| HOT NEW UPCOMING ARTIST – DONDRIA INTERVIEW |
Afoot: Where can people pick up a Dondria Mixtape? Dondria: You can pick up “Dondria Duets” on global14.com/dondria for free. Afoot: Where do you find inspiration to write music? Posted on 09 July 2010 by dmitri Dondria: I definitely take it from real life Afoot: What is it like working with Jermaine experiences or my friends’ and family’s Dupri? experiences. Dondria: It’s great working with him! He Afoot: What does the future hold for Dondefinitely… pushes me towards my limits dria? and sets new challenges for me. And it Dondria: Well, I’m workseems we have the ing hard at creating my same vision for projbrand this year; creating ects which is to do that staying power… I will our part in bringing still be relevant and in the real R&B back… your face. But I just want that “80s/90s R&B to make history and con[sound]” that we’ve tinue to inspire like I’ve been missing. already done so far. I’m Afoot: Tell us how helping to bring that soul you ended up getting back in the music. I know signed with SoSo Def that my music, my humilRecords. ity, and God will take me Dondria: Well, in everywhere I wanna go. 2006 I decided to Afoot: Thanks for showput up my first video ing Canada some love, on YouTube to get anything else you’d like to an unbiased opinion leave us with? of my voice. I knew Dondria: My album Donthat they would tell dria vS Phatfffat is comme, very bluntly, if ing out August 17th, they liked me or not. 2010! So make sure A year and 25 videos you’re on the lookout for later, I had reached 1 that. And Thank you for million views on my showing me love as well, “Promise” by Ciara Canada. You’re the One video. I started getting approached by any For me! body and everybody. One of those people Dondria | Bio | was Jermaine Dupri; and at first I didn’t Dondria Nicole Fields never had to send believe it was him. But after a lot of persisa demo tape to an A&R executive. She tence, he finally convinced me. We started never stood in line to audition for “Ameriworking 6 months later. can Idol,” nor did she ever join a girl group Afoot: Who is your current musical inspirato get her foot in the door. Nope. So So tion? What’s on replay on your ipod? Def’s newest R&B singer with a stunning Dondria: My influences consist of Whitney voice, Dondria caught her big break in the Houston, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Karmusic biz with the help of a $15 webcam en Clark Sheard, and Destiny’s Child. Right and YouTube, the popular video-sharing now- my 90′s mix is playing on my iPod; website. But if you ask her, all of this – her Jodeci, SWV, SiLk, Old Destiny’s Child, etc. online discovery, record deal and newfound
music career – happened simply by accident. “Before 2006, I had never heard of YouTube,” says the Texas native, who was introduced to the site by a friend. “I went up there to watch a fight that had happened
at my school. I didn’t know people were singing on it.” On a whim, Dondria bought a webcam and decided to upload a singing video of her own. Her choice: An a cappella version of Musiq Soulchild’s “Love.” Within two weeks, the video earned over 1,000 views and garnered tons of encouragement from visitors. Inspired, Dondria began searching for instrumentals that she could videotape herself singing along to. At the request of her rapidly growing online fan base, she posted various clips of herself covering songs from “Diary” by Alicia Keys to Rihanna’s “Unfaithful.” However, it was her stirring rendition of
Ciara’s “Promise” – which received over a million views – that took the budding singer from homebound diva to a complete Internet sensation. “I thought to myself, ‘Wow, I really have something here,’” remembers Dondria of the overwhelming response to the video. “I didn’t get on YouTube to get a record deal. I was just having fun. But when I saw the feedback I was getting, I realized that a lot of people really liked my voice.” One of those people happened to be So So Def CEO, Jermaine Dupri, who tried for several weeks to connect with Dondria on both YouTube and MySpace. Thinking Dupri’s messages were from an impostor, Dondria initially ignored them. “I would get emails all the time from people claiming to be this or that. Most of the time, when I’d blow them off, they’d never hit back. But Jermaine persisted, so I called him up one day and the rest is history.” Dupri flew the singer and her mom to Atlanta for what Dondria thought was a session with Jagged Edge to a make a YouTube video. However, Dupri surprised the young artist by offering her a contract. “JD was so extra cool,” she recalls. “He just walked over to me, and asked if I was ready. My answer was, ‘I was born ready.’” Officially signing with So So Def in 2007, Dondria, then 20 years old, had a record deal. To think; merely a year prior, the Southern songbird was just another small town girl from Sachse, Texas who got her start in music at the age of four by singing in church. “My entire family sang, but I didn’t get passionate about singing until middle school when my choir teacher suggested I take voice lessons.” Dondria took voice lessons, competed in talent shows and over the years studied the likes of Aretha Franklin, Whitney
