Deno Michael Mebrahtu (born 23 September 2002), known mononymously as Deno (also known as Deno Driz), is a British singer, songwriter, rapper, and actor from London, England.
Background
Deno was born in Brixton, London, to parents originally from Eritrea, and was raised in South London. He attended Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton.
Career
Beginnings (2016–2017)
In 2016, a friend asked Deno to freestyle and sing on Snapchat after school. The video was posted to Instagram with the "#imjustbait" hashtag, gaining him thousands of followers. The videos caught the attention of British rapper Stormzy, who retweeted one of them and later brought Deno into the studio to contribute to his album Gang Signs & Prayer.
Later in 2016, Deno met rapper AJ at a gathering in Stratford Westfield. They began a creative partnership, with Deno singing the chorus on AJ's track "Know Me," which accumulated over 2.5 million YouTube views. The duo, often styled AJ x Deno, opened for Migos at IndigO2. Deno and AJ were signed by Sony Columbia UK in 2017.
Rise to Fame (2018–2021)
Deno achieved commercial success in 2018 with the single "London" (with AJ featuring EO), which peaked at No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart and accumulated over 45 million video streams. That same year, his collaboration with rapper Cadet on the track "Advice" went viral, reaching No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart, earning over 500,000 sales and a Brit Certified Gold Award (later certified Platinum by the BPI). He also featured on "Pumpy" by Da Beatfreakz alongside AJ, Swarmz, and Cadet.
In 2019, Deno released "First Days," a tribute to Cadet, who died in a road collision in February 2019. He released the single "Change" featuring DigDat in September 2019, and later that year released his debut EP Eye 2 Eye, featuring Krept, Jay1, and DigDat. He also launched a 30-piece fashion collection with BoohooMAN.
In 2021, Deno released the mixtape Boy Meets World, which featured collaborations with J.I the Prince of N.Y, Chunkz, Unknown T, Cadet, Craig David, DDG, and members of the rap collective OFB. The mixtape peaked at No. 31 on the UK Albums Chart.
Recent Activity (2022–present)
Deno has continued releasing singles, including "Better Now" (2022) and multiple releases in 2025 such as "All I Need," "GIRLS," "Tables Turn," and the collaborative EP Favela with MXZI.
Acting
Deno appeared as "Singing Boy" in six episodes of Idris Elba's Sky One television series In the Long Run (2017–2018). He also appeared in the web series Shiro's Story Part 3 (2018) as Bailey, and starred as Brandon in the GRM Daily mini-series The Re-Up (2020).
Musical Style and Genres
Deno's music is classified as R&B, afroswing, and hip hop. He is associated with London's afro-wave music scene.
Discography
Mixtapes:
- Boy Meets World (2021) – peaked at No. 31 on UK Albums Chart
Extended Plays:
- Eye 2 Eye (2019)
- Favela (with MXZI) (2025)
Selected Singles (as lead artist):
- "London" (with AJ featuring EO) (2018) – UK No. 45, BPI Platinum
- "Advice" (with Cadet) (2018) – UK No. 14, BPI Platinum
- "Pumpy" (with Da Beatfreakz, Cadet, AJ, Swarmz) (2018) – UK No. 70, BPI Silver
- "First Days" (2019) – UK No. 71
- "Motorola" (with Da Beatfreakz, Dappy, Swarmz) (2019) – UK No. 32, BPI Silver
- "Change" (featuring DigDat) (2019) – UK No. 53
- "Self-Obsessed" (with Da Beatfreakz, D-Block Europe, Krept & Konan) (2020) – UK No. 26, BPI Silver
- "Circles" (featuring OFB, Bandokay, Double Lz) (2020) – UK No. 36
- "Lingo" (featuring J.I, Chunkz) (2021) – UK No. 57
