DONNY GOINES sits in a Chuck E. Cheese talking with a “supporter” of his about how Hip Hop has changed. At the same time, a producer asks Donny where to send his beats. Donny gives him his email. Another supporter comes forward just to tell Donny that his music is, in her own words, “Dopington!”. Donny responds with a thank you and a smile. These events all transpired in a packed Chuck E. Cheese where Donny’s niece was running around playing with the other kids. It took place on the social networking application called Twitter; the same application that has brought personal communication over the internet to an entire new level.

With the buzz surrounding a career like his, this interaction with his supporters is unheard of. Donny states, “I truly appreciate any type of support I get because it’s not something I’m entitled to. It’s [a] given to me and I try my best to give it right back.” This is achieved by responding to almost every email, Twit, and MySpace message he receives. A job that will surely become tougher for Goines as his time in the ”game” elapses.

Donny’s sound is unique in a way that is different in today’s rap. Creating music that is mostly non-negative shows how he excels above most rappers of this era. Donny is a poet that equates his trials and tribulations of his growing up in the song “Ghetto U.S.A”; or a clever storyteller in his song “Ricky’s Story”. Donny’s versatility is almost unheard of in the music being released today.

Donny’s career and the internet are fully entwined together as one single entity. This single existence has been riding on the steady road to success over the past year. In 2008, the free downloads of his music on urban blogs such as Nah Right.com and 2DopeBoyz.com, have taken his career to new heights. These blogs laid the foundation for an artist who has been on MTV, BET, and MusicChoice. “Many people complain about [free downloads], blogs. Etc. [however] without them; the game probably [would not] be playable for artists such as myself. I love it.” His debut album, Minute After Midnight, is being distributed through Amalgam Digital and is being sold through Amazon, Rhapsody, and ITunes.

2009 opens with Donny still driving on this tumultuous, pothole ridden road to success. When asked about the coming year, Donny stated, “I am going to surprise a lot of people this year. I really [do not] think many people are [going to] expect some of the things I am [going to] bring to the table. All I can say for sure is to expect to see my name everywhere this year.” That is going to be tough for an artist whose motto is, “If you do not know my name, I am not working hard enough”

Download Ricky’s Story
Download Ghetto U.S.A
Click Here to Purchase Minute After Midnight