Dawn Richard facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dawn Richard
Richard in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Dawn Angeliqué Richard
Born	(1983-08-05) August 5, 1983 (age 42) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	R&B pop art pop electronic
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter dancer actress
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Local Action Our Dawn MBK Creative Artists Agency RED Merge Bad Boy

Dawn Angeliqué Richard (born August 5, 1983) is an American singer. She is from New Orleans, Louisiana. Dawn started her music journey by trying out for MTV's Making the Band 3 in 2004. This show helped her become part of the girl group Danity Kane.

The group signed with Sean "Diddy" Combs's Bad Boy Records. They released three albums before breaking up for a while in 2009. In July 2009, Dawn formed a new music group called Diddy – Dirty Money. She was joined by Sean Combs and singer Kalenna Harper. This group released one album, Last Train to Paris (2010), which was very popular. They also released two mixtapes before the group ended in 2012. The next year, Dawn reunited with three of the original Danity Kane members. They released another album called DK3 (2013).

While she was still with Danity Kane, Dawn also started her solo career. Her first solo album, Been a While, came out in 2005. In 2011, after leaving Bad Boy Records, Dawn began performing as DΔWN, later known as DAWN. She released a series of albums: Goldenheart (2013), Blackheart (2015), and Redemption (2016). These albums explored different sounds like alternative dance and electronic music. Dawn's fifth and sixth albums, New Breed (2019) and Second Line (2021), were both highly praised. In 2018, she helped produce and starred in the action thriller Kinky.

Early life and beginnings

Dawn Richard has family roots from Louisiana Creole and Haitian backgrounds. She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has one brother. After Hurricane Katrina, her family moved to Baltimore, Maryland. Music has always been a big part of her life. Her father, Frank Richard, was the lead singer of the funk/soul band Chocolate Milk. Her mother owned a dance school. Dawn spent much of her childhood there, improving her dancing and singing skills.

As a teenager, Dawn performed with a local New Orleans group called "Realiti". In 2004, she was discovered as a solo artist by Kemic A. Smothers. She then signed a deal with Yeah! Brother Records. She recorded a solo album called Been a While. It included the song "So What," which was co-produced by Ne-Yo. The album's release was put on hold when she signed with Sean "Diddy" Combs's Bad Boy Records. Even though Been a While wasn't widely released, it helped her open for Anthony Hamilton. While working on music, she also toured, performed live, danced, and was an NBA cheerleader for the New Orleans Hornets. She also attended the University of New Orleans.

Career highlights

Becoming a star with Danity Kane (2005–2009)

Richard with Danity Kane in 2006

Dawn's big chance came in 2004 when she was 21. She tried out for the MTV show Making the Band 3 in Orlando. She was chosen to compete for a spot in Sean Combs' new girl group. After leaving her previous contract, she signed with Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment. She won a spot in the group, along with Aubrey O'Day, Aundrea Fimbres, Wanita Woodgett (also known as "D. Woods"), and Shannon Bex.

The new group was named Danity Kane. Dawn came up with the name from one of her drawings. She loved manga (Japanese comics). While in the studio, Dawn drew a female superhero. Sean Combs noticed it and asked the character's name. Dawn said, "Danity Kane." Combs thought this name fit the girls from Making the Band 3. He decided it would be the group's name. The group and their name story were first shared on Total Request Live on June 14, 2006.

Dawn also remixed a song called "Fast Car" with London artist Cherri V. This song became very popular on Cherri V's MySpace page. In 2008, a song called "Phase" featuring Lil Wayne was leaked online. People thought it was a Danity Kane song, but only Dawn's voice was on it. This made people wonder if she was working on solo music.

On January 27, 2009, Dawn told MTV News that Danity Kane had broken up. She said she still felt like a member and hoped the group would work together again. On April 16, 2009, Sean Combs said he had let Aubrey O'Day, D. Woods, and Shannon Bex go from their contracts. He also planned to release Aundrea Fimbres. He told Dawn she would stay with the label. He said if Danity Kane ever reunited, she would be the only original member to return. However, on the show's finale, Combs said all five original members would return if he decided to bring the group back.

