Don Gady is an artist in every sense of the word. He’s passionate about his form of expression and isn’t afraid to stand alone. His music is his release and a time capsule of his life and its lessons. His genre is energy and it’s ever-changing, Don’s catalogue is sure to resonate with you at some point, keeping his listeners on their toes. I asked him a few questions to learn about where he gets his honest, dedicated demeanor and what manages to keep his interest, all while being a rising artist.
Where are you from?
GADY: Ok so to answer your first question I was born in Baltimore, Maryland & when my parents had split, I was like two or three, my mom got my dad sent to prison & she took me to live in New Jersey along with this other dude she began seeing & eventually married & had my stepsister a couple years later, it wasn’t until April 2008 (when my mom had gotten a job offer from APS for an administration job) that we moved to Atlanta. (She was working as a teacher for all that time but looking to get promoted but never received it, basically felt cheated on that so she was looking to move). So yaa after I graduated high school at 17 I got kicked out & I ended up meeting my dad & that side of the family like it was the first time forreal forreal in Charleston. & after running the streets for awhile I ended up getting a job stocking shelves & realized that wasn’t for me neither & then I decided to go to SCSU this HBCU in the next town over. It was cool, it was really partying & bullshiting, until I couldn’t pass the mandatory math courses they set out for me to do my sophomore/junior year there & on top of that, I went to quite a few of the parties & when I refused to go to this one, one of the homies had gotten shot dead & it really messed with my head. So I ended up dropping out & moved back to Atlanta with my girlfriend in 2016.
Have you been into creating music since you were a child?
GADY: I wrote my first rap in 2007 when I was like 11 or 12. I was going thru a lot at the time & I didn’t feel like I was being heard. I recorded myself rapping for the first time in high school of 2011 while I was on probation for the first time. My first mixtape “Da Balance” came out in 2012. Mostly because I believed the conspiracies that the world might end & I wanted to leave something beautiful behind lol but it was rushed af & should have never dropped lmao if I knew what I know now I would’ve worked on it way more but I was just into Raw lyricism back then & that’s all that project was.
Your music is vibrant, from the bells, buzzes and other noises in your beats to your cover art looking a bit like an acid trip. What do you think inspires that?
GADY: What inspires that feel I’d have to say that my grandpa John, he exposed me to a lot of older music that was really dope such as Metallica & Jimi Hendrix to name a few to put it in perspective & I never heard anything like that, he had a library of music that he would choose from every night when he’d get home from work & start painting as we smoked weed in the garage or back room or outside or in the car lol - we actually grew our own weed for awhile too lol -I remember the first trip on shrooms with my grandpa John lmao we had took shrooms when my grandma was away for awhile one time (because she didn’t approve of what we did nor did anyone on my moms side really) & he played my favorite Jimi Hendrix album: Are You Experienced? & I slick began to actually see sounds & feel colors!! I believe that really moved me to change up the music I was making to take people on a trip away from the ordinary, I noticeably began to make more conceptual art afterwards definitely.
You’re great at collaborating with other artists online, have you ever had a collaboration go wrong?
GADY: Yes, I’ve had collaborative projects go wrong before only because people who I was working with wanted the shine on them more then the actual result of the project, if that makes any sense..? Like I’m all about making music & making something dope & original, but a lot of people don’t see it the same, some just want the clout and/or the money that MAY come from the result of making music & don’t actually put in the work on their part to make something great, they just expect it. Feel they are entitled to it or something, when that isn’t & shouldn’t be the case at all, forreal.
What mainstream artists would you want to collaborate with?
GADY: I would love to collaborate with Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Travis Scott and/or Playboi Carti - I have always been a fan of Curren$y & Wiz Khalifa since I began smoking in 2009 I heard that How Fly & knew I wanted to be up with them bwoys in the studio one day! I really would’ve loved to collab with Mac Miller & X before they passed, rip to them legendary young men. I have just now really gotten into Rico Nasty which to me is like Kari Faux & X had a baby & that combination to me is so fucking dope I love her music & her as a person she slick is like my spirit animal hahahaaa so yaa I would definitely love to make like a whole collab album with her or two lmao.
What keeps you inspired?
GADY: What keeps me inspired is everything in life, I am just so grateful to be alive, everyday life inspires me to just go harder than the last. I’m just at that point in my life where it’s like, this is what I want & let’s make it happen, right now, let’s go goddamn. Fuck all that talking about it nighas wanna be doing in groupchats & forums & allat, I’m out here on my own working on it every fucking day. Learning more & more. Leveling up. I won’t rest until I do. That hustle is just within me. Music is my outlet for that drive that I always had. Because I got my outlet thru music I feel alive. Creating new soundscapes / Coming up with new looks & concepts / Performing at shows / Recording in the studio is all such a rush to me!!! I wouldn’t want it any other way! & I have all my supporters to thank for pushing me along the way. Thankyou so much, one love.
Click here to listen to Don Gady on SoundCloud.
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