Olivia Brown
February 24th, 2010
Far from a fleeting internet sensation, Donny Goines is working hard to be known well beyond the depths of social networking sites and music blogs. Ever since the thriving rap artist emerged onto the music scene in 2006, his consistent grind told the silent story of man determined with a dream.
Driven by his personal mantra, “If you don’t know my name, I’m not working hard enough,” Donny realizes the importance of hitting the streets through grassroots marketing and promotion, live performances, and physically networking as well as building an internet platform. With a growing buzz and countless looks from all across the board, he’s the perfect example that hard work really pays off.
(more after the break)
Deeming 2010 as his year, Mr. Goines is gearing up to release his upcoming project, 20X, an EP presented by Rocksmith Tokyo, that shows his growth and maturity as an artist that can only be achieved through hard work and tiredless effort. Between his exhausting schedule, the busy but surprisingly upbeat rapper took some time out to talk with StreetLogik about the new EP, his Apollo experience, and the power of perseverance.
So you started your rap career in 2006. Within these four years, what would say is the biggest lesson you’ve learned?
Donny Goines: Never give up. Honestly, persistence is the most important lesson that I’ve learned throughout this whole process because I feel like I’ve had many disappointments in my thus far. Things like being booed off the Apollo to not making the XXL cover, you know, whatever disappointments I may have had, what I took out of it is to just be persistent. Tomorrow’s another day and even some of the greatest lose.
At what moment in your life did you decide to be a rap artist?
Donny Goines: January 2006 is when I decided to take this career seriously as an artist. Basically, at the time, I was just working a 9 to 5, wasn’t really doing anything special, kind of just going through the motions of life until I seen this movie, [Jay’s] Fade to Black. When I saw it, it really just inspired me to pursue the career seriously. You know, I’ve always toyed around with the idea of being an artist and being an emcee but I always felt it was something that was never possible or realistic. But when I saw that movie, it just inspired me to pursue it seriously. So four years later, here I am, talking to you (laughs).
What was the first thing you did to start you on your path to a career in the music industry?
Donny Goines: Essentially, when I decided to do it, I kind of looked at the game and tried to figure out which route I wanted to take. At the time, the internet wasn’t really as prominent as it is right now but as I looked at it and observed everything, I realized that this is the road I wanted to take. I didn’t want to do the battle scene and I never performed at shows so I knew that the internet was the place I wanted to go. So the first thing I actually did was take my check from my job and I bought an iMac (laughs) and I just started a Myspace page. That’s what it really boils down to and that’s how I got my start.
Wait a minute, you did Apollo? (laughs) You know they boo rappers as soon as they hit the stage!?
Donny Goines: Yes, (laughs) I did Apollo the first year of my career and got booed off stage, actually. It was cool because, at the time, I was really trying anything I could to be heard. I heard about the auditions, stood in line for like 8 hours; it was like hundreds of people there and they actually picked me out of the auditions to perform.
So I performed but before I even got on stage, they were booing me. I didn’t even say anything and they were booing (laughs).To tell you the truth, I have a flyer on my wall from that night and I always look at it and say to myself that since that I would never get booed off a stage again so I put 110% of myself in my performance, it motivates me.
So I performed but before I even got on stage, they were booing me. I didn’t even say anything and they were booing (laughs).To tell you the truth, I have a flyer on my wall from that night and I always look at it and say to myself that since that I would never get booed off a stage again so I put 110% of myself in my performance, it motivates me.
You have a personal motto: “If you don’t know my name, I’m not working hard enough,” which reigns true because your name is definitely buzzing. What drives and motivates you each day to keep the hustle going?
Donny Goines: I’ll be completely honest, for me, it’s really the love of the people. I didn’t come here for money or fame or women, I just love the energy I get from doing this and I truly love what I do. That really is the motivating factor that keeps me going because at the end of the day, if I was here for anything else, I would be highly disappointed (laughs).
It’s not really what I expected it to be. Basically, it’s interesting to me when I meet people and they tell me that they love my music or that I inspire them to pursue their dreams, that to me is what’s important. As time goes on, people are going to understand my motives, my ideas, and philosophies much clearer.
It’s not really what I expected it to be. Basically, it’s interesting to me when I meet people and they tell me that they love my music or that I inspire them to pursue their dreams, that to me is what’s important. As time goes on, people are going to understand my motives, my ideas, and philosophies much clearer.
What is your ultimate career goal in hip-hop?
Donny Goines: To become one of the greatest, point-blank, period (laughs). Seriously, that’s my ultimate goal, when I go down in the history books as one of the illest who ever done it, then I can walk away. But until that day, I will be working on my craft, rocking these shows, and talking to people just like you, spreading my gospels (laughs).
Having a large internet platform, do you feel that marketing and promoting online is more beneficial compared to grassroots marketing or is it vice versa?
Donny Goines: I think that it works well in conjunction with each other. A lot of times, people look at internet promo like if you get a post on Nah Right.com, you’re a superstar and it doesn’t work that way. You have to really be smart about it and understand that the world is bigger than the internet. Now the truth of the matter is that the internet is definitely a cornerstone of my career and my promotion so it’s a prominent tool I use every day to promote myself. But in the same token, I’m not just sitting behind a computer. I’m at these events; I’m networking, flying all over the country and pretty soon, all over the world.
I think that a lot of artists have the misconception that when you have a presence online that it equates to the streets and it really doesn’t. Mickey Factz told me something one night that I thought was hilarious but made sense. He said, “Take your internet buzz and divide and divide that shit by like 60 or 70% because in the streets, people don’t really know about that.” I thought about it and yeah, he’s right. It’s a lot of people in my hood that don’t even own a computer so you have to be out there doing it all.
I think that a lot of artists have the misconception that when you have a presence online that it equates to the streets and it really doesn’t. Mickey Factz told me something one night that I thought was hilarious but made sense. He said, “Take your internet buzz and divide and divide that shit by like 60 or 70% because in the streets, people don’t really know about that.” I thought about it and yeah, he’s right. It’s a lot of people in my hood that don’t even own a computer so you have to be out there doing it all.
What artist would you cut your arm off to work with?
Donny Goines: I don’t know if I’m doing some Saw shit (laughs) but I would love to work with a lot of artists out there. I’m very artistic and creative and my ideas and thoughts span further than the typical hip-hop answers like Nas, Jay-Z, etc. I mean, they’re dope and I would love to work with those guys in the future but I also would like to work with people like MGMT and Justice and singers like Chrisette Michele, I just love good music by the end of the day and I love to work with talented people, period.
Which record label would you most likely want to sign with?
Donny Goines: Donny Goines Records (laughs). Honestly, I not really concerned with record labels. I mean they’re cool and I wouldn’t mind being signed if the terms and money were right but I have my own agendas and my own things that I want to do. Unfortunately, I find myself not finding the right situation to do them with record labels. I feel very happy independent and until the right situation arises, I’ll continue to be independent.
What are some of your upcoming projects?
Donny Goines: I have a project that I’m doing; it’s a six track EP in conjunction with Rocksmith Tokyo Clothing called 20X. It’s an amazing body of work and I’m not just saying that because it’s me (laughs). I really am proud of myself for what I’ve put together and I’m anxious for the people to hear it.
Any shout outs?
Donny Goines: Shout out to you, appreciate your time. I love people like yourself, you help to create me and who I am and I love you for so thank you.
