I was fortunate enough to be able to catch up with New York emcee Donny Goines. In this interview Donny speaks on the current state of hip-hop, the Sean Bell verdict and his song Kill A Pig, his upcoming album and much more.illRoots: Whats good Donny? Thanks for the interview.
Donny Goines: It's a pleasure, thank you for allowing me to grace your site with my presence.
illRoots: What are you up to?
Donny Goines: Well today, I'm just talking to people about working on my debut album. I just spoke to NYOIL, Double O and M-Phazes manager this morning alone. I still have to call Amedues and a few others. Basically I'm working hard the album. It is titled "Midnight After Midnight". Dame Grease is Executive Producing it and I also have DJ Static and Dub Z providing the bulk of material. I have been speaking to the producers and artists that I resepct in the game to possibly contribute to the album.
Donny Goines - Do It For Hip Hop (Prod. DJ Static)
illRoots: Sounds dope. Tell us about the Non-Fiction EP you did with Shake and HipHopDX. What's the story behind thiat?
Donny Goines: Cool beans. Well Shake is my man, he's been supporting my music for awhile now and I wanted to do something with him that would A) Be dope and B) Be something a little different then my usual projects. I came up with the idea of making an EP with up and coming producers who frequented the site (HipHopDX) and took several submissions. Once I found the records I liked, I put them together, Shake did the artwork and there you have it. I wanted to challenge myself musically and also help other aspiring artists in the process.
illRoots: Thats whats up. The project came out super dope, props to all of you. Now I know you have this YouTube channel up where you put up exclusive and behind the scenes videos of yourself at work. What are you hoping to get out of that?
Donny Goines: I wanted to show another side of myself. The side that the public doesn't often get to see. I think a lot of people (not just artists) are afraid to be themselves and are scared to show the truth. Unpolished, unrehearsed and bascailly very truthful. You can't understand me fully by just listening to my music, so I am trying to bring people within my world so maybe they can have a better understand of the person I am. At the end of the day, I am a man first and artist second.
illRoots: Most definitely. Thats an excellent approach, really using the internet to your advantage. Speaking of which, how do you feel the internet has helped and hurt the hip-hop industry?
Donny Goines: Good question. Lets go with the positive first. If it wasn't for the internet, blogs like yours, and websites who support hip hop, Donny Goines wouldn't exist. The bottomline is the internet is a very economical resource that people like myself can utilize to further their career within the industry. If used properly you can actually build a career. Just look at some other the more successful or popular artist then myself out there right now. The Cool Kids, Jay Electronica, etc. These are prime examples of what the internet can do for you if you are focused and determined. Now lets get into the negative. The biggest problem I see is oversaturation. I'm going to be very blunt, not everyone is meant to be an artist. The problem is that when you have easy access, you also have many people who feel they can do what others out there do seriously, and they fuck up the market because anyone who is looking for quality music has to dig through COUNTLESS Mp3's, myspace pages, etc. of garbage. It hurts the culture as a whole. Make no mistakes, I'm not trying to knock anyones dreams, but everyone just can't be a rapper. It's that simple and this is one of the major setbacks the internet has provided in my opinion.
illRoots: Yeah, I dig you fully. What other new, budding artists out there would you like to work with?
Donny Goines: Truthfully, I'll work with anyone as long as the music's hot. I don't give a fuck and I aint on no diva shit you understand? As long as you're making good music and its feasible, why not? There are many artists out there that I respect and would be honered to work with. Skyzoo, Torae, Sha Stimuli, Wale. Man, I'm drawing a blank right now honestly. Its so many artists out there coming up that I would love to work with. Bascailly I tend to gravitate towards the more "Hip Hop" and lyrical artist though coming up.
illRoots: If any artists are reading this now and want to hit you up, where should they go?Donny Goines: Myspace. Www. Blah, blah, blah, /donnygoines [Laughs]. Just holla at me, I answer all my messages and such and if you see me anywhere else just holla. It's nothing to me, like I said aslong as the musics hot and it can be done its nothing.
illRoots: Thats the kind of mentality that more artists need in this game. What's one piece of advice that you've received that you'd like to share with every aspiring musician?
