By Taylor Adams Cogan
“I’m a musician, a community activist, and a Dallas native.”
Dezman Lehman, known as Dezi 5, introduces himself simply, but behind that is plenty of history. For the musician, Deep Ellum isn’t just a place to perform: It’s part of his story going back to childhood.
Dezi grew up in Oak Cliff, where he was raised by his grandparents, but he also spent time in Deep Ellum long before he ever considered a career in music. His grandmother owned a restaurant in the neighborhood called Vern’s Place, near where Cold Beer Company is today. That connection would stay with him.
“That’s another reason I’ve been connected since I was a kid,” he says of the neighborhood.
Music also found him early. A family member noticed he had a natural ear and encouraged his grandparents to get him involved in music programs, which led to dance, wind instruments, marching band, choir, and singing in church — all of which still show up in how he performs today.
“All of that encompasses me today,” he said.
The stage came later. Around 2008, Lehman started rehearsing in a small attic space next to his grandmother’s restaurant, where hanging out with friends slowly turned into something more serious.
“I was creating a band,” he said. “My grandmother’s restaurant would close at 5 p.m., and I would work on my music and open her doors back up around 7. I would sell chips and soda. She’d come back the next day to a little stack of money.”
Those early nights were experimental — a mix of sounds and influences from the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Erykah Badu, Funkadelic, and Amy Winehouse.
“I think we’re always experimenting,” he said. “At that time, I was heavily influenced by hippie music.”
He played piano, sang, tried different instruments, learning what worked and what didn’t in real time. And he hasn’t stopped since.
“My career has transformed,” he said. “Being in the business for almost 15 years, I don’t just stick to one thing. I’m a trained singer. I sing at weddings, corporate events. I also DJ. I do whatever it takes to pay the bills, doing what I like.”
Over time, that hustle turned into ownership. Lehman trademarked his artist identity and built his own business around it, which he’s been running independently for five years.
“I’ve never worked for anyone,” he said. “It’s rewarding. I hear a lot of people doing things they don’t like to do, and I love everything that I’m doing.”
His sound has shifted along the way — rock into hip-hop, EDM into R&B — eventually settling into something he calls “Texas soul,” and it’s a wonderful sound.
“Music is a rainbow sometimes,” he said. “Right now, I generated a genre. The content is more mature.”
But performing is only part of how he stays connected to Deep Ellum. These days, he’s just as likely to be walking the streets talking about the neighborhood’s history as he is to be on stage. Dezi works with the Deep Ellum Foundation, leading weekly tours that introduce people to what’s happening in the district right now alongside its history.
He’s also the founder of the Dallas Entertainment Awards, now heading into its fourth year, and regularly helps with local art events and community gatherings, often behind the scenes.
“I want to make sure I’m threaded into Deep Ellum in some way,” he said.
Like many artists who have watched the neighborhood evolve, Dezi carries both hope and curiosity about where it’s headed next. He welcomes growth but keeps his focus on what has always made the area feel like home.
“I hope it’s still going to be supporting live art and live music,” he said. “As long as there are venues for people to play, go eat, and people stay close-knit and look out for each other, we can be alright.”
That sense of connection shows up in everything he talks about: collaboration, inclusion, and helping others find their footing.
“I consider myself a humanitarian,” he said. “Continuously making people feel included and not excluded. No hate. Everybody belongs. There’s no territory; we exist with each other.”
In recent years, Dezi crossed a milestone he had been chasing since those early attic rehearsals: releasing his first full album.
“It felt like an accomplishment because it’s something I had been trying since the day I started doing music,” he said. “I’m glad it took that long because I was able to control every aspect of it.”
Now living in Junius Heights and still recording new songs, he keeps moving forward, performing, organizing, touring, and building community in a city that has shaped him for decades, mostly for one reason.
“Passion: When you’re doing something you love, it opens doors,” he says. “That’s what’s in my music and everything I carry myself in, just a sense of community.”
