When asked about the meaning of his latest album name, “Foreveruary, Vol. 1” music artist and producer De’Auan McClaine says it’s the same reason for his stage name being Mac Infinity.
“I really think that we can exist in three places at once,” the 25-year-old said, sitting at a patio table at Pontilly Coffee. “We’re in the present, we learn from the past, and we look towards the future. That’s where ‘forever’ comes into play because that’s what I think forever is. It’s infinity.”
McClaine’s belief in being able to exist in the past, present and future all at once can be experienced through his music. His appreciation for rap music and Black culture shines in his song “Esha,” where he raps on top of the recurring melody played during Brandy’s diary entry scenes from the 1990s sitcom “Moesha.” In the “Esha” music video, McClaine wears a Nelly-inspired Band-Aid under one of his eyes, terry cloth sweatbands and a vintage basketball jersey — a nostalgic nod to early 2000s fashion trends.
The Kansas City native remembers falling in love with rap music in seventh grade, the same year he wrote his first rap song for a school science project. He learned how to make beats in high school and by 2023 challenged himself to make three beats a day. His dedication to his craft, desire to create community, and merge the sounds of his hometown and New Orleans led to the release of his 2025 album “Foreverurary, Vol. 1.” The collaborative album with a mixtape feel features artists from New Orleans and Kansas City. It’s the type of album worth savoring, where you might not catch all of the poetic lyrics or profound reflections on the first listen.
As a true multi-hyphenate creative, McClaine is the founder of Forever Films Forever, a music, apparel and cinema company. In addition to creating content and merchandise for clients, he films and produces the majority of his music and videos. His keen eye for filmmaking, creative storytelling and thoughtfully written verses showcased on his Instagram are like an exploration of the lost art of hip-hop music videos.
Looking ahead, McClaine plans to continue collaborating and releasing additional volumes of “Foreveruary” with different artists throughout his career. Until then, he has new solo music in the works, more “Foreverurary, Vol. 1” video roll-outs, and plans to continue embracing being a lifelong learner.
“It’s sort of like when you start at something, you think you know everything about it, and then the further you go, you realize how little you actually know,” McClaine said. “That’s sort of how I look at it. On my journey with music and just art in general. The further I go along, I realize how much more there is to learn. I just try to learn something new about [music] every day.”
