About Dawn Richard
Dawn Angeliqué Richard is an American singer from New Orleans, Louisiana. She began her career after auditioning for MTV's Making the Band 3 in 2004, and subsequently formed the girl group Danity Kane the following year. The group signed with Sean "Diddy" Combs's Bad Boy Records to release three studio albums until their temporary disbandment in 2009. In June of that same year, Richard formed the musical trio Diddy – Dirty Money with label boss Combs and fellow R&B singer Kalenna Harper. The group released their only album, Last Train to Paris to critical and commercial success; it was preceded and followed by two mixtapes until their 2012 disbandment. The following year, she reformed Danity Kane with three of its five original members to release one further album–DK3 .
During her first year with Danity Kane, she pursued a solo career with the release of her debut studio album, Been a While . In 2011, following her departure from Bad Boy Records, Richard re-emerged as a soloist performing as DΔWN, later to be stylized as DAWN. Released as a trilogy, her next albums: Goldenheart , Blackheart , and Redemption experimented with alternative dance and electronic influences. Richard's fifth and sixth albums, New Breed and Second Line were both met with critical acclaim. In 2018, she co-produced and starred in the erotic action thriller Kinky, which was critically panned.
Richard is of Louisiana Creole and Haitian descent and was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. She has one brother. She later moved to Baltimore, Maryland due to being displaced following Hurricane Katrina. Music has played an influential part in her life since early childhood. Her father is Frank Richard, former lead singer and percussionist of the popular funk/soul band Chocolate Milk. Her mother owned a dancing school where Richard spent much of her childhood developing her choreography and singing skills, but currently works at a school in Baltimore, Maryland.
Early in her teens, Richard began performing with a local New Orleans group called "Realiti". Discovered as a solo artist by Kemic A. Smothers at a 2004 live performance at Tipitina's Uptown in New Orleans, Richard was soon signed under the name "Dawn Angelique" to an exclusive recording contract/development deal with Octarve Anderson, Jr. and his Atlanta independent record label, Yeah! Brother Records. Recording in Los Angeles, Atlanta and New Orleans, Richard and Yeah! Brother records, along with platinum awarded production team The NexMen, Rochad Holiday and Curtis "Sauce" Wilson, crafted a studio solo album called Been a While, featuring the single "So What" which was co-produced by Ne-Yo. Yeah! Brother Records and its New Orleans management company, Scratch Entertainment, headed by Kemic A. Smothers, Esq., agreed after negotiations with Sean "Diddy" Combs of Bad Boy Records, to postpone release of the album while arranging an immediate release from her exclusive recording contract with Yeah! Brother Records. Although it had no releases and did not chart, the studio album Been a While was still good enough to secure her a spot as the opening act for Anthony Hamilton in Tallahassee, Florida. During the recording of the album, she focused on touring and live performances, dance, and becoming an NBA cheerleader for the New Orleans Hornets while attending the University of New Orleans.
Richard's "big break" came in 2005 when she auditioned for the MTV show Making the Band 3 in Orlando, where she was chosen to compete for a spot in Combs' future girl group. After the negotiated release from her contract with Yeah! Brother Records, she elevated her career by signing with Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment. She beat out numerous contestants to secure herself a spot, along with Aubrey O'Day, Aundrea Fimbres, Wanita Woodgett , and Shannon Bex.
The newly formed group became Danity Kane. The idea for the name came from one of Richard's drawings. An avid fan of manga, while Danity Kane was in the studio, Richard drew a female superhero which caught the attention of Combs. When asked what the character's name was, she replied, "Danity Kane". To Combs, this represented the girls of Making the Band 3. He then decided that it should be the name of the group. The name and story were first introduced during Danity Kane's Total Request Live appearance on June 14, 2006.
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