Donny Goines: Hmmmmmm. I received so much, but one that always seems embedded in my brain was something Bishop Lamont told me when I first met him. He told me "Do it yourself, that way no one can ever take it away from you," and what I gather from that was to just make sure that you build your career with your work and effort because when you do succeed, people can never take that away from you.
illRoots: Wow, thats a great peice of advice. How do you feel about the state of hip-hop today?
Donny Goines: I feel like it's cool. Things could be better and they could also be worst. I think that many artist out there are blinded and misguided and it shows within their music. They fixate on things that for the most part, are unrealistic and very untrue. I'll give you an example to elbaorate. If you listen to the majority of my music, you won't hear me talking much about busting guns and things of that nature, but in all actuality I could if I wanted to. My arrest record has everything from armed robbery, gun charges, assualt, etc., nut I choose NOT to glorify these things because it's a lifestlye that I wouldn't want others to live and I feel its ignorant. Others, who have probably never been arrested a day in there lives though, are usually the "toughest" gun busting, drug dealing, richest rapper, etc. on there reecords, and its not real. This is the majority of Hip-Hop nowadays. It goes much deeper then that but this really makes me sad when I think about music today. That's why I try to but as authentic as I can because others need to see that. Aslong as there are people like myself out there rapping, there's still hope I think.
illRoots: Exactly man. Donny Goines knows what he's talking about. You got any more mixtapes in the works?
Donny Goines: Actually, I've put projects aside to focus on this album. West Coast Off The Books with DJ Warrior, Collab EP with my boy Fokis, The Excerpt Pg. 2, etc. This album warrents my full attention musically. I might throw random songs or freestyles out there but for the most part I'm focused on this album right now for the next couple of months.
illRoots: When are you looking to drop the album?
Donny Goines: Not sure, i'm still talking to the majors and independents now and trying to figure out the best appoarch for this album. Most likely it will be independent, I'm not shucking and jiving for no label man [Laughs]. I will drop it late summer/early fall, but it will come this year, guaranteed.
illRoots: Tell me about the Dame Grease produced "Kill A Pig" track.
Donny Goines: This was a record I did in light of, not only the Sean Bell issue, but police brutality as a whole. Many people may have misconstrued the message I was trying to convey. My whole reason of making that record was to show how people fear the police, vut takes on the issue as if it were reversed, doing what the police do. Every single line I wrote within it stemmed from actual incidents that occured. I just didn't use any names. None of the things that I said were made up, and it was meant to show the fear that people like myself have towards the police. The bottomline is that I don't advocate senseless volience towards police or anybody else for that matter, it was just meant to show them how people like myself feel. Mostly afriad.
Donny Goines Speaks On The Sean Bell Verdict
illRoots: When did you realize that you wanted to be a rapper?
Donny Goines: Truthfully, Mid January 2006. I had an a epiphany, the second of my life. The first was of God in Rikers Island but that's another story [Laughs]. Basically I was working a 9 to 5 in Westchester, NY, nothing special. One day out of sheer boredom I went to Circuit City to buy a couple of movies to watch that evening, one of the movies was "Fade to Black". After watching this movie, it just hit me like a ton of bricks and I wrote a song called "Inspiration" that very night. I always played around with it and was half assing, but at that moment I realized I wanted to be a rapper seriously.
illRoots: So would you say Jay-Z is one of your biggest influences?
Donny Goines: No. I would say he sparked the inspiration, but after I started to find myself as an artist I realized that my biggest influence are the people. I am inspired by many people, for different reasons at different times. My biggest influeces are life and the people that interwine with my own.
illRoots: Who did you listen to growing up?
Donny Goines: Biggie, Nas, Jay-Z, the usual suspects of the mid nineties. I also listened to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, my favorite band, Nirvana, Third eye blind, etc. I have a very wierd taste in music, and the truth is I listened to all sorts of shit growing up. Blame it on MTV [Laughs]
illRoots: Last question. If you could get anything answered, what would it be?
Donny Goines: [Pauses] Why am I here.
illRoots: Ok great, thanks alot my dude. Any shoutouts?
Donny Goines: Much love to Mike Waxx over at illRoots, ya'll doing it big. All the people who read this interview, and to all the wack ringtone rappers out there who helped me find my direction. Thank you very much [Laughs]. Much love.
