Born in the drug-riddled streets of Harlem, NY during the late 1980's, Donte "D-Black" Blackwell had nothing to lose and the whole world to gain. Influenced by artists such as Jay Z, Beanie Sigel, Kool G Rap and The Lox, D-Black began using rap as an escape from his every day struggle.
 
D-Black started taking his craft serious after meeting his engineer, Matik, while enrolled in college. He went on to release his first mixtape, New Black City, on December 1st 2008. New Black City featured production from Illmind, Nottz, DJ Babu, Khrysis and others with collaborations from Rapper Big Pooh of Little Brother, Skyzoo and Chaundon. The mixtape received critical acclaim from many blog sites including, The Smoking Session, while the video for the street single off of the mixtape, "The Come Up" featuring Skyzoo, has been featured on OnSmash and VladTV, receiving over 35,000 views.
 
He then went on to release the Long Story Short EP in 2010, which HipHopGame.com garnered as the "Demo Of The Month". After the release of the Long Story Short EP, D-Black suffered several minor setbacks which hampered his progress: His older brother's congestive heart failure condition was worsening, his aunt and godfather succumbed to cancer and his mother suffered several strokes.
 
Although he was thought to be relatively inactive during this period, several videos (No Ordinary Love and Chillin'/Ghetto) and songs (Carte Blanc and If The Sky Should Fall amongst others) were released in 2012 and 2013. D-Black used the hiatus to find a studio suited for his sound and new producers to help him grow.
 
After much delay, D-Black is prepared to return with a renewed focus, poise and added business savvy; His free album, Tunnel Vision, is set to release on 11.11.14. As he states in the title track; "Seems like I'm destined for greatness but took the scenic route..." The best is still yet to come for the young emcee.

Followers of D-Black