Name: Donté
Hometown: Hampton, VA
Visionary Class: Music - Rapper
Hometown: Hampton, VA
Visionary Class: Music - Rapper
Small Fact:
He's a part of a crew called 1989 Central Park Wolfpack Gang aka 89. The name is a homage or reference to the "Central Park 5" who were accused of raping a white woman in Central Park (NYC) on April 20, 1989.
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Bria: When were you introduced to hip-hop?
Donté: Well, as far as my mom told me, the first hip hop song that I ever heard was Kool Moe Dee's "Wild Wild West" but honestly, my first recollection of hip-hop has to be Snoop Dogg's "Whats My Name" when the video came out on MTV...that's my first memory of hip-hop. From then on it was just embedded in my brain forever.
B: Now Vintage Masters Collection, is it a free album or a mixtape?
D: I label it as an EP because its only 9 tracks and its not even thirty minutes long, so by the industry's
standard it would be an EP, but I guess by people not knowing me and me not having a deal, it would be considered a mixtape.
B: How does the title define you and your artistry?
D: It's pretty much a representation of the type of music that I grew up listening to and the type of music that I enjoy making. In the past I have tried to conform and make songs that would gravitate towards the mass crowd rather than doing something that's from the heart...so I feel content when I make [vintage music]. It's that 90s era of hip-hop. I love it.
B: On your track, Owe You One, you have a line that says, "passport since 14, I explore maps," so have any countries that you visited impacted your perception on life?
D: Yea, actually. I said that line because when I was 14, my grandmother, during my summer away from
school, she took me to Paris and London. We spent one week in London and one week in Paris. I think
that ultimately had an effect on me because you know a lot of kids in Virginia don't get the opportunity to ever leave the state. So it opened me to other cultures and as I got older, I started to realize they were making hip-hop in the UK too. So it brought it all into perspective. It really shaped me and allowed me to be more of a renaissance man, and more accepting of cultures other than the one I was born into.
B: When I think of your music, it's more of what I call feel good music, you're authentic and you stay true to who you are. How do you plan to introduce your music on a national platform while still keeping true to yourself and your Virginia roots?
D: I guess...by making music that's true to me. I want to mix an old school sound with new school subject matter. I don't want to bore the listener but also, I don't want to say anything to them that's not '100. I'm going to keep it real and I'm going to be me. I can't just sit there and fake the funk just to try to gain fans. So I'm going to be me and hopefully it affects the right people.
B: What's your creative process like, when you hear a beat that just hits you?
D: It's really organic, honestly. My producer will send me the beat...I'll sit there and listen to it, then the beat will pretty much dictate what I write. I don't actually go into the studio to make songs. It's a more secluded process where I'm off to myself and then I go back to the beat. You know, it's like the more active I am...like if I'm walking around, then the words will just [begin to] formulate in my head. But like if I'm dormant for a second, I can't think of anything. It's weird. It's like rainman or some stuff man [laughs].
B: [laughs] Sometimes the best work comes from that process though..
D: Yea, I've just accepted it over the years. You can't really sit there and try to press the issue because when you do, it seems like you're doing too much. So I just let it flow organically.
B: Now, the journey of an aspiring rapper is not the easiest to embark on, so what is the largest adversity you've had to overcome or you are currently facing right now?
D: One of the adversites that I had to overcome was the fact that people actually like my music in despite of what I may think of it. I'm my worst critic and I critique my music more than anybody. So it took me awhile to accept the fact that somebody might hear a song that I don't like, and they give me praise for it. It was hard to wrap my head around that. The biggest thing right now though is just performing. I've performed a few times but I don't really do it a lot...
B: As far as Virginia goes, you guys have your staple artists [Pharrell/N.E.R.D, The Clipse, Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Trey Songz, Chris Brown] but speaking in terms of hip-hop, the Virginia presence is missing. Why do you think that's the case?
D: Well from an internal aspect, for the people in Virginia, its hard for them to get exposure because the artists who leave Virginia, don't come back and reciprocate the love that they've been given. They don't come back to check for artists or even do tracks with artists for that matter. Also, for the artists here, if they would unite instead of having a territorial mindset...then we could do it. Everybody has to get on the same level of supporting each other and through that, we can grow and prosper like how it is in Atlanta or Cali. If we adopted that mentality then maybe we can push forth. There are a lot of dope artists out here but we need the exposure. The opportunity.
B: In your opinion, what has been the best creative moment in hip-hop?
D: Honestly, I have to say the 90s again, man. The beats, the sampling that was used, [it was real]. Oh, and I'll also say when Kanye came into the game. He took the [beat] sampling to another level by using orchestration and everything. That's when the creativity started coming back and artists started putting more soul into their music. You could feel it was real rather than generic.
B: Lastly, what do you want people to know about Donté right now?
D: I'm 26, I'm from Hampton, VA and I represent 89...that's my crew. I just want to enlighten my people. I want to put them on a higher level of thinking, but at the same time give them great art, some good music, and creativity. I want them to accept me for me.You know I'm not the type of nigga that's going to front. I ain't a killer, a thug, or a [drug] dealer. I know those guys but I'm the cool guy...I went to school. So I want them to check out my projects and I hope they enjoy it.
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Go download Donté's Vintage Masters Collection, here & follow him on Twitter: @DontetheGreat89
#WeRespectVA