Atlanta based multi instrumentalist, Donn Chii, is becoming the hottest new breakthrough artist in hip hop. Growing up influenced by both rock and rap culture, Donn Chii brings his inspirations full circle with his unique sound and mixed genre style. Early influences range from Will Smith, Dru Hill, to Linkin Park adapting to the more recent styles of Big Sean, Post Malone, and Juice WRLD. "LUVERBOI" is the perfect Valentine's Day jam! A collection of love songs written the past few years of the pandemic, Donn Chii delivers his best work through raw lyrics, rocking guitars and sonic beats! With a little something for everybody, this EP is fun and can be enjoyed by any listener!
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Donn Chii, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
I first got into music around age 14. There were a group of kids I hung with in school that used to skateboard and listen to rock music so naturally I gravitated towards their uniqueness. From there, I began exploring new genres myself, picking up bass guitar and adopting new musical styles of my own. After playing in bands for years and DJing parties for money, I became an independent hip-hop artist and am doing music full time now.
How do you balance your time in the studio with other commitments such as a part-time job, family, admin?
It's a tough job balancing everything else around a music career. Luckily for me, I mostly work from home so I'm able to spend more time with family/friends. Still, it's so easy to get caught up in work-life so taking breaks/days off is important for me and my mental health.
Your latest release is 'LUVERBOI'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
So, LUVERBOI actually came together pretty smoothly. The toughest part for me was the production and mixing. Most of the songs were already written so I putting my focus into the sound quality was my greatest task. I work in Logic Pro X and like to try different things with each release so it's sometimes challenging getting the mix just right.
Where did you get the inspiration for this EP?
Inspiration was pulled from a number a places. I originally came up with the concept after searching through a ton of unfinished song ideas in the vault then comprising the best ones into a body of work, which happened to be mostly love songs. This was back in December so I started planning for a February release to give me enough time to finish and I finally dropped it on Valentine's Day.
How long did you work on the 'LUVERBOI'? Was it an easy process for you?
The process took about 6-8 weeks. Half the songs were already written so it was just a matter of finishing up some newer ones and cleaning up the older ones. I thought it would have been an easier process but very happy the way it turned out haha.
How do you know when a work is finished?
Sometimes you don't know, sometimes you just have to trust that you did the best you could with what you had and let the song fly. Sometimes as artists, we can have tendencies to hoard songs and never release them cause we think they aren't good enough but most of the time, it's better to let them go than to keep them caged and die.
Can you write what was your best performance in your career? How do you remember it?
One of my favorite performances I've done is probably one I did out in Austin, TX SXSW 2018. It was a contest put on by Coast 2 Coast showcase and I bet $400 on myself to win a song contest against 30+ artists. To my surprise, I won 4th place and got to go to this really awesome music conference in Miami and learned a lot from industry moguls. I think most of my favorite performances were at Austin's SXSW actually.
How do you find yourself in the music business? When you started out in music, did you know it would be like this?
In the beginning, I thought I knew it all but there's so much more to learn in this industry. Things really changed for me when I started thinking of myself as more of a business than an music artist. I've always had the vision for myself, I just didn't know how to make it reality. I figured out by allocating my money into the right places, it would allow me to grow as an artist. I prepared for some bumps in the road on my journey but I've saved myself a lot of pain by working smarter and not harder.
Who is your favourite musician?
It's impossible for me to pick one favorite musician/artist, but Big Sean is that one person who got me into rapping. I always played in rock/metal bands growing up so being a frontman/vocalist was kind of foreign territory to me. But, as time went on, I was inspired by Sean's story and creative flows and punchlines. He encouraged me to try something I never done before.
What are your plans for the future?
Right now, my plans for the future consists of more music (obviously), pushing out quality content on my socials, and more epic live performances! This is my first year really doing this artist thing full time so I'm expecting great things. I'll be dropping another single soon, followed by another EP hopefully in the summer. I'll be trying my luck to get placements on music festivals too and playing some venues in the Atlanta area. Thanks!