In Atlanta, Dono represents a new generation of R&B. A conversation about personal growth, music as a form of storytelling, and her new album which just dropped on September 2.
By Katharina Moser
A voice soft yet definitive, melodies lightly flowing yet powerful, and lyrics so universally human that they might tell a story of my life or of yours. But it is Dono’s stories these songs tell, and the longer we sit alongside her, the stronger grows our suspicion that this is Dono’s world, and we are all just living in it.
The young Atlanta-based artist has been making waves in Atlanta’s music community over the past months, with her EP “Accountable Blues” gaining traction both online and in the city that is America’s music mecca, followed by her singles “X Marks Da Spot” and “2X2”. And now, on September 2, her long-anticipated debut album, “Growing Pains,” has finally been released.
Of course, Dono is a well-known name for all who know Netflix’s famous show “Rhythm + Flow”. She competed on Season 2 of the hip-hop competition series in 2024, and gained widespread attention as a fan favorite for her raw lyrical skill and strong stage presence, most notably during her intense rap battle against Detroit Diamond, which featured guest judge Eminem.
“I started out with writing poetry in high school. Then I went to college at Tuskegee University, and there I started performing live. Everybody told me to start rapping, and so I began diving into my artistry more and more. I had a sound to curate, and I locked in on that – and now it’s been ten years”, the 26-year-old, who originally hails from Cincinatti, tells us. “I think it’s the trial and error of experimenting and not being afraid to try different things. I had to push myself vocally, musically, and personally. My palette for music is broad in its own way, but I think it’s somewhere in between melodic rap and R&B. It still got the cadence of rap, because that’s where I started from. But the melodies belong to progressive R&B.”
Dono’s music certainly connects in a very special way – born straight of the struggles and joys of life, giving expression to the endless facets of the human condition, effortlessly substantiating what all of us have felt and may never have said out loud. “I’m just a girl”, Dono smiles widely, and the girls among us instantly know what that means. “It’s about authenticity. I am who I am, and it reflects in my music.”
Of course, being just a girl, in today’s world, is a much more complex statement than it seems, entailing all the intricacies of being a woman – of confidence and anger, of loss and growth, of overcoming and closure, of reclaiming agency and building a life of art and power.
“I tell stories of my life experiences, whether it be wins, failures, love, loss, heartbreak. It’s always a story somewhere at the bottom of it. Stories you can take something away from, stories you can relate to because you went through something similar. The root is always the story.” She takes inspiration from the things she has seen and went through, and the things she wants, Dono says – and that is part of why her music resonates with fans.
“And I really hope it does resonate”, Dono says. “I want to make music that I once needed to hear. I want to make music about how I felt, about the lessons I learned, the things I manifested. And I make music for all people like me, for all those who see themselves as just a girl, like me. For the regulars. For girls who aren’t trying to be anything else but themselves. I try to be as relatable as possible, and that comes from being myself and telling my stories and experiences, and create a little community around it.”
In Atlanta, Dono has found such a community, but that city is certainly not the only one which has influenced her. After going to school in Alabama, she moved to Los Angeles, and to San Jose from there. Then she went to Birmingham, until she found her way to Atlanta, where she has built a home. “It’s all been connected to the journey of music. I go with the win, whatever I feel like I need to conquer. I haven’t found a stopping place yet, and when an opportunity presents itself, I go. That’s all. But I do love Atlanta for sure”, Dono says. And all that is reflected in her music. “I didn’t start making music at home. I made music away from home, and then I didn’t go back home once I started making music. I started going other places. I would be like a liar to say that I didn’t take influences from everywhere that I’ve been, but I think that’s the beauty of it. A lot of people rap, many girls make R&B, but I they don’t sound like me, and I’m proud of that. I’m a melting pot of everything that I’ve learned along my journey.”
And Dono has come a long way. “Growing up, I was interested in everything, but not allowed to do anything. I was always in trouble, so I was always on punishment. But in that solitude, I was able to sing songs as loud as I want to, or pretend to be whoever I wanted to, or just really dream”, Dono recalls her childhood. “I’m an athlete, but I’m also in the arts. Ironically, I had the freedom to be who I was because I was never allowed to go outside. I was always causing trouble, so my parents would always tell me to go to my room. And it was okay, this was where I wanted to be anyway. So then I could create whatever world I wanted. Today, as an adult, I’m still a very isolated person. I don’t have many friends. I go out and do fun stuff, but I’m the person that’s ready to go after 15 minutes because I’d rather be in my own space, in my own world. And that translates to many people. I’m just a girl, literally. I want to go home. I want to be in my bed”, says Dono, and laughs.
Now, all she has learned and experienced on that journey so far has found its way into a record that is her debut album. The album is called “Growing Pains” and was released on September 2nd, via a distribution deal with United Masters. “I’m a Virgo, so I just put energy into everything. I already overthink everything, but I’ve never locked in on something so hard as with this album. And I think it’s gonna register. I think it’s gonna translate, and I’m just ready to put it out.”
While a debut album, for many artists, is their first introduction to the world, the world already knows Dono thanks to Netflix’s “Rhythm + Flow”. “But the show was only a piece of me. My album is an opportunity for me to show the spectrum. It’s very relatable. It touches on every part of life – love, career, dreams, heartbreak, loss, sacrifice. I just want you all to take something away from it. I think you’re gonna realize that like you, I’m just a girl. But I also want you to take away from it that it’s okay. People say it all the time. It’s okay not to be okay. It’s okay to not be where you want to be, but you got to keep working”, Dono says. “Listening to my music is like getting a battery pack. The perspective is not woe is me, or that I’m a victim. It’s just about what happened, about how I feel about it, and importantly, about what I’m doing about it. The album is the battery to keep going and keep dreaming, keep fighting, keep trying, because that’s life. And all of it is growing pains. Everything you go through. It’s hard to understand things while you’re going through them. And it’s easy to say, why me? But mostly, when you look back, you realize that those were just growing pains to shape me into who I need to be. To learn certain things about yourself, so everything works in your favor.”
People may know Dono as a rapper from the Netflix show but actually, she says, she has always made melodic music, and her debut album proves it. “This is what I do, and I’m really good at it. And I need you to lock in on this because this is me.” Most importantly, Dono wants people to listen, and to relate. “My biggest goal is for my music to translate and for people to connect to it, because if you get people to connect, that’s half the battle.” And she has ambitious goals where this will take her – a record deal, another album, a world tour. “People say that I’m an overthinker, but analyzing things is my superpower. And above anything else, I’m always focused on growth. That really sets me apart.”
The Wrapper 