Ester Dean "Drop It Low" feat. Chris Brown Music Video
Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for the musical ride of your life—courtesy of Zone 4/Interscope’s latest find, Ester Dean. And who is Ester Dean? An energetic dynamo who sings, raps and writes in a refreshing and adventurous style that defies definition. But there’s really no need to try and capture Dean’s talent in words. All it takes is one listen and you’re hooked.
Savvy music fans are already ahead of the curve. Dean’s colorful voice can be heard on Jeremih’s “Birthday Sex” remix and Gucci Mane’s “White Girl.” Although Dean’s debut album will arrive later this year, buzz single “Drop It Low” featuring Chris Brown is currently racking up a stream of viral kudos thanks to its banging beat complemented by Dean’s Betty Boop rasp.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this newcomer’s impressive skill set. The protégé of super producer Polow da Don is also a talented songwriter. Her most recent composition is the Mary J. Blige single “Stronger,” the first release from the Interscope soundtrack inspired by the upcoming LeBron James film, “More Than a Game.” Dean’s songwriting credits also include Keri Hilson, the Pussycat Dolls, Ciara, Keyshia Cole and the “Shopaholic” soundtrack.
“There’s nothing forced about Dean,” declares Polow da Don. “She’s a natural whose infectious energy, down-to-earth spirit and wide-ranging talent knows no boundaries. She’s all raw emotion; willing to take risks. Ester is the jackpot.”
A country girl at heart who’s never met a stranger, Dean recalls her risk-taking took root at an early age. Born in the railroad town of Muskogee, Oklahoma, Dean entertained girlhood notions of being a chef and owning a restaurant. But the youngest of five siblings soon found another way to cook up something tasty. Influenced by the blues music her church-singing mother played around the house—as well as by Sade, Destiny’s Child, Anita Baker, Bobby Womack and Jill Scott—a middle-school Dean took it upon herself one day to thumb through the yellow pages looking for studios where she could sing.
“I was the yellow pages girl,” says Dean with a laugh. “When one guy at a studio took my call, I blurted out, ‘I can sing.’ So I sang for him over the phone and he told me to have my mama call him.”
That led to Dean being shuttled back and forth between school and that Oklahoma studio, singing on various demos. Her family’s eventual relocation to Omaha, Nebraska, didn’t slow Dean’s roll. While attending high school, she began singing and freestyling with local rappers at various studios around town.
“I’d sing a hook and my pay would be the opportunity to record my own song,” says Dean. “That’s when I developed my writing skills because I needed something to sing.”
Noting that “everything I do is for the sake of music,” Dean moved to Atlanta to pursue her singing dream, making the 18-hour drive from Omaha by herself. Several fits and starts later, tired of being told her voice was too raspy and her body too healthy, Dean concluded she didn’t want to be an artist after all. “I had cried too much about it to continue. It wasn’t a happy place for me.”
But a fortuitous introduction prompted Dean to pursue songwriting, leading to her first professional demo and writing gigs for producers Chris “Tricky” Stewart and Jazze Pha (Girlicious’ “Like Me”). Along the way, she was asked by Polow da Don’s colleague Elvis Williams to write some hooks for Young Jeezy. It was during that and subsequent sessions writing songs for Ciara (“Never Ever”) and the Pussycat Dolls (“Whatcha Think About That”) that Polow witnessed first-hand Dean’s passion for music—and convinced her to pick up singing again on his Zone 4 label.
“I was hesitant,” says Dean. “I didn’t know if I wanted to put myself out there to be judged and torn down. But there’s a strong connection between me and Polow. In this life, you don’t meet a lot of people who do what they say. And Polow does.”
Based in Los Angeles since 2008, Dean is chasing her childhood dream with a creative vengeance. Thus far, she and Polow da Don have completed six songs for her debut album, including the melodic “That Girl,” the doo-wop/hip-hop-vibed “My Baby” and pumping dance jam “That’s How I’m Feeling.”
In the end, it’s always feeling that counts with Dean and her music. “I want people to see themselves through me,” she says. “I’m just like you; a girl who worked at McDonald’s and Target. I’m a very emotional person. But rather than crying something out, I sing it out. When I sing, it’s real life for me.”