Houston and Etta James. She even spent a year at Tarleton State University as a music education major. All of these experiences prepared Dondria for her long-awaited debut album Dondria vs. Phatfffat. Dondria pours her heart and soul into her first single, “You’re the One.” Written and produced by Dupri and veteran songwriter/producer Bryan Michael Cox, “You’re the One” is a timeless throwback to classic R&B and the perfect track to showcase Dondria’s range and vocal maturity. “Dondria is like a young Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey or Alicia Keys,” says Dupri. “There is nothing that the girl can’t sing.” Longtime Dupri collaborator and singer/songwriter Johnta Austin also sings her praises. “Dondria has a soulfulness that is just crazy,” says Austin, who recorded a duet with Dondria entitled “Crazy About Your Love.” “There hasn’t been a voice like hers since SWV. When we were working together, I was impressed by how natural she was.” Due out in Spring 2010, Dondria vs Phatfffat – “Phatfffat” is a nickname she picked up in college as a contrast between her skinny physique and ravenous appetite for food– features a diverse mix of soulful ballads, real R&B and straight up dance records. “I’m so in love with this album,” Dondria gushes. “You can play it from start to finish without stopping. I can’t wait for my fans to finally hear it.” Still, you don’t have to wait for the release of Dondria vs. Phatfffat to hear the chanteuse in action. She updates a number of online pages daily with content from a cappella songs to covers to silly behind-thescenes moments; really leveraging the power of the Internet to maintain her relevance and grow her millionplus fan base. Subsequently, Dondria’s keen understanding of social networking coupled with her raw talent and charisma set her apart in the music industry and is a sure sign that this rising star will be around for a long time. “As an artist, you need to utilize every aspect of putting yourself out there,” says Dondria. “YouTube made it so easy. It allowed me to show the world the ‘real me’ – my real voice, pitch and presence. Now, with So So Def, I have the opportunity to become a real R&B artist and live a dream. And [I] lov[e] every minute of it.” Check out Dondria’s Myspace – http://www.myspace. com/dondrianicolemusic Follow her on twitter - http://www.twitter.com/dondria Check her out on FACEBOOK
Let’s Have A Toast
Getin To The Roots Of Yioun Tree
Music is a passion shared by many but it takes a unique blend of talent to capture the essence of an audience along with purpose. Robert High better known as Youn Tree by many has held a passion for music his entire lifetime and shared a particular interest in rapping ever since his days of neighborhood ciphers. At the age of twelve Youn Tree took it upon himself to hold lyrical rap battles and competitions between his peers. As Youn Trees talents continued to increase and his subject matter began to cover more surreal topics besides typical materialism he formed a group with his long time childhood friend from the Richmond area named J Mask. The duo is currently gaining buzz from the likes of their manager Sean and their highly anticipated mixtape “ Next Up”. Young Tree has also made it a point to gain show experience by performing at family reunions, school talent shows, and college campus functions. Currently he is in the process of expanding his time in the studio and continuing to work in the field of broadcasting journalism as a nineteen year old sophomore at Hampton University. Youn Tree also feels that his music stands apart from the competition because it has a unique purpose and desire and it can still liven a party. Pete Tillack’s love of the ocean and his passion for surfing took the Australian-born artist on a seven-year journey around the world.
Living and participating in the many diverse communities he visited, Tillack en-
countered countless cultures and lifestyles that lent a hand in helping him become more aware of his own self-explorations, direction and personal growth. He draws upon these emotions and experiences to transcend the feelings of others through his art. “The goal of my work is to bring the viewer to that stolen moment of time where they escape their present surroundings and conditions--an active meditation” says Tillack. “It is during this tranquil state that you can create a moment of clarity, contemplating aspirations, life’s directions or solving problems. You begin to process where you need to take your life and what needs to be done to get there; of that get-away place that you have always wanted; or, due to the clear thought pattern, you are able to find the elusive solution to a certain problem. “It is the ‘eye of the storm ‘that cannot be forced but can be provoked,” says Tillack. “It may happen in the middle of a traffic jam. Or, upon looking up from your com-