J-Sol And Dondria Interview

Multi-talented vocalist and songwriter extraordinaire J-Sol has teamed up with US R&B starlet Dondria and rapper Sneakbo for their latest track ‘Keep It On The Low’. We caught up with J-Sol and Dondria and asked them all about their collaboration, inspirations and the story behind the ‘Keep It On The Low’ music video.

How are you?

J- Sol: I’m great thanks!
Dondria: Great, thanks for asking.

How was the video shoot for Keep It On The Low? What’s the concept behind the shoot?

J-Sol: It was surprisingly really good and I say that because I’m not a big fan of music videos, I usually have bad luck with them, something’s always going wrong. But this time round everything was beyond what I hoped for; maybe it’s Dondria’s luck rubbing off on me.
The concept behind the video is Dondria and I planning a heist but that’s all I can say, I don’t want to give it all away.

Dondria: The video shoot was amazing. I had so much fun shooting it with J-Sol, Sneakbo, and the dancers. The concept of the video is like 2014 Bonnie & Clyde. We’re planning a heist basically and of course we have a thing going on between each other but we have to keep it on the low.

Dondria, it was your first time performing in London the other night. How was it and how did it compare to some of your American shows?

Omg, I had a blast on stage! The energy was amazing, they knew all the words, and I even made an Instagram video of the crowd yelling “WE LOVE DONDRIA! As for how it compares, it’s just something about coming overseas to a place you’ve never been and getting that kind of love. It humbles me and motivates me to work even harder.

Dondria, tell us a bit about how were discovered by Jermaine Dupri.

In 2006, I started singing various covers on Youtube just to get an unbiased opinion of my voice. I thought I could sing, my parents, family, and friends told me I could but I wanted to know if a complete stranger thought the same. A year later, one of my videos had reached 1 million views and everything just switched after that. Next thing I know, Jermaine Dupri was writing me on Myspace!!! After having a meeting, it was a wrap and I was living in Atlanta living my dream.

How has be mentored you in the business and what is the best advice he’s taught you?

He’s mentored me in a number of ways. What will always stick with me is: Never stop working. Even when you don’t have to work, work. Nothing bad can ever come from being productive; a whole heap of bad can come from being stagnant.

What would you say has been a career highlight for you?

It’s so hard to say. Everything is a highlight when you’re living your dream!!! But if I HAD to pick one thing, going on the Passion, Pain, and Pleasure tour with Trey Songz and Monica was such an unforgettable experience. I would soooooo do it all over again.

Who are some female artists that inspired you to get into music?

Destiny’s Child was the reason I picked up a mic. I’m also inspired by Whitney Houston, Etta James, Jazmine Sullivan, Tank, and Brandy

For both of you, how has it been working together on ‘Keep It On The Low’? How did you discover each other?

Dondria: It’s been very cool. J-Sol is awesome, very talented, and very passionate about what he does. I love to work with people that make me want to work harder. The chemistry on set was on point; I can’t wait to see the video! I’ll let J-Sol answer the second part 🙂

J-Sol: It’s been really good. I’m a big fan of Dondria’s music and her in general, from growing up watching her on YouTube, to watching her on Skype recording my song, it’s crazy!
I’ve also learnt a lot from her vocally. Performing with her in London has also been really cool – almost felt like we were in a duo band for a week.

J-Sol, how did you get into music and who were you inspired by from a young age?

I got into music from young I don’t really recall the exact moment, all I know is that when all my mates were playing about outside on the swings and playing football, I just wanted to hold a microphone and sing lol.

I’m heavily inspired by artists such as Michael Jackson, Destiny’s Child and Usher, but also inspired by a lot of gospel music. I believe the reason I can sing is because of gospel music. I grew up in the church and every weekend my mum would drag me to her choir rehearsals, so singing I guess found me.

How did growing up in the UK influence your taste in music?

I mean I just like good music. Growing up and being from London I don’t think makes my taste any different to anybody else who loves R&B / Soul / Hip hop music, however, being from the UK means certain phrases an artist overseas would say won’t be appropriate for example singing or using words such Cadillac, ratchet, dope etc, wouldn’t be right.
But when I listen to music I’m not necessarily thinking where the artist is from or how many followers they have on twitter, I’m listening to the music and appreciating it for what it is. I gotta admit, UK artists are stepping the hell up though.

You’ve accomplished a lot in your career, including being nominated for a Spirit Of London Award for ‘Achievement Through Music’. Did attending the Brit school help your drive in the music industry and what motivates you to constantly work so hard?

Thank you. I mean the Brit school was definitely a platform that opened new opportunities for me, there’s hundreds of students there some doing amazing and some not but I made sure I surrounded myself round the ones that were doing well. I’m motivated by negativity which is really weird, but when someone tells me I can’t do something, it makes me work my behind off 10x more, another motivation will be my grandad before he passed I remember him saying to me never give up music.

Keep It On The Low is going to be a huge summer anthem. What are both of your plans for summer and what can your fans expect?

J-Sol: Lol Aw man, I really hope so, thank you. I mean my plan is really to work this song to the max, performing at festivals etc. I’m also finishing off my EP that’s coming out soon, so make sure you look out for that.

Dondria: I’ll be dropping a new song, video, and EP very soon so stay tuned for that. 🙂