Lady Donli, unpacking the fast-rising talent steadily turning 10 fans into 10,000
It is fascinating to watch a young talent grow not just in artistry but also in numbers, and Lady Donli is discovering the balance in her music and approach with ''Living Room Tour.''
There have been varied nomenclatures to not just her music but her person since her emergence largely through the window provided by music streaming site 'SoundCloud.'
With her looks, usually seen spotting dreadlocks and oversized outfits, some have tagged her as a 'Weirdo', and with her music, ''Soundcloud or Alte'' artist, Lady Donli has had to wear these tags as people have struggled to fit her into any particular box.
I remember coming across her music sometime in 2016, there was a buzz building around her name, a steady number of fans, maybe less than a dozen at the time, somehow made sure her music found its way across my timeline.
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Forced to check her out, It failed to leave an immediate impression, and then she released 'Ice Cream' featuring Tomi Thomas, and the follow-up, 'Poison' and it all suddenly began to make sense.
Witnessed her live at several end of the year events in 2017 and while a larger part of the audience both at ''Palmwine Fest'' and ''GidiFest'' in 2018 watched rather uninterested, there was a decent number who stayed close to the stage and sang along word for word as she gave her best on stage.
The music may not be mainstream, but her stagecraft was a joy to watch, energetic, full of zeal and with her smile on her face, she was keen to give her best at every stage, with backing from her '10' online fans, who kept growing into hundreds, shouting and screaming support for her, before rounding up the year with the release of her ''Letters To Her'' EP.
The singer understands that growing her fan base exponentially is tied to quality music and that is what she has continued to offer since the turn of the year.
2018 has seen Donli blessing a number of projects with her vocals, leveraging on other people's audiences as she teamed up with veteran MC, Terry Tha Rapman on 'Open Letter', Boogey on 'Motions' and featured on the song '+-' off MI Abaga's Yung Denzel album, including working with Mr Eazi on his upcoming project, ''Life is Eazi Vol 2'', while personal records like 'Games' have ensured that her loyal fans continued to get served a regular dose of her magic.
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But there is a grand plan in play for this scheme and Donli is gradually executing it to perfection, even though on occasions, she has been left dispirited.
For a young and rising talent, getting your song played on the local radio is quite herculean a task, so she is disruptive through her online platforms.
When they don't call you for shows, you find a way to create yours and that is what she alongside her partner and manager Mayowa Balogun have been about with the 'Wallflower Experience' and 'Catch A Vibe' earlier, but things soon got heated in March with a performances series tagged ''The Living Room Tour'' which kicked off in Lagos and has seen her music spread across cities in US and Canada.
Lady Donli and her team clearly understands the importance of touring without over-estimating the level at which she currently plays, and this they set to achieve with private listening sessions through the SOFAR platform, an extension of the 'Living Room Tour', performing in intimate spaces like people's homes or unique venues where they could reach as many of those who truly support her music.
The first stop for Donli and her team was Toronto and Ottawa, Canada, where she shined bright under the lights alongside her band. It was a romantic night and her voice was the serenading effect to ignite the mood in the house.
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Speaking on the idea of the tour, her manager Mayowa says it was inspired by Donli herself;
''Lady Donli inspired it, she had the idea for the living room tour in Lagos.
For me, I just believed and still believe that we had to exploit the opportunities to reach her fan base abroad. From her statistics on streaming platforms, we identified locations where she had a solid fan base and like I’ve been saying all year, we just went to work and did it ourselves.
The industry is at a point now where you have to create and exploit your own opportunities, and that’s what we’ve done with this tour.'' he stated.
Next on her room invasion were stops in Los Angeles, before the final leg in New York, where she featured a number of her friends as supporting acts on the night, with the train moving to London in the coming week.
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''It was epic,'' she says of the experience, ''Surreal experience. I mean, it’s like people are resonating with my sound in different parts of the world. Different types of people, it felt good. It also helped me better understand my purpose and how I can’t be derailed.''
This was a dream come true, the tour which started in a living room with very few people on the mainland in Lagos State had landed at a Poets Cafe in New York, with a sizeable number of fans which was increasing organically, fast become family, knowing her intimately and sharing her music on an especial level.
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