Dawn Richard

Dawn Angeliqué Richard (born August 5, 1983) is an American singer from New Orleans, Louisiana.

She started her career after auditioning for Making the Band 3 in 2004.

Discovered as a solo artist by Kemic A. Smothers at a 2004 live performance at Tipitina's Uptown in New Orleans, Richard was soon signed under the name "Dawn Angelique" to an exclusive recording contract/development deal with Octarve Anderson, Jr. and his Atlanta independent record label, Yeah!

Brother Records.

Recording in Los Angeles, Atlanta and New Orleans, Richard and Yeah!

Brother records, along with platinum awarded production team The NexMen, Rochad Holiday and Curtis "Sauce" Wilson, crafted a studio solo album called Been a While, featuring the single "So What" which was co-produced by Ne-Yo.

Yeah!

Brother Records and its New Orleans management company, Scratch Entertainment, headed by Kemic A. Smothers, Esq., agreed after negotiations with Sean "Diddy" Combs of Bad Boy Records, to postpone release of the album while arranging an immediate release from her exclusive recording contract with Yeah!

Brother Records.

Although it had no releases and did not chart, the studio album Been a While was still good enough to secure her a spot as the opening act for Anthony Hamilton in Tallahassee, Florida.

During the recording of the album, she focused on touring and live performances, dance, and becoming an NBA cheerleader for the New Orleans Hornets while attending the University of New Orleans.

Afterward, Richard performed as a member of girl group Danity Kane from 2005 to 2009; she reformed the group with three of its original five members in late 2013.

In 2005, she first embarked on a solo career with her debut studio album, Been a While.

Richard's "big break" came in 2005 when she auditioned for the MTV show Making the Band 3 in Orlando, where she was chosen to compete for a spot in Combs' future girl group.

After the negotiated release from her contract with Yeah!

Brother Records, she elevated her career by signing with Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment.

She beat out numerous contestants to secure herself a spot, along with Aubrey O'Day, Aundrea Fimbres, Wanita Woodgett (now known as "D. Woods"), and Shannon Bex.

The newly formed group became Danity Kane.

The idea for the name came from one of Richard's drawings.

An avid fan of manga, while Danity Kane was in the studio, Richard Drew a female superhero which caught the attention of Combs.

When asked what the character's name was, she replied, "Danity Kane".

To Combs, this represented the girls of Making the Band 3.

He then decided that it should be the name of the group.

The name and story were first introduced during Danity Kane's Total Request Live appearance on June 14, 2006.

Richard has also remixed a song with London-based artist Cherri V, titled "Fast Car".

The song has since become one of the most listened to songs on Cherri V's MySpace page.

In 2009, Richard formed the R&B duo Dirty Money with fellow singer-songwriter Kalenna Harper, which was joined by Bad Boy Records label founder Sean "Diddy" Combs to form Diddy – Dirty Money.

The group released their only album, Last Train to Paris (2010) to commercial success, following up with two mixtapes until their disbandment in 2012.

With Danity Kane, Richard released three studio albums.

In 2011, following her departure from Bad Boy Records, Richard re-emerged as a soloist performing as DΔWN, later to be stylized as Dawn.

She independently released a trilogy of studio albums: Goldenheart (2013), Blackheart (2015), and Redemption (2016), which experimented with alternative dance and electronic influences.

In 2018, she co-produced and starred in the erotic action thriller Kinky, which was critically panned.

Richard is of Louisiana Creole and Haitian descent and was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

She has one brother.

She later moved to Baltimore, Maryland due to being displaced following Hurricane Katrina.

Music has played an influential part in her life since early childhood.

Her father is Frank Richard, former lead singer and percussionist of the popular funk/soul band Chocolate Milk.

Her mother owned a dancing school where Richard spent much of her childhood developing her choreography and singing skills, but currently works at a school in Baltimore, Maryland.

Early in her teens, Richard began performing with a local New Orleans group called "Realiti".

Richard later released her fifth and sixth albums, New Breed (2019) and Second Line (2021) to critical acclaim.