Riot Press Collective

DE’WAYNE might possibly be alternative’s brightest rising star. His music is eclectic and raw, with an aesthetic that can be described all the same. His latest album, june, proves all of this to be true, with the July 30th release being some of his best work to date.

june is filled to the brim with just about some of the best new music this year. DE’WAYNE combines classic funk influences with modern rock sounds to create an album that is a standout of 2025. 

Now while I previously wouldn’t have called myself a fan of DE’WAYNE, his song “DIE OUT HERE (ft. POORSTACY)” was a mainstay on my playlists. I already knew he was a very talented artist but I had never pushed myself that step further to actually taking a dive into his other work. However, with the release of june, I finally took that initiative to tune into a full body of work from the Los Angeles based artist.

june is, simply put, amazing. The album contains 11 songs, including a feature from I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME. Opening up with “lady lady”, you’re immediately transported to iconic 80s era rock. DE’WAYNE does not shy away from naming influences such as Lenny Kravitz and Prince- which can be big shoes to fill- but rather than sounding like an underperforming copy, his music comes off as a love child of the two iconic rockers. “lady lady” is the perfect introduction track for june because the second I heard this song I knew exactly the level of work I was tuning into with this album.

The second track on the album serves as the title track- “june.” I feel like when I tune into title tracks of albums or EPs, I tend to pay closer attention to the song knowing that the artist picked this song to be the overarching theme of the rest of the project. “june” is just all around fun. It’s this upbeat love song about being enamored by this woman June who just has this indescribable energy that makes you want to be with her. She’s enticing and pulls you in- the same exact way that “june” (the song) does. DE’WAYNE perfectly captures this woman’s essence and listening to him describe June as this quintessential woman forces you to completely understand why he would name an album after her.

Every moment of this album is remarkable. There’s no weak links, there’s no part that you feel like DE’WAYNE could’ve gone a step further in, and there really are no skips. However, there’s one song that actually stopped me in my tracks and made me click restart. “sundays” is a stand out track of the year for me. The way DE’WAYNE describes his relationship with his father in this very cathartic way makes you feel this parent-child relationship so intimately. He is able to sit there and admit that his father isn’t the best person ever and has his flaws, but it doesn’t matter because at the end of the day that’s his father.

Now, I can sit here and explain every which way or the other how deeply I believe that every music fan should sit down and listen to june. However, there is no way to truly get how good this album is until you just listen to it. DE’WAYNE is a master at his craft and it won’t be long until every rock fan knows his name.