ST. LOUIS — Andrae’Co “Dre’Co” Craig has a personality and aura people are drawn to. From his warm, welcoming demeanor to the big, charismatic energy he brings to a room where he entertains as an emcee and host. Upon meeting him, he makes you feel like you’re talking to a lifelong friend.
His ability to be relatable shows in his music, as much as it does in his personal life. Last month, he decided to take his relatability up a couple more notches with the release of his second album, “Therapy Sessions.”
The 14-song project takes listeners on a quest as they follow his storyline of meeting with a therapist to discuss some of his day-to-day issues. They include working too hard, not fully enjoying the fruits of his labor and the pressure of figuring out what will be his legacy.
“It’s set up as a storyline, that’s relatable,” Dre’Co said. “It’s untapped. I challenged myself with the different flows, cadences and the delivery I used on this project. But I’ve always wanted to challenge myself by debunking the myth of mental health and therapy being taboo in the Black community.
“It felt right to name the project Therapy Sessions because during my studio sessions, my producer, engineer, and I always talk about what we’re going through, and that always feels true to us at that moment.”
DeAndre’s engineer, Howard “Wes Hill” Williams, and his producer, Deandre “Martie Beatz” Martin share those feelings.
“A lot of the things he goes through, Dre and I go through as well,” Williams said. “People will be able to find themselves in this album, while they listen to him tell his story. I think that’s what makes this album special.”
Martin said he felt it was game-changing for Dre’Co to be as open and honest as he is about obstacles he faced. Most people tend to keep those things to themselves.
“I think the album shows you it’s okay to speak on different things, but often we shelve how we really feel instead of talking about the problem and getting to the root of it,” Martin said.
“The vibe you’ll get from the album comes to you in a way where you can really vibe with it. It’s like he’s talking about mental health and making it cool to bop to.”
With all the studio sessions Dre’Co, Martin and Williams have, they're always very organic and are orchestrated by starting everything from scratch and building along the way. The session for “Therapy Sessions” was no different than how they typically operate.
The height of the coronavirus pandemic motivated Dre’Co to work on the project even more. The collaborative trio began laying down its groundwork in February 2020.
“The pandemic put me in the mindset of wanting to release it,” Dre’Co said. “Shows started slowing up, I wasn’t outside as much, that was the perfect opportunity for me to tap in and hone in on this project. It was the driving force for me to get this message out.”
Outside of being a rapper, Dre’Co is also an in-game ambassador/emcee for his alma mater, Saint Louis University where he majored in business. He also is an event host in the local nightlife scene and is featured on CloseUP TV, a show on the STL TV network.
His familiarity throughout the city has lasted more than a decade. But what about those moments where people don’t see him or the grind that’s happening behind the scenes?
Those intimate moments inspired his debut album, “SeenUnseen,” which was released in 2019.
“I showed them who I was in public, but they didn’t know the struggles or the story behind how I was trying to get to that point,” Dre’Co said.
“The ‘seen’ part is more of a turn-up vibe. You see me hosting and performing. Unseen comes with me working 9-5s on Mondays or taking a trip to L.A. to find myself and connections. Unseen is telling that story of everyday struggles, cause it’s a relatable thing. Having this mentality of you guys know me for this, but let me also show y’all this.”
Dre’Co said his music is universal and isn’t limited to just one demographic of people.
“It’s something for everybody,” Dre’Co said. “I’ve had people who are 50 and up, non-Black people and my little cousins rocking to my music. I make good music that relates to everybody to some degree.”
Dre’Co releases all his music under his independent label and publishing company, Classics Only LLC.