Dyme-A-Duzin facts for kids

Donnovan Malik Blocker, known as Dyme-A-Duzin, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is from Brooklyn, New York. Dyme-A-Duzin used to be a part of the band Phony Ppl.

From 2008 to 2013, he performed with famous artists like Erykah Badu and The Roots. His song "New Brooklyn" was even named one of the 50 Best Rap Songs of 2013 by Spin magazine. Dyme first started his music journey with Warner Bros. Records. He has worked with many artists and producers, including Fabolous and Joey Bada$$.

Life and Music Journey

Early Life and Starting Music

Dyme-A-Duzin was born on May 13, 1992. He grew up in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn, New York. Dyme loved music from a young age. He wrote his first song when he was just 11 years old. By age 14, he had made his first music video.

He listened to artists like 50 Cent, Eminem, Kanye West, and Jay-Z as he grew up. Between 2008 and 2011, he released his first three mixtapes. These mixtapes were shared on DatPiff and have been viewed over 60,000 times.

Music Milestones (2012-2015)

In January 2012, Dyme's band, Phony Ppl, released their first album called Phonyland. People really liked the album because it mixed different music styles. It had sounds from jazz, hip-hop, R&B, funk, soul, and rock.

In September 2012, Dyme-A-Duzin signed a music deal with Warner Bros. Records. He then released his fourth mixtape, A Portrait of Donnovan, in January 2013. In April 2013, Dyme became a brand ambassador for the shoe and clothing company Puma. He even went on a tour in Europe, visiting 10 different countries.

In September 2014, Dyme-A-Duzin released his fifth mixtape, Hip Hope. This mixtape featured other artists like Casey Veggies and Kehlani. He also signed with Atlantic Records in 2014. In 2015, Dyme decided to leave Atlantic Records and become an independent artist. He then released a very popular song called "That Chicken." This song was featured on The Fader and played on BET JAMS. It was the first song from his debut album, "Crown Fried."

New Music and Collaborations (2016-2017)

In 2016, Dyme started a series called "2 Piece Tuesday." He released two new songs every two weeks on SoundCloud. These songs were meant to build excitement for his "Crown Fried" album. The collection of songs became a mixtape called "2 Piece Tape."

That summer, the famous rapper Fabolous heard Dyme's music. The two artists, both from Brooklyn, worked together on a remix of "That Chicken." The "That Chicken" (Remix) became very popular. It was talked about on websites like Rap Radar, XXL, and Complex. The song was also played often on New York radio stations like Hot 97 and Power 105.1. The music video for the remix was filmed in Crown Heights and got over 1 million views in its first week on WorldStarHipHop.

On July 14, 2016, Fabolous invited Dyme to perform with him at the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival. In January 2017, Dyme released an EP (Extended Play) called Ghetto Olympics. This EP was a preview for his "Crown Fried" album. On May 2, 2017, Domino's pizza aired a TV commercial with a jingle written by Dyme called "Build It Back."

Recent Projects (2019-Present)

On July 15, 2019, Dyme celebrated the 5-year anniversary of his Hip Hope mixtape with a live performance. In September 2019, Dyme appeared in the TV series Wu-Tang: An American Saga.

Even with the challenges of 2020, Dyme continued to release music. He put out the music video for "Black Man" in March 2020. In April 2021, his TRAINING. tape was released. Then, on July 30, 2021, Ghetto Olympics 2 finally came out.

In June 2022, Dyme released TRAINING 2., the second part of his training tape series. In December of that year, Domino's aired another jingle written and performed by Dyme called "Charged Up." This jingle was part of their 2023 advertising campaign.

Dyme released a new song called "Underground Hov" in June 2023. He also performed it in the Juice Films video series. In September, he released "Playas Only" with Rome Streetz. In January 2024, "House" was released. Dyme also hinted that the third Ghetto Olympics album was coming soon. He released several more singles, including "Ms. Parker," "Us never Them," and "Trauma." On his birthday, May 13, "Barbershop (Conversations)" featuring Bishop Nehru was released. He then released "Legends 3" featuring Jayy Grams, paying tribute to Jayy Grams who had recently passed away. Finally, Ghetto Olympics 3 was released on June 26, 2024.

Discography

Extended Plays

• Nothing Special (with Phony Ppl) (2012)
• Ghetto Olympics (2017)

Albums

• Crown Fried (2018)
• Ghetto Olympics 2 (2021)
• Ghetto Olympics 3 (2024)

Mixtapes

• Shut Up 'n' Listen (2008)
• The Orientation (2010)
• 20=X (2011)
• Phonyland (with Phony Ppl) (2012)
• A Portrait of Donnovan (2013)
• Hip Hope (2014)
• 2 Piece Tape (2016)
• TRAINING. (2021)
• TRAINING 2. (2022)

Guest Appearances