Donny B. Lord Diversity Personified
I had the amazing opportunity to get an interview with rising artist Donny B. Lord Vocalist/Dancer/Musician/instrumentalist and probably one of the most down to earth people I’ve ever talked to. Donny was kind enough to give us a peek into what has made him the talented entertainer that he is today.
CH: How old were you when you first started making music?
DBL: Music wasn’t the first thing I did I started out as a child actor when I was about 7 years old, I met the Jacksons, they discovered me when I was preforming at ‘The Peoples Choice Awards’. I was in my early teens when I first started my music specifically.
CH: Out of all of your family and friends, who was the most encouraging?
DBL: My Mommy! I’m very close to my mom and she’s believed in me from day one. My Aunt Sandra was a celebrity on my island where I was born on Saint Lucia in the Caribbean. She was a performer herself and she kind of passed the torch to me, and started me in the entertainment industry when I was a child. But my mother is my biggest fan! My Aunt encouraged me not only in music but to also go to college and that’s why I have a college degree now, which I’m proud of. She said “Well you know, I think you need a well-rounded education regardless of what happens with your music.” And so I did, I studied at USC for journalism and graduated from Aaronsburg School of Communication.
CH:If you could dabble in another genre of music, what would it be?
DBL: It’s funny because in my genre, I can do everything as a writer. The thing about me is that I’m not only a singer and a performer, but I’m also a songwriter and I play piano. I actually dabble in many different genres as a writer, everything from my native roots, Caribbean, reggae kind of music, which I look to showing the world my culture through that music. But I know that its not really main stream in America, but I’m doing something now that is like pop and dance but I really want to get into my reggae roots from the islands. I’ve written everything from rock to soul, you know like stuff that usher would sing. But I do want to go the world route and get into my Middle Eastern, reggae and dancehall roots; I just don’t think the world is ready for that yet.
CH: I don’t know about that I think reggae is coming back, Im finding that it is on the rise again.
DBL: Is it? Well that’s a good thing because when I do my live performance of “Party on The Moon” which is coming up, I’m going to do at Club Eleven next Saturday. Im going to be bringing in some of that reggae feel to “Party on The Moon.”
CH: Who are some of your favorite artists?
DBL: Michael Jackson, he was my idol. Bob Marley, that’s tapping into my roots. Sting brings out the Rock, Goth part of my artistry, there’s even parts of my voice that I’ve taken a little from Sting. Peter Gabrielle! I go back into these older guys because we learn from them, I learn from them more than I learn from the new guys. But I do like some of the new guys, I like Jason Derulo and Usher is an amazing artist, Lady Gaga is an incredible because she is just an great showman or should I say show woman and she’s all about being yourself and allowing people to be proud of who they are, and that’s a big part of what I’m about as well. I like Bieber! I really do, I like Justin Bieber!
CH: Do you have Bieber fever?
DBL: I wouldn’t say I have the fever! But I have an appreciation and a respect for him as an artist. He came from humble beginnings and I just like his music and his style and I think he is a good artist.
CH: Out of all those artists who inspired you the most?
DBL: Michael! Definitely MJ! Mainly because I had a very rare opportunity to meet my idol, which I don’t think a lot of people get the chance to do, and I met the family and knew the family and had a relationship with the family. And Michael’s brother Jackie was actually my mentor through my teenage years, and I became a protégé of the Jacksons. I got the opportunity to learn from Michael Jackson when I went to Never Land. I got to spend some time with Michael and I got to dance for him once and I learned how humble he was as an artist and he was willing to learn and grow. He was asking me about certain dance moves like “How do you do that?” and I’m like “Are you kidding me like your Michael Jackson and you’re asking me?” I lived with his brother Jackie for like two years and he was like a second father to me! He brought me around all of his brothers and sisters and I learned from them all.
CH: Do you think they helped mold your music style?
DBL: I think all those people I mentioned earlier helped mold my music style. But also in America the music styles are very much separated like Pop, R&B, Urban, Rap and Hip Hop. I lived in England for a while and I graduated high school there.
CH: Did you ever pick up an accent?
DBL: I did! It was pretty sexy let me tell you! And I’m sure if I went back it would all come back. But while I was there I exposed to so many different types of music, including African, Middle Eastern, Engine and Indian. If you went to a music store in London they have things categorized by country not by genre. Like you wanted to listen to Belize music here it is, you want to hear Greek music hear it is, and that exposed to me a lot of different types of music.
CH: What was the first thing that went through your mind when you heard your song ‘Party on the moon” on the radio?
DBL: Honestly at this point I was thinking, I hope this really reaches someone, because that’s why I write music. I was also hoping that the just like the beat and the rhythm and it makes them feel good and it makes them happy. That was the number one thing, I come from the Islands so if it doesn’t feel good then don’t do it. And I just want to inspire people so when I heard it; I just wanted people to get something from it.
CH: If you could preform anywhere in the world where would that be?
DBL: That’s funny I’ve never thought of that but I want to preform 2 places, one would be Africa. Especially to preform in front of all those young kids, and it’s a part of my heritage. I would love to see all those kids dance and maybe even have like a 5 percussion native tribal drum circle preform with me. And then from there we go to the Middle East and preform with all these Middle Eastern instruments.
CH: Do you play any instruments?
DBL: I play piano and percussion and then I use synthesizers to remake certain instrument sounds. But my primary instrument is my voice.
CH: So you are a nominee for the indie music awards. How excited are you to be nominated for best pop artist and dance artist?
DBL: Its pretty exciting because the independent route is something that seems so difficult, and it is. But by being nominated for an indie music award, I feel like I can give hope to other independent musicians, like saying hey you can do this on your own! I think that’s why I’m so honored to be nominated because the music video we did for “Party on The Moon” was directed by Yolande Geralds who has also directed for people like Trey Songs, Omarion, Plies and Jagged Edge. I look at all the connections I’ve made and its through building those relationships and having people that believe in you and your projects that really mean something.
CH: Who would you thank if you won either of those awards?
DBL: First and foremost I would thank god, I would thank my mother, I would thank my aunt who started me in the industry, I would thank my managers and my business partner David Peterson. Jackie Jackson because he really started me on my journey to music specifically, he is a major part of why I do music; Jackie helped me develop and grow as an artist. When I was living with him and there was no music coming out of my room he would come up to my room and say “Hey I don’t hear any music, where’s the music?” So he lit a fire under me and really pushed me to be the best, and I just owe him appreciation and gratitude. Also I would thank the fans, because if you don’t have people who are willing to come see the shows or buy the albums, you don’t have anything, your just going to be an amazing talent in your bedroom. I would thank everyone that has been involved in my projects, everyone that has taken a chance on me, and definitely the big G.O.D once again!
Visit Donny: DonnyBLord.com
Written By: Cheyenne Henry
