The upbeat L.A. by way of NJ artist, Dolo Tonight continues his potent output of feel-good music with his latest single, “Graduation.” Produced by Austin Marc (Tobi Lou, Shek Wes), the motivating track sees Dolo Tonight silencing those skeptical of his success. Throughout the track, Dolo describes the expectations set forth against him and likens the tribulations to those of graduating. On the song, Dolo Tonight explains, “Graduation’ is literally my life. It’s the perfect introduction that shows my coming of age story over a classic sample-based, but original beat.”
The visuals, written and co-directed as a comedic satire by Dolo Tonight, capture his tumultuous trek to “Graduation, facing a series of disastrous mishaps before arriving to his big event. From drenching his graduation gown to finding himself a victim to a robbery while ordering food, Dolo is simply not able to catch a break.
“They said I would never make it / Damn I’m so glad they hated / That’s just motivation”
Dolo Tonight’s breakthrough came when released “Too High” in 2019, subsequently catapulting himself to Spotify’s Top 100 Breaking Artists that year. Soon after, the charismatic New Jersey native released “Blue” followed by “Zoom” which currently sits at 2 million plus combined streams. After linking with Grammy Award Winning engineer, Michael Ashby, who also engineers for Cardi B, Dolo Tonight fixated his sound to what he calls “Anti-Pop” rap.
“I’m Bill Nye-meets-Cartoon Network-meets-a rapper, all in one,” describes Dolo Tonight. The 22-year-old artist is vibrant, enthusiastic, and tapped into an array of cultures. Raised by artistic parents in the Central New Jersey town of Watchung, just outside of New York City, Dolo traces his creativity and analytical skills to his home life. He was encouraged to pursue his passions from an early age and an initial interested in the drums gave way to Jazz, Punk Rock and eventually Hip Hop after hearing Chance The Rappers influential album, Acid Rap.
Dolo Tonight was drawn to the poetry and wordplay of Hip Hop as well as an ability to be honest and expressive. He began to study the artform, listening to different rappers and producers, and one day happened upon a chance encounter with the Grammy Award-winning mixer Michael Ashby (Cardi B, Fetty Wap) at Mission Chinese. Dolo recognized him and introduced himself, and only a short time later they began working together on music.
2019’s “Blue” proved that the rapper had something special, 2020’s “Zoom” began to present his range. Employing a spacey sound, Dolo’s bright, melodic voice used planetary wordplay. “It’s a single that leads into the story of Back To Earth,” he says. The colorful video, directed by friend/rap peer Kayo Genesis, showed Dolo’s unique personality. Elsewhere, he and Ashby enlisted producers Aruu, JonEcks, Dave Hirsh, and Austin Marc to cultivate the perfect canvas for an animated delivery and heartfelt lyrics for his debut project, due early next year.