Artist Profile: Giveon

Giveon Dezmann Evans, or better known as just Giveon, is an American singer and songwriter. Born February 2nd, 1995, Giveon is making noise in the music industry. He is best known for his feature on Drake’s single “Chicago Freestyle” in which he sings the chorus. Giveon is a California native and he grew up without a father figure. He states, “I grew up on the Eastside of Long Beach. It was fun, dangerous, and interesting all at the same time. My mom did a good job of making sure my brothers and I didn’t become a product of our environment…” Giveon also expressed that he didn’t grow up around great wealth, and this made it hard for him to see the better side. His biggest inspiration is Frank Sinatra, “I had an epiphany after initially hearing Sinatra, it was the very first time I heard a baritone singer. I got into Billy Caldwell and Barry White from there.” This inspiration can be heard through the slow, smooth baritone vocals. 

Although Drake’s release of “Chicago Freestyle” in May gave Giveon a solid fan base. Giveon’s song “LIKE I WANT YOU” released in November of 2019, allowed him to maintain a solid fan base. “LIKE I WANT YOU” is an R&B song about wanting things to be how they used to, and how easy it is to disguise happiness. The song didn’t actually become popular until he was featured with Drake, and to his credit. Drake has been known to popularize smaller artists. After the single, Giveon started working on finishing his 2020 freshman album “TAKE TIME”, which featured his top singles “LIKE I WANT YOU” and “HEARTBREAK ANNIVERSARY”. Giveon then started working on his EP titled “When It’s All Said And Done”, which was released on October 2nd. The EP has four songs on it, which include “When It’s All Said And Done”, “Still Your Best”, “Last Time (feat. Snoh Aalegra)” and “Stuck On You”. Since he dropped the EP only four days ago, there is no evidence about how well it is doing, however, there are many positive reviews of the EP on YouTube, and so far nothing negative has been said about it.

Giveon is making a name for himself, and there’s no doubt everyone will be hearing about him for many more years to come. A little push in the right direction was all it took for Giveon to get rolling into his creative process. From a mixture of his smooth instrumentals, visually appealing music videos, and deep voice, he is a favorite of many. R&B has been a growing genre from its departure back in the 90s, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he became a huge representation for the genre in the distant future. This prediction is based on his talent and his uniqueness. His voice is the opposite of singers like The Weeknd or Brent Faiyaz, who gained attention from their high-pitched singing. Baritone voices have never been the most popular, and for most of modern history, it has been seen as the background or bass vocals for someone with a Soprano voice to stand out. He chose to be different, he isn’t like any other singer, it’s working, and the sky’s the limit for Giveon.