Diddy-Dirty Money and solo beginnings (2009–2011)

In 2009, Dawn started writing songs for other artists at Bad Boy Records. These artists included Cassie Ventura and Sean Combs himself. After Danity Kane broke up, Dawn appeared in a commercial. This commercial was against California's Prop 8. Dawn then became a member of the Diddy-Dirty Money group. This group included Sean Combs and singer-songwriter Kalenna Harper. She also appeared in Keri Hilson's music video for "The Way You Love Me." Dawn was the first Danity Kane member to release new music with a major label after their split.

During 2010, Dawn worked on her mixtape, The Prelude to A Tell Tale Heart. Before the full mixtape came out, she released some songs. These included "Me Myself & Y," "These Tears," and "Let Love In." The mixtape was released on February 7, 2011, on her official website. It had 15 songs. It was called "the prelude to..." because she planned an official album called A-Tell Tale Heart. She had been working on this album for three years. She worked with producer Trendsetter on some songs for it.

Richard performing in 2010

On June 19, 2011, a song called "Stuck on Mad" was released. Then, a remix of Frank Ocean's "Novacane" came out on June 21, 2011. This remix was co-written by Intyce. It got over 5,000 downloads in just a few hours.

New solo albums: Armor On and GoldenHeart (2012–2013)

Dawn released the music video for her first song "SMFU (Save Me From U)" in January 2012. It was shown on 106 & Park. Other songs like "Fly, Change, and Black Lipstick" followed. She then released a main song called "Bombs." The video for "Bombs" featured lots of dancing in a desert. After "Bombs" was successful, her next song from Armor On was "Automatic." This was the most urban song from the album. The video for "Automatic" came out on June 18 and was shown on 106 & Park. Dawn released three video trailers for her songs "Faith" and "Wild N'Young." These were combined into one music video released on August 29, 2012. This was the last release from Armor On.

Dawn announced that her main solo project would be three albums. They would be called Goldenheart, BlackHeart, and RedemptionHeart. GoldenHeart was planned for October 16, 2012. "SMFU (Save Me from U)" was released online on October 31, 2011, and was on the first album. The video for it premiered on 106 & Park on January 5, 2012. Druski was the main producer for this whole project.

Dawn wanted a modern R&B sound. To celebrate one million followers on Twitter, Dawn shared a song called "Pretty Wicked Things" on July 17, 2012. She said, "It's the story of the beautiful things in life that get ruined by the wicked." Druski, who worked on Armor On, produced and co-wrote it. It was available on iTunes.

Goldenheart was released on January 15, 2013, in stores and online. It was supposed to come out in October 2012. But Dawn delayed it after signing a deal with Altavoz Distribution. This deal would help release physical copies and market the album more widely. The album's first song, "'86," was released digitally on September 26.

Goldenheart was released in the United States on January 15, 2013. Dawn released the album on her own, without a major record label. She felt labels were "taking a bit longer than we want." It reached number 137 on the Billboard 200 chart. It also reached number 2 on the Top Heatseekers Albums and number 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album also topped the iTunes Store's R&B chart. This led music store f.y.e. to release its physical CD early.

Music critics loved Goldenheart. They called Dawn one of the best new artists in pop and R&B music.

Danity Kane reunion and Blackheart (2013–2015)

Dawn planned to release the second album in her trilogy, BlackHeart, in October 2013. But she announced it would come out after the Danity Kane project. On New Year's Day 2014, an unreleased music video for "Riot/Northern Lights" was leaked online. The video was originally put aside in May 2013 after Dawn and producer Drew Scott stopped working together. The video got good reviews and continued the story from the "86" music video.

During the 2013 MTV VMAs pre-show, the four remaining members of Danity Kane announced they were reuniting. They said they would return on their own terms, without Diddy. Original group member D. Woods did not join the reunion. The group's first new song, "Lemonade," was released online. The Stereotypes produced the song. It featured rapper Tyga and sampled "Grindin'," a 2002 hit song by Clipse.

