On 11/11/11 Donny Goines released his latest effort, 'Success Served Cold' which due to various starts and stops, has been building steam for the greater part of 2011. The first thing that is readily apparent on this album is, this guy has been through some shit. Now does that mean that this is some emo-infused-album-because-that's-what's-poppin'-right-now sort of album? No. It means - the guy's been through some shit. From what he decides to share in his lyrics to the way his flow has expanded, Donny as an artist is showing growth. Since seeing him perform at the 2009 A3C Festival, I've always kept an eye out for things Donny-related. And although I can't say I've always liked all of his work, this album is not one of those disliked works.
The featured guests on here speak for themselves and you can take a peek at the tracklisting to see for yourself. What I'd rather dwell on is this album's proof that an independent Hip hop artist, without major label backing in 2011, can pull together a cohesive and well-thought out album, all in the midst of the constant bombardment of seemingly sub-par material we get fed day in and day out.
On Barbarians (prod. by Frequency), Just Blaze along with Jon Connor and Laws assist a very assured-sounding and confident Donny which is a trait that was just sort of bubbling before, but now is much more apparent. The standout 'Champion's Anthem' does an excellent job melding Hip hop veterans, future school spitters, and putting them over some quality production (produced by Maki). Bun B, Killer Mike, XV, Pill & DJ Corbet all bring their respective 'A' game over the beat while Donny brings his 'A' game with his 'Donny flew the coop shit'.
From the songwriting on tracks like 'Mountain of Memories' with Brother Ali to 'The Loudest Silence' Feat. Tess, Aja Monet & Canei Finch, Donny Goines is showing that he is not only maturing and growing as an artist, but he is embracing of it. And it almost seems like he's inviting everyone to go along with him for the ride.
I should probably also mention that this album, which has original artwork, original production, and many quality features - is a free download. No catch, no run around, no-jumping-thru-hoops free.
Download Success Served Cold here
