When Destinii Donawa was a young girl, her father would pick her up after school and take her to a local Caribbean radio station in New York City, where he was the DJ. Years of doing homework next to him while listening to intricate percussion blasting throughout the station shaped her taste in music — and inspired her career as a rapper. 

Donawa, also known as “DES the problem” was originally accepted to Syracuse University as a Coronat Scholar, SU’s competitive scholarship program whose recipients receive a full-tuition scholarship to the Renée Crown University Honors program. But DES said she decided to transfer to Brooklyn College to pursue music, while also being able to help support her family financially. 

The decision to transfer wasn’t easy — it was a yearlong personal debate as she weighed the pros and cons. Although she’s met amazing people at SU, DES said she found it difficult to travel between Syracuse and New York City, as she began booking more gigs back home.  

“I was one foot in and one foot out,” she said. “I had to make the decision that was best for me and commit.” 

Prior to SU, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts, famous for its star alumni, including rapper Nicki Minaj and singer Liza Minnelli. It was there where she blended her poetry skills with vocal singing.  

Artists like PARTYNEXTDOOR, Noname and Earl Sweatshirt influenced DES’ early R&B sound. While she enjoys each artist’s individual sound, she said she’s still exploring the kind of tracks and aggression found in YouTube videos of female battle rappers.   

While her first single, “Juice,” has an upbeat tone, the project was inspired by a darker point in her life. The summer before her second year at SU, DES was struggling to find a job to help supplement her family’s income.  

“Because I was going through that depressive state, (the song) was kind of me lifting myself up,” DES said.  

Although SU has a prominent rap scene today, losing an artist like DES only diminishes female rapper representation, said Victoria Payne, DES’ sophomore year roommate.  She added that, despite knowing other artists at SU, DES was one of the few women she knew on the campus scene.  

The lack of women in the industry is something DES is aware of. She said while men rappers can be signed and become famous for their standard talent, female rappers have to be three times as talented or be hyper-sensationalized. She cited Cuban Doll’s use of guns in her videos, like “Let it Blow,” as an example of this. 

Instead, DES resonates with multifaceted artists such as Princess Nokia, who she said utilizes elements of black culture and feminism in her style. For DES, artists who have a “double personality” are the most interesting, as many can be seen as cross-sectioning different subgenres in rap.  

“I know people like to draw the line of what makes a rapper and what makes an artist, (but) I’d rather be known as a rapper who can make music,” DES said.  

Since dropping “Juice,” DES said her style has changed. Now elements from trap music and darker tones — inspired by her high school vocal training of Franz Schubert’s composition of “Ständchen” — will be bounced back from sounds found in “Juice.” 

DES’ childhood friend, Maya David, said she has gained more confidence since her first show. David recalls one performance where the wrong track played, throwing the amateur rapper off.  

“I could see it in her eyes she was forgetting the words,” David said, adding the incident has only made DES more resilient in her performance. “She never really shys away.”  

Now, DES said, she’s focused on dropping more singles and continuing to experiment with new beats, as well as an album she hopes to release by the end of 2019.  

“I’m going to find my style,” she said, “even if that means having no style at all.”

Published on January 29, 2019 at 9:30 pm

Contact Diana: dianar@dailyorange.com