Who is Dante' Pope?

As noted in a recent article in the Washington City Paper, "Dante' Pope Does It All." Dante’  is a multi-genre, multi-disciplinary, international touring percussionist and vocalist born and raised on the west side of Chicago, based in Washington, DC. His eclectic style is a pure reflection of the diverse influences he garnered while playing in the church in Austin and North Lawndale and his formal training at the Merit School of Music, downtown Chicago. To date he has released 5 EP's and a host of  singles cross genres. In 2025 he released, “Proof,” birthed out of a longing to put all his influences in a bottle; gospel, spirituals, blues, soul and jazz  along with a live EP, “The Anthology Live,” featuring  covers of jazz standard, "Footprints,"  by Wayne Shorter.  He closed out the year with a heart warming  song called, “Christmas Without You,” 

As a percussionist, Dante’ toured with GRAMMY award-winning artist Dom Flemons and was a collaborator on his GRAMMY nominated project, Black Cowboys. He served as Music Director for soul vocalist Raheem DeVaughn and lyricist Wes Felton’s project The Crossrhodes featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series. Most recently,  he was a member of two-time GRAMMY award-winning group, Old Crow Medicine Show as featured percussionist, vocalist and pianist. The international touring group performed across the country and in the UK.  Performances with the likes of Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Jr., playing the Grand Ole Opry quarterly and the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville over Dante's 2 years of collaboration were true highlights. 

While performing and touring, Dante' has a had a history of keeping one foot in the world of music education as a clinician and former DC Public Charter Schools instructor. To date he has worked with range of organizations within the DC from the Kennedy Center, The Strathmore and several music schools teaching percussion and mentoring young musicians through song.