On May 16, 2014, during their #DKNoFilter Tour, Aundrea Fimbres announced she would leave the group. She said Aubrey O'Day, Shannon Bex, and Dawn Richard would continue as a trio.

On August 4, 2014, while in a recording studio, an argument happened. After days of rumors, Aubrey O'Day and Shannon Bex announced the group's second breakup. Even though the group broke up, their third album, DK3, was released on October 27, 2014.

On October 29, 2014, Dawn released the music video for her song "Blow" on Vevo. She also announced the new release date for her second album, Blackheart, which was January 15, 2015. Dawn said, "With the help of my long time creative/business partner, Kyle Cabrol, I was able to create something we are proud of. This project is very special to me. We set out to redefine the term 'independent' and really push the limits on what could be done. We are just two people but we act as a label that has an entire staff. Both of us are extremely excited to share this art with the hearts."

Later albums and projects (2015–present)

Richard performing in 2016

On September 28, 2015, Dawn released "Dance." This was the first song from "The Red Era." She said, "I wanted to create a vibrant atmosphere. The Red Era is about moving on, redeeming yourself, and finding redemption." The music video for "Dance" came out on October 5, 2015. It was combined with "Billie Jean" from her Blackheart album.

On January 29, 2016, "Not Above That" was released. On March 12, 2016, Dawn started her Redemption Live show tour. She also performed the first ever YouTube live 360 performance.

On August 10, 2016, Dawn appeared in Season 2 of the TV show Rosewood. On September 15, 2016, Dawn began filming the main role, Joyce, in the 2017 movie Kinky.

On November 10, 2016, Redemption, Dawn's fourth album, was available to listen to early on NPR. The album was officially released on November 18, 2016.

Dawn sang on the song "Cool Your Heart" from Dirty Projectors' album, which came out on February 21, 2017.

On January 25, 2019, Dawn released her fifth solo album, New Breed. In September 2020, it was announced that Dawn joined the cast of the movie Issac.

On April 30, 2021, Dawn released her sixth solo album, Second Line: An Electro Revival. This album received good reviews. Mark Richardson from the Wall Street Journal said it "just might be her best." Max Freedman from Paste magazine wrote that Dawn "largely makes up for her retreading with some of her sharpest hooks to date." Her album Pigments with Spencer Zahn followed in 2022. The EP The Architect came out in 2023. A new album with Spencer Zahn, Quiet in a World Full of Noise, was announced in 2024.

Personal life

Dawn Richard has been vegan since 2013. She has appeared in PETA ads. One ad promoted a vegan lifestyle, and another protested the use of leather.

Dawn is Catholic.

Relationships

The shows Making the Band 4 showed the relationships between members of the bands. The series showed Dawn's relationship with Day26's Qwanell Mosley. They were in a romantic relationship for five years. Dawn said they broke up because of Mosley's unfaithfulness in a radio interview.

Other ventures

Fashion

In 2013, Dawn worked with Coco & Breezy to release her own line of sunglasses. These sunglasses went with her first album. In 2014, she launched a small collection of women's shoes with Lust for Life. She also released new shades to go with her Blackheart album. In 2016, Dawn released a special silver and red USB necklace. This necklace went with her final album in the trilogy, REDEMPTION.

Adult Swim

Dawn started working with Adult Swim in summer 2016. She became a content creator and recorded several songs for Adult Swim. In July 2020, she announced a partnership with Adult Swim as a creative consultant. In this role, she looks for Black animators and artists to create content for the channel.

Discography

Studio albums

• Been a While (2005)
• Goldenheart (2013)
• Blackheart (2015)
• Redemption (2016)
• New Breed (2019)
• Second Line (2021)
• Pigments (with Spencer Zahn) (2022)
• Quiet In A World Full Of Noise (with Spencer Zahn) (2024)

Filmography