Today we’d like to introduce you to Dawun-Jamaal.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Dawun-Jamaal. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
As early as three years old, I was singing and leading songs in the church choir. Throughout the elementary, middle school and high school eras, I picked up a lot of skills. I played in band, sang in the school choirs, formed singing groups and got deeply into writing. I was also signed to the indie label, American Made Music Group, where I am recording my debut album, ‘The X Theory’, two mixtapes and an EP.
Through the college and early adulthood eras, I learned performance, production, work ethic and polish. The big change happened at the end of 2017 into 2018. I created a3 Part EP Series called AbNormal produced solely by T. Jones and I started to perform around Dallas more. I then began to form different branches of The AbNormal Universe that include showcases, video shoots, writing workshops and open mic events with other notable Dallas artists. During this time, I recorded my own album, ‘The Jesus Year’, while executive producing other projects.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The journey is not for the faint at heart. The biggest struggle for me has been the people closest to me truly betting on me. I learned through the AbNormal EP era that building a community of people who TRULY see you is MOST important. I do believe that family and friends believe in me, it just takes them longer to see the bigger picture. They cling to who they remember you being versus who you grow into. I feel that they see me now.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
If you would have asked me in 2017, going into 2018, I would have told you I was a singer/songwriter/vocal producer. If this same question were asked in 2019, I would add, curator, tour planner, screenplay writer, executive producer (music/film), and culturalist. Sitting here in 2020, I am most known for my showcase, The AbNormal Review.
The AbNormal Review is a vibe and a tangent curated by me. There are singers, rappers and poets who hit the stage and when I say they LEAVE IT on the stage, they give their sets all they have. The audience grew from 25 to about 70 to 80 people. Nique Writes, Khristophe, Keeiona Lynn, ChiraQ, Preach The Poet, Erl Grae, Monet Black, Kid Awk, Brionne, Eye Moon and so many other super-duper performers have pulled up.
Traveling The AbNormal Universe also brings you to AbNormal Academy: Open Mic and Writers Workshop. I am honestly, truly proud that Nique Writes and myself are able to collaborate and make this happen. It gets so deep, so real and entirely too trill. We are a group of weirdos who are insanely talented who understands that our superpowers can all work together for good. We lead with love.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Everything that you all see comes with collaboration. My album, ‘The Jesus Year’, took myself, my engineer, B-Eazy and a lot of capital from me and investors. Producing The AbNormal Review would be impossible without Chiraq, Roy Murray, Darell and Albert of Salon Aura, the performers, their homies, my homies and gratefully my family.
It really takes the community who has seen me in these streets grinding. The moment I started believing in me, people did. Without the combined support of everyone, this would all just be a dream.
Contact Info:
- Website: linktr.ee/itsdawunjamaal101
- Email: dawunjamaal@gmail.com
- Instagram: itsdawunjamaal101
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsdawunjamaal
Image Credit:
Rikeisha Cunningham, Jarvis C, Hale Sr.
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