely.

Have you ever broken a heart?

Not proud of it, but yes.

What makes you different?

I can actually sing forreal without any studio magic, and I got bars to go with it. I hate tooting my own horn, but I’ve been singing professionally since I was 10 years old. There are not many out right now that are seeing me on the vocals. Period.

Who do you feel is competition?

Myself. I used to look for outside competition…but that never bodes well. I’m tryna be better than the me from yesterday at all times.

What do you want your listeners and fans to take away from this project?

That I love God…and that I’m human. I’m nowhere near perfect…and my relationship with God doesn’t falter because of my imperfections. If anything, it strengthens the bond when I give it to Him, you know? So On this project, you’ll find me reaching out to Him for Help, turning up with my folks, and recognizing that though I fall short, Big Jes’ never drops me.

Do you have a muse? Who or what?

In life, my muse is my wife and my kids. Everything I do is for them. I want them to forget what broke feels like. I wanna give my wife the world, and together, we’re gonna pass the world down to our children.

What’s some of Desi’s favorite things?

My guitars, my studio set up that my wife recently renovated, my notes app , pancakes, steak and baked potatoes, and my people.

How do you feel about artists using TikTok to make songs go viral?

Whatever floats your boat or finds your lost remote. I can’t knock it, because it works. But I will say that going viral with no catalogue won’t do much for you. You get one section of your song to pop…but you don’t have any more music, when folks go to look for you, you’re nowhere to be found, and just like that the momentum is over with.

What exclusives can you give?

I got so much music in the tuck…I’ll just give you this one which is one of my favorites that WILL be out top of the year. It’s called “On You” produced, always, by my big bro B.Will.