Derez De'shon

Derez De'Shon Lenard, an Atlanta rapper, crafts deeply reflective verses centered on personal bonds, street pursuits, and everyday hardships, blending rap and melody through prominent Auto-Tune usage. After years operating at the edges of the city's vibrant rap community, he achieved breakthrough success in 2018 via a pair of standout tracks.

Known earlier as D-Bo, Lenard participated in Dirt Gang, tied to Waka Flocka Flame's Brick Squad Monopoly, and often worked alongside Slim Dunkin. Dunkin's passing in 2011 prompted a temporary hiatus from music. He experimented briefly with the moniker D Dash prior to adopting Derez De'Shon. Attention from Cash Money's Birdman resulted in his feature on Rich Gang's "Pull Up" single from 2016.

In 2017 came the DJ Drama-hosted mixtape The Pain, which included contributions from Birdman and Jeremih. This release marked the start of his ascent, as "Ambition" and especially "Hardaway" resonated locally, with the latter achieving broader national impact. Its accompanying video surpassed one hundred million views, prompting a remix with Yo Gotti and 2 Chainz. Such momentum created interest in a deluxe version of Pain that dropped in 2018, after which Lenard issued the follow-up Pain 2 later that year. Pain 2 highlighted his rising profile through appearances by Lil Durk, Mozzy, Lil Baby, among others. August 2020 saw the arrival of Pain 3, boasting guest spots from A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Boosie Badazz, and Ralo.