{"id":31244,"date":"2022-08-03T12:29:38","date_gmt":"2022-08-03T19:29:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=30000027682"},"modified":"2022-08-03T18:45:06","modified_gmt":"2022-08-04T01:45:06","slug":"heydeon-new-ep-we-were-meant-to-be-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/heydeon-new-ep-we-were-meant-to-be-review","title":{"rendered":"Review: Long Beach musician HeyDeon chooses love with new EP"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been two years since Long Beach artist HeyDeon released his last project, 2020\u2019s \u201cEmotional Wreck<\/a>,\u201d a full-length LP exploring the ups and downs of his love life, including plenty of heartbreak. Now, he\u2019s preparing for the Aug. 16 release of \u201cWe Were Meant to Be,\u201d a four-song EP that couldn\u2019t be more different. Every track on the new EP brims with open-hearted, head-over-heels love.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just me fully embracing this love that I have right now,\u201d he said. \u201cMusically I feel like toxic records or being disrespectful is the wave right now, and that\u2019s not where I am. Society feels like bad times are more real maybe\u2014I can\u2019t vouch for everyone else, but I\u2019d rather just grab onto happiness. I\u2019m not going to put out a record pretending to be sad and depressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether writing rap or R&B, the 2014 Long Beach Poly grad has always kept his music grounded in what he\u2019s going through. And right now, that\u2019s being madly in love with his fiancee, Long Beach artist Torin Thomas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like to write anything that I\u2019m not actually living, and she\u2019s the best thing in my life, she\u2019s the best thing period,\u201d HeyDeon said. \u201cThe first day we met we talked for 11 hours. It was one of those instant connections. I told her from the jump I\u2019m here for the long run, you\u2019re going to have to leave me if anything. It\u2019s been full speed ahead, no turning back\u2014just learning to love each other every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Deon Samuel Williams Jr. who is better known as HeyDeon in his studio space at his home in Long Beach Wednesday, July 29, 2020. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The opening track on WWMTB, \u201cIf It\u2019s Alright,\u201d is a beautiful documentation of that feeling and of that moment of anticipation before a first date, knowing that everything could change.<\/p>\n

Things also feel like they could be on the verge of change for the young musician\u2019s career. He was candid about feeling like he\u2019s hit a ceiling and wanting to start finding an audience outside of Southern California. He\u2019s gotten co-signs from some of the biggest names in music: He appeared as a guest artist on Snoop Dogg\u2019s most recent album, opened for him at a festival, and Snoop also directed a music video for HeyDeon last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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R&B and rap artist HeyDeon, Deon Samuel Williams Jr., on the set of a music video directed by Snoop Dogg. Courtesy photo from Riccardo Stanley.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to expand from being a Long Beach artist to be able to reach more people,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to be better at marketing myself and getting better at that side of things. I know that the music is there, but I\u2019m trying to take the next step.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listening to him talk about his career and his relationship, the parallels are obvious. By shaking off the fear of putting himself out there and being vulnerable with a partner, Deon Williams the man has found himself in a committed relationship. Now, HeyDeon the musician is hoping to do the same.<\/p>\n