“We’ve all heard of the big, great rappers, such as Drake, Wayne, Gucci Mane, Nicki and the list goes on. But have you heard of DonDonTheGreat? This artist has many great works and absolutely fire features from The O.G , 50 Tyson ,JayySolo ,KrazyRedd, Tripsz to Tarxan. Here’s a small look into his life and the mixtapes he drops once a month.” 1.) Where are you from? What led you to MM? Why did you decide not to stay in Chicago and would you ever go back? How long did you stay? I’m from Chicago Cook County and the decision to stay or leave wasn’t mine. The choice was made due to gang violence. I was only there until I was three and I went back every summer from ages 7-14. At some point it did become my choice not to go back due to events that could’ve been fatal. Yes, eventually I’d like to go back once I’m in the position to do so. 2.) What got you into music? Why stay in music so long if it didn’t bring you closer to your father? What would you rather be doing? How soon do you see yourself doing that if you choose to? I originally got into music because I wanted a way to communicate with my father, so I decided to pick up music as a way to build a relationship. I love doing music, but yes one of the reasons I’m still committed to it is because to this day my father says I don’t have “the song” yet. I feel that once I do have the song then we can start that relationship I’ve been looking forward to. I would rather be in business management owning different companies and starting up businesses to help give back to the community on a more economic level. I could see myself accomplishing that within 5-10years if I was to drop music and start today. 3.) Who are some artists you want to work with? Why? What’s the inspiration from each? I would wanna work with Drake, Future, Diddy, Lil Wayne, Eminem, and Mary J Blige. I would wanna work with the first 3 artists not only because I admire and respect their creating process but also because they’re fellow Scorpios. I honestly feel as one, I can be truly understood by one. I say Eminem because his way of creating is one of my favorites. He pulls from the pain and hard times, throwing himself in a depressed state of mind, being able to bring out the best of his work that way in my opinion. Lastly, I say Mary J. Blige because she’s one of my mom’s favorite artists. I grew up listening to her as a child under my mothers roof every Sunday morning, if not every morning. I also admire the work I’ve been seeing her do on 50 Cent’s directed hit tv series, “Power”. 4.) Favorite song/album/work of yours? My favorite song would have to be “All I Need”. I chose this song because it speaks to how I have overcome hard times in my life. I’m letting the world know I’m all I need now when I thought I wasn’t enough. “TheGreatDeception”, I believe this is one of my best bodies of work as far as features and solo tracks. It contains hits like “No flex No flex”, “I Want It” Ft The O.G, and “Grindin” Ft Forever. This tape consists of 19 total tracks with some of my best collabs and artistic views, so I would definitely say to check it out and give it a ear or two. 5.) Tell me about the history of your artist name? Well my name originally started out as “Young Don”. When I first started rapping, I was a part of a group called “Young Dreams” at HSRA [High School for Recording Arts] back In 2009. Sometime after that, I was performing at El Rio and I came across a person by the name of Herbert who was located around the west Saint Paul area. It was his idea to drop the “young” and add an extra “Don”. “The Great” was added at a later time but that’s another story. 6.) Any favorite singers? It’s hard to say who’s really singing with all the auto tune going on in this time and era. But I’d definitely have to say Mary J. Blige. 7.) Where do you see yourself in 2-5 years? I see myself living in another state due to music here in Minnesota. The music scene and support just isn’t as big as other states and if I truly wanna be heard I have to go to the place where artists are being heard. 8.) Would you consider yourself a resourceful person when it comes to building up your empire? How so? I would like to think I’m very resourceful when it comes to building what I have my mindset on. I love to network with others that can play some kind of key role in my plans on building what it is I have my mindset on and at the same time support them in what their mindset is as well. I tend to create a routine that keeps me on the right track until everything falls in place.
