It’s not every day that an artist looks back and acknowledges that his younger self is what he draws inspiration from and it keeps him going!
That’s PRETTYMUCHDON, an R&B vocalist who wants to break in the South African music industry. If he’s not busy with his 9-5 then his writing some great soothing songs for fans.
The 27-year-old from North West who’s now based in Joburg says that his music is an ode to his younger self.
“the younger me had dreams and aspirations, and certainly worked hard to get us where we are right now. growing up wasn’t easy, but the dreams my younger self had, were valid and kept us going, even though they were deemed “too ambitious” by others.” Says Don.
PRETTYMUCHDON’s latest offering titled #NGLsingle is an experience that cannot be missed with lyrics such as “you give me joy and happiness, …oh God I’m blessed”, the song is an expression of love and affection and total adoration for your significant other.
When asked about his song writing processes, it’s clear that his music is from the heart. He says he starts with freestyling on a beat from a producer.
“From there I try get the mood of the song, before deciding what the song will be about, then i come up with the cadence and finally start writing till we have ourselves a song, sometimes it’s a fast process and other times I’m just completely blocked,” Says Don.
Like everyone, PRETTYMUCHDON’s music career has been severely affected by the pandemic. He was working on an EP but could not get studio time due to COVID-19 regulations.
“We barely had studio sessions because we were trying to stay safe, so there was a pause on that and it really delayed the plans I had for this project. But I also managed to create more music while I was on the lockdown, some of these gems on my EP were written during lockdown.” He says.
For someone that stumbled upon his aunts’ R&B lyric book to some of the best jams back then to the fully fledged artist and songwriter he’s becoming, what’s his secret?
The words, “Do not stop believing, make it happen, that dream is valid, you just have to work on improving yourself and that requires you to invest time and money on your craft,” is some of the advise he gives to fellow artists and it’s the same that kept him going in the music industry and life in general.
Like any other artist or person, PRETTYMUCHDON has a human touch to him. He opens up about his anxiety when confronted with large audiences. He’s always struggled with anxiety in general, from school orals, to work presentations, to recording music and finally, live performances.
“I’d like to think of myself as reserved and very much keep to self, so it gets quite overwhelming when I’m confronted by a large group of people paying attention at me and that just kind of triggers my anxiety.
“I seem to be dealing with it just fine, since I’m able to perform anyway,” As he shrugs off the thoughts of anxiety.
When all is set and the stage is ready for him, PRETTYMUCHDON never fails to deliver a performance of a lifetime. He serenades with his voice and offers you one of a kind musical experience.
“I enjoy intimate spaces because I really like to be engage with the crowd, and actually feed off from their energy, so it’s easy to do that when there’s like a few people in the vicinity,” Says Don as he gets up to get another refill of coffee.
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