I Deserve to have my music heard

574 House singer, Donald. Photo shoot, The Star studio 140512. Picture: Bongiwe Mchunu

574 House singer, Donald. Photo shoot, The Star studio 140512. Picture: Bongiwe Mchunu

Published May 30, 2012

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Any guy who has had his heart broken will understand young singer Donald’s story. With the song I Deserve ruling the airwaves and a cheesy video to go with it, it is only natural that Donald has an extra bounce of late.

The song talks about an angry young man who has discovered that his love interest can’t be with him at a time when he needs her the most – because she is cheating on him with someone else. To you and me, this is just another music video, but to Donald the project was inspired by true events.

“I had a car accident last year and I almost lost my life. It was at night in Rosebank and I don’t remember how I left the accident scene but recall being in hospital a few hours later,” he said with a heavy heart.

Naturally, when you are in the position he was, you would call those close to you. He did that, but of all people who responded, his girl could not be reached. When he finally got hold of her, he says, she stalled her visiting appointment until he was discharged.

“When I was home I called her again and she did not answer. I knew right then that it was over. After two weeks she tried getting hold of me but I decided not to engage her. Instead I worked on writing a new song that I’d call I Deserve. In it I was talking about how I know I am a good guy and I deserve better than she was giving me,” he said.

They do say that art that comes from a familiar place can easily be separated from the imagined creations. You can feel the emotion in Donald’s lyrics of the song. The video is almost a replica of what happened to him and now that you know the full story you will feel the strong emotion that comes with the song.

But I Deserve is more than a declaration of Donald’s stance on love. He feels the industry too needs to listen to what he has to offer, as he has been in the industry for so long and has paid his dues.

“I deserve to be heard. It has been roughly seven years since I started singing professionally and so I feel it is time to have the attention on my music,” he said.

Without sounding arrogant, Donald said he started doing backing vocals for Malaika in the early 2000s and sometimes, when one of the members was missing, he would fill in. When one of the group’s members, Jabu Ndaba, died, Donald’s promised solo album never came to be.

“Jabu had worked so hard on it and I could not get myself to release it and get all the credit,” he said.

He parted ways with Malaika to get a new perspective and found himself in the company of the genius DJ Cleo. This partnership gave birth to his first album, Just Donald, which did not do well due perhaps to a lack of proper marketing strategies.

His second offering, Train Of Love, however, looks like it is going to be his best work yet, since I Deserve is tipped to a summer anthem. Find the CD at your nearest music store.

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