Meet Don Chido of National

Today we’d like to introduce you to Don Chido.

Hi Don, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Since childhood, i’ve always been musically involved/musically inclined . played piano at 7 years old, started writing raps at 8 (learned to read at 3)

I was raised in a traditional Jamaican household.my aunt and grandma took care of me while my mom was across country at law school. my aunt wasn’t a hip hop head; very much a listener of what we call EDM today. so techno, trance, breaks, drum & bass, freestyle…I don’t think she was a hardcore fan, but when those night mixes came on on Power 96, the channel never changed. I got exposed to sounds like DJ Icey and Debbie Deb. of course my grandma wasnt a fan of hip hop in the slightest. I only heard Jazz music when I was around her. smooth jazz love 94

safe to say I fell in love with the radio and music at a very early age.
I discovered hip- hop on my own terms. the music in one way; the culture in another.
Being first- generation born Jamaican In the early 90s meant reggae and dancehall was the majority sound at family functions.
while my mom was away at school, she left some cassette tapes in her room at my grandma’s house. I was always just looking around, curious as a kid. I also had a walkman and wanted to put it to use.

my first hip hop tape? Ice Cube- “Kill at Will” parental advisory. I was 8.
first hip hop song iremember on the radio? Tupac “California love”
I was able to recite every single song. I would write them down and practice. not realizing this was my future.

the journey/dream/goal to become a rapper came about when I heard Outkast- Aquemini. I knew that I wanted to be able to rap like Big Boi AND Andre 3000. their sound was different. it wasnt the normal west coast vibe I was used to. it wasnt the Miami bass that surrounded me as a kid.

then came cash money- hot Boyz, lil Wayne, juvenile…they were a soundtrack in Miami culture because even though they’re from New Orleansthey represented a lot of what occurred here. they showed me what its like to be a rap star, and I wanted to be THAT.

I was already studying for a year or so now, and the hip hop superstar explosion between 98-00 came when DMX, Jay-z , Outkast, Ja Rule, Ice Cube are all respectively holding things down in the mainstream realm, I immersed myself into hip hop culture with the concept or idea of a rap star. I wasnt the graffiti kid, I wasnt the street kid. though I grew up in Carol City, I was kind of square. but I appreciated the culture as much as the toughest guy in town.

at this point, my mom had come back to south Florida and I’m living with her. she was a hip hop and rnb lover. maybe not the hardcore hip hop head, but as much of an enthusiast to have a bunch of CDs and tapes that I could sift through. so now hip hop is the main soundtrack,. I’m an embodiment of the image and the energy. my mom has always gotten me some dope fits, but they intertwined with the Disney kid wardrobe my aunt and grandma laced me with.

now its fubu, windbreakers, phat farm, you name it. in my mind, I was rapper fresh.
2001 is a where the motivation and real push comes around- Lil Bow Wow and Lil Romeo take the scene over. Now I’m seeing my vision in real life, and only a couple hears older than me! So I knew my dream was attainable, and that motivated me even more to be a peer in the hip hop world.

who would guess that in a few years time, I’d be rubbing shoulders with the same people I Idolized. we moved to Atlanta in 2004. in high school, I really started taking my music serious. finding anyone that could record me rap. by then, I had a couple composition notebooks full. I recorded my first “song” on one of those thin plastic microphones that came with desktop computers back in the day. It was like 40 bars haha. no hook, I was second on the song.

but after that, I kept going. I started looking for beats online- freshman in high School, no job, no money. how am I gonnna pay for beats?
I became friends with someone in high school. he actually made beats, and showed me the FL studio program and platform. and of course, there was a demo version. so I could make beats for FREE.

this was the beginning to my journey into production. which I didn’t really want to do. but I knew now my only expense would be studio time. so I practiced, and had an extensive catalog. I started networking a lot on myspace, meeting other artists, finding out about events and showcases. the first showcase i actually performed at was in Gwinnett county, my boy Tray D told me to come perform. SO me and my friend from high school had a song we recorded already. we went to perform it. because we had school in the morning and were underage, we performed and left. turns out we won the showcase.

we ultimately became a group, performed at every stadium and arena in Atlanta, Georgia, TV shows, music video cameos..you name it. We worked with DJ Aries and hood hard entertainment. I started to understand how networking worked. Im now a peer. involving myself in music videos, celeb basketball games, moving around with street teams, building our brand. I did so much online promo people knew our logo before our faces and it solidified us in spaces I dreamt of being in.

