Donald Moatshe (born 7 February 1985), commonly known by the mononym Donald, is a South African

Afro-soul Afro-soul is a music genre that has African characteristics of soul music. It has emotional vocals, especially of the lead singer. There is a very strong link between Afro-soul and other genres like Afro-Jazz, Amapiano, and Afrobeats. Notable ...

singer, songwriter,

recording artist A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

and

entertainer An entertainer is someone who provides entertainment in various different forms. Types of entertainers * Acrobat * Actor * Archimime * Athlete * Barker * Beatboxer * Benshi * Bouffon * Circus performer * Clown * Club Hostess/Host * Co ...

. He was born in the town of

Rustenburg Rustenburg (; , Afrikaans and Dutch: ''City of Rest'') is a city at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West province, South Africa (549,575 in 2011 and 626,522 in the 2016 census). In 20 ...

, in the North-West province. His career began at an early age, and he signed a record deal with the Will of Steel Imprint in 2008. He came to notice with his single "I Deserve" released in 2011.

Life and career

Donald Moatshe was born in the village of Kraalhoek in the

North West province North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng and south of Botswana. History North West was incorporated after the end of Apartheid in 1994, an ...

. He began singing at a young age in the church choir, where his musical talent was discovered.

2011:''Train of Love''

In 2008, he signed a recording deal with South African

DJ Cleo Tlou Cleopas Monyepao (born January 17, 1980), professionally known as DJ Cleo, is a South African Kwaito, House music and Hip hop producer. He was born in Gauteng. DJ Cleo has enjoyed a long and fruitful career in the South African music ind ...

on his ''Will of Steel'' imprint. The label released Donald's debut album, which received a lukewarm reception. He departed from the DJ Cleo's label, and started his own imprint, ''D-Exclusive'' in 2011, and began production on his second album ''Love Train''.

2011:''Love Train''

He rose to fame in 2011 with his notable single ''I Deserve'', which later appeared on his much anticipated and critically acclaimed second album ''Love Train'', which was released in 2012. He released three singles from the album, titled ''I Deserve'', ''Denial'', and ''Over the Moon''. ''I Deserve'' topped the RAMs Top 100 & Top 40 charts, as well as entering the Top 10 on the Media Guide charts, instantly making him a

celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

in South Africa. The success of the album brought him much attention, enabling him to make appearances on South African TV shows such as Rhythm City, 3Talk with Noeleen,

MTV Base MTV Base was a British pay television music channel from Paramount Networks UK & Australia that focused primarily on hip hop, R&B, grime, garage, reggae, funk, soul and dance music. It was launched as part of MTV's digital boutique of music ch ...

Vuzu Vuzu was a South African youth-oriented television channel produced by M-Net for sister pay television platform DStv. History The channel launched on 1 August 2003 as "go", as a competitor to MTV. In March 2009, it was announced that the channe ...

and various others. ''Over the Moon'' became a well known song in Africa at large. Donald has worked with fellow South African acts such as

Kelly Khumalo Kelly Nonhlanhla Khumalo (born November 11, 1982) is a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. Born and raised in Nquthu, KwaZulu-Natal, she was discovered while performing at a gospel talent search and signed a record deal with ...

, KB,

Malaika Malaika is a Swahili song written by Tanzanian musician Adam Salim in 1945. This song is possibly the most famous of all Swahili love songs in Tanzania, Kenya and the entire East Africa, as well as being one of the most widely known of all Swahili ...

, Selaelo Selota and rapper Slikour. Donald was nominated for the Best New Artist at the 2012 Channel O Music Video Awards. In 2013, Donald became the stand-out artist at the 2013

Metro FM Metro FM is a national radio station in South Africa owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation. The station broadcasts on FM Stereo as well as the DStv Bouquet Channel 801. Telephone : History The station started broadcasting in O ...

Music Awards for having been the most nominated artist; among the nominations were Best Produced Album, Best Video, Best Male and Best Dance Album. He was nominated for Best International Act: Africa at

BET Awards 2013 The 13th BET Awards were held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California on June 30, 2013. The awards ceremony recognized Americans in music, movies, sports and other fields of entertainment over the past year. Comedian and actor ...

2015:''Train of Love''

Two years later, in 2015, his album critically acclaimed album ''Train of Love'' was certified Platinum by the

Recording Industry of South Africa Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA) is a trade association representing the interests of major and independent record labels of South Africa. Located in Randburg, RISA is responsible for running the annual South African Music Awards (SAMA ...

. In March 2015, Donald was featured on

Dreamteam Dreamteam is a South African hip hop musical group formed at KwaZulu-Natal.They first nominated at the South African Hip Hop Awards in 2013. The group was officially formed in 2011, and shot to fame in 2013, after the release of independent ...

's first single "What's Your Name" from their debut studio album ''

Dreams Never Die ''Dreams Never Die'' is the fourth studio album by Tiffany, released on November 21, 1993 (see 1993 in music). It represented an attempt to return to pop success three years after her last album, and five years after her last commercially suc ...

'', along with South African singer NaakMusiq.

2014:''Black and White'' (2014)

On March 25, 2014, his third studio album ''Black and White'' was released, and was certified Gold by the

, only three months after its release. At

MTV Africa Music Awards 2014 The MTV Africa Music Awards 2014 took place on 7 June 2014, at the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC Arena). The awards aired live across Africa on MTV Base and MTV. The ceremony was sponsored by KwaZulu-Natal Province, Absolut and th ...

, he received a nomination for Best Male Artist of the Year. In October 2021 Donald announced his album, ''Dreams'', releasing in October the first single from the album, "Inkayezi", an

RnB Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

song.

Discography

Studio albums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donald 1985 births Living people 21st-century South African male singers People from North West (South African province)