We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dezzy Yates. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dezzy below.

Dezzy , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

As a hip-hop artist, I’ve explored various aspects of expression throughout my career. Outside of music, one of my first loves and passion was street dancing, more specifically the breaking and popping styles. I thought long about some of the risks that I’ve taken over the years and I’ve settled on one that I hope uplifts. Life is full of trials and challenges and it is up to us to either see those as obstacles that prevent us from moving forward, or springboards that launch us into the next portion of our journey.

I started learning to break when roughly around eleven years old. At the time, my parents were trying to figure out what kind of extracurricular activity to put me in so that way I could stay engaged. We tried martial arts, baseball, and some other things all of which I thoroughly enjoyed and somewhat excelled in. It wasn’t until my parents placed me into a local break class that I was sold out on something. What started as a small flame ended up growing into a huge passion of mine. By high school, I took less interest in breaking and picked up the popping aspect of street dancing.

I lived in Columbus, GA at the time. There wasn’t much of a culture that supported my style of dancing. All of the dance jams, competitions, and events that included my style of dancing were either in Atlanta or throughout various cities in Florida. There was no YouTube until about 2006. All we had were break DVDs and random clips on the internet. It was this time people still watched regular TV (shocked I know right?) and that So You Think You Can Dance was starting to climb interest. Around the 2006-07 time span, there were a couple of street dancers that appeared and competed on that show which completely captivated me. Their names were Bryan ‘Chibi’ Gaynor, a dancer specializing in robotics and animation style dancing despite his scoliosis disability, and Hokuto ‘Hok’ Konishi, a bboy who blended elements of locking and popping into his style that allowed him to flow. After seeing them compete and excel in an area that didn’t have much representation, I was immediately set on training and auditioning myself one day.

I started training, entering various dance jams in Atlanta when the circumstances allowed it, and convinced my mom and dad to drive me to different auditions. I was fifteen at the time and nothing else seemed more real to me than carving out a career in dancing. America’s Best Dance Crew also arrived during this time, and after seeing the Jabbawockeez take home the prize I was further convinced that this was something serious. I joined a dance crew with two of my friends, trained some more, entered jams, and waited for my opportunity to take that leap of faith.

To make things a little less longwinded, I eventually auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance in my senior year of high school back in 2010. With both my mom and best friend, we took an overnight trip to Nashville, TN so that I could audition. I was nervous, and excited, but determined to go. Some people tried to talk me out of it while others stated I was just chasing a pipe dream. Still, there were some, like my mom and best friends, who believed in me. I ended up securing an audition in front of the judges but was unfortunately cut and did not make it to Vegas. I was devastated, bitter, and frustrated, however. I still never gave up. A few years later, in 2013. I auditioned again in Atlanta. This time, I did not make it past the preliminary rounds. I was heartbroken again.

After getting married in 2014, I turned my focus on my music career seeing that it was starting to gain more traction. I relegated my dancing to local dance studios and events and didn’t think about auditioning again. I felt like I just was not that talented in that area and I couldn’t face the hurt of rejecting again. So You Think You Can Dance Season 12 rolled around in 2015 and held open auditions. This time, my wife Brianna, strongly urged me that I should consider auditioning again. She practically made me. I made excuses as to why I felt like I wasn’t good enough but she wouldn’t let me back out of it. I eventually conceded, and after joining with a fellow friend of mine, Antonio, we decided to head to the audition in Memphis, TN. Despite several setbacks, we pushed our way there overnight, grabbed a hotel, and took another leap of faith.

It paid off.

Out of over 9,000 people that auditioned across the nation, I was one of the top 200 performers that made it to Las Vegas. My childhood dream of competing in So You Think You Can Dance had been realized and for one of the first times in my life I could check something off my career bucket list. I was unfortunately cut during the first round of the Vegas portion of the show, however. The experience and journey that led up to that particular point are irreplaceable. Through faith, prayer, persistence, and belief I was shown the immense possibilities of what happens when faith, works, and risk combines.

I realized that the one big risk was made up of a bunch of smaller risks over the years that led up to that point: dancing at the local talent show, showing up to dance battles despite getting burned in the first round, talent show auditions, etc. Smaller risks led to bigger risks. Faith was stretched and the impossible seemed less impossible.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Dezzy Yates and I am an independent hip-hop artist based out of Phoenix, AZ by way of Columbus, GA. I have been active as a dancer for roughly twenty years and as a hip-hop artist for about sixteen years. I started out dancing and recording music as a hobby and outlet for expression during my middle and high school years. It wasn’t until I started competing and releasing music that I heavily considered the idea of this being an actual career. I was drawn to both of these forms of art because of the authenticity I was able to express. After seeing artists like Lupe Fiasco and Kanye West create a lane for hip hop that differed from the norm, and after seeing the Jabbawockeez and several dancers from So You Think You Can Dance take street dance to the national level, I knew that there was something unique about what I was doing that needed to be explored.

Over the years, I have been blessed to have had the privilege to share my gifts and talents around the country. I am one of the 2013 BMI Urban Showcase finalists along with being one of the 2015 So You Think You Can Dance Season 12 Top 200 semi-finalists. I’ve taught dance professionally in both dance studios and several after-school programs for over ten years. I’ve been cast as an extra dancer in several music videos, one of them being Lecrae’s, “I’m Turnt”. Over the years I have independently released several albums and mixtapes with one of the being featured on the major Christian Hip Hop media site, Rapzilla. More recently I was featured on the Roku Channel as a part of their Change Maker series.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, I have a strong moral compass that drives me to stand for more than just myself. I believe that I have been called and gifted with these talents to be the light in the darkness and to draw people to the Light. I have an understanding that my life isn’t my own, and that everything that I do is for the benefit of Him and others. Letting my light shine is less about being the greatest but rather about encouraging those around me to push back against the darkness that seems to be enveloping the culture. When I am writing, recording, practicing, or performing the intention is to inspire, encourage, and point people into the direction that will serve them best–namely Jesus Christ.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

One of the best things that society can do to support artists and creatives is to use purchase goods and services from them. Everyone has had to start somewhere. Your favorite artist was once a struggling musician trying to get the bills paid. Your favorite fashion designer was once a dreamer with just an idea in their head. Your favorite actor or actress was once someone unheard of trying to catch their big break. Supporting artists and creatives in by purchasing goods and services from them goes such a long way.

Instead of streaming the brand-new album that was released, why not purchase it on iTunes? When was the last time you dropped by the local theater and bought a ticket to a stage play? Why not take some of the money you would use to purchase those new Air Jordan sneakers and invest it into somebody’s start-up brand? These acts of generosity go a long way and it helps to encourage the artist and creative to keep going.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The Bible.

This book has changed my life in so many different ways and aspects that I cannot begin to explain. Outside of salvation and understanding the message of grace, I have learned so much about how to handle myself with management, entrepreneurial ventures, and my overall philosophy of life.

The message of this world’s system teaches that to be successful one has to be first at everything. Success is about taking every opportunity that comes your way, putting yourself first, and caring less about the next person. The scripture teaches the exact opposite. It flips that system upside down and teaches that to be first you have to be last. and that to lead you have to serve. It teaches that opportunities come to those who are patient and that humility is far more attractive than pride. Placing God first and having Him at the center of my life has helped me progress farther than when my goals and dreams were there.

There are so many nuggets of wisdom just within the book of Proverbs that can be applied to any type of discipline. I have cherished and grown to love applying all of these ancient truths to my life the way it teaches only to see the fruits of successful be produced.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @dezzy_yates
• Twitter: @dezzy_yates

Image Credits
IG: @theintrovert_photographer