Donn T

Donn Thompson’s musical bloodline runs long. The distinctive alternative R&B singer and songwriter, who goes by Donn T, is the granddaughter of the Dixie Hummingbirds’ Beachy Thompson, the daughter of Lee Andrews (of Lee Andrews & the Hearts) and Jacqui Andrews (who was a member of Congress Alley with Lee), and the sister of Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson (of the Roots). In 2006, as the mononymous Donn, she was featured on a tripped-out cover of Radiohead’s “Morning Bell” by the Randy Watson Experience (Questlove and James Poyser’s Coming to America-referencing side project). Kaleidoscopic, her debut album, was produced by Gilles Peterson favorite Simbad, and was released in 2010 on MoreAboutMusic. She followed it by collaborating with another British producer, Matthew Bandy, on the 2011 broken beat-inspired single “Grass Is Greener.” Three years later, she marked the beginning of her D-Tone Victorious label with the release of “Midnight,” a full-bodied single replete with a monologue, the rarest of throwback touches. The song anchored the four-track Gramophonica EP, the prelude to a 2015 album, Flight of the Donn T. ~ Andy Kellman