unfortunately, things ended towards the end of my high school career, as he went on to college and had other plans in mind.
so after 3-4 years of building this group towards stardom, I’m left to figure out this path as a solo artist. granted, I put in the majority of the work when it came to the group, but I can’t discredit the partnership when It was time for him to show up.

now ive graduated, gone to college, still chasing the dream…but now learning about life as a young adult and the distractions that come along with it. there was a time in my life where life was more important. and although people knew me as an artist, I wasnt putting forth the effort to really make the art.
I still made beats here and there, occasionally freestyle in a cypher to show I still got it…but no projects.

after a few life changing moments, I’m back around in Miami again in 2012 and focusing on a new venture in music- DJing. I was granted a lot of opportunities to play my first year of testing my new skills. MY introduction to Doing was Electronic music. I was going to dubstep shows for a couple years prior to actually running the decks. The music brought nostalgia. when I first listened to electronic music in the 90s. ‘

few years in, I decide to take my talents back to where my network was bigger. so ‘m back in Atlanta now, trying to get in where I fit in. And this is where the cultures meet. Since I am a true hip hop head at heart, ive always had a thing for combining hip hop and electronic music. I wanted to show people that it doesn’t matter who you are, the music is for ALL OF US. while also bringing a sound to a culture that finds excitement from it, but still don’t know or understand the roots of it. that was a niche that ATLwas good at. a melting pot. and I wanted to be a pioneer in that. I DJed at a bunch of after hours spots, mixing heavy dubstep sounds with the recent underground and mainstream hip hop, becoming resident DJ at many of the ATL nightclub staples. This era brought a lot of the city together. everyone would be in the same events across the city. EDM DJs and the biggest Rap Artists in ATL were meeting, and I was a hub. though DJing wasnt ever in my script, it plays a huge role in my story, and the people ive met a long the way to build this bridge.

over the past decade, DJ has been my title. this new era of people completely unfamiliar with my rap ties or accolades. but to others that been there form the beginning, its another notch in the belt.
currently, I’ve been back to my artistry. bringing things around full circle, I have a new hip hop project titled “Imposter Syndrome” which is my first full hip hop project ive released in some years. I’ve been releasing some dubstep songs with me rapping on them. aside from those releases and guest performances, I’ve been locked away in the studio- producing, recording, engineering, mixing, camera work, editing, etc. I’m a one man army, Possibly jaded from the high school fallout with my group member. I don’t care to wait on or depend on anybody. I’ll never say I did it alone, though.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
plenty struggles- I’m an over thinker, but I’m usually right when I tend to do it. I have a trusting heart, though. so my internal battles with potential and reality create conflict.

I’ve made my mistakes. had some run ins with the police, I’ve had some relationships that led to grieving. ive lost friends I considered family. heartbreak has put a toll on my mental health immensely. because of “life life-ing”

I struggle with IMPOSTER SYNDROME. I know I’m seasoned enough to make things happen, but because they have come around sparingly due to me just living the life of an adult figuring it out while also cleaning up the mess from the mistakes, it feels like the wins and successes are a fluke or by luck, and not really “deserved”. this is why my recent projects mean so much. I don’t intend to lose focus; I’ve figured out what works for me and now I can build on the foundation.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a recording artist, beat maker, producer, DJ.

my production knows no bounds of genre; I like to make music that will make you move. either that, or the stink face.
I specialize in blending hip hop with the electronic sound. two things I was influenced by while being raised as a child.

I’m most proud of still being able to make music and leave a mark or impression. I’m proud to be doing what I said I wanted to do as a child.

I think what sets me apart from others is I’m ORGANICALLY bringing these things together. Ive been immersed in these genres, I didn’t just get a library of music and work within that. I come from discovering something in a bin or a dresser. also being classically trained while having an eclectic taste pallet and exposed to so many different sounds as a kid. those things stick with you. especially during the radio era. if you heard something incredible on the radio, you had to either wait for it to come on the radio again or buy the CD.

What’s next?
I aim to drop hip hop EPs every month. The more beats I make, the more thoughts I can get out to y’all.

I want to tour relatively soon. I love to travel, but I love to perform even more.

You can expect some more EDM releases, for sure. I want to leave my mark in that realm. I have a lot of respect for the producers in that game. It’s not as simple as making hip hop beats- EVERYTHING counts. I wanna bring hip hop culture into this world. it can coexist, especially if the focus is great music.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/djdonchido
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/donchido
• Youtube: https://YouTube.com/djdonchido
• Soundcloud: https://Soundcloud.com/djdonchido