Forget the Algorithms… J. Donte’s Music Feels Human Again

Written by Malik Perkins
July 31st, 2025

Source: J. Donte, instagram.com

In a world where streams matter more than soul and artists chase trends like clout tokens, J. Donte is moving differently. His music doesn’t feel like it was cooked up in a content lab — it feels lived-in, personal, and human.

The Columbus-based pop-soul artist first caught a spark in 2020, during what most would call a reset year. “I had surgery, lost a lot of weight, and my brother wrote a song for me,” he says. “We recorded it, and I was like... yeah, let’s keep going.” That one-off moment turned into All Mine, a three-song EP that dropped in early 2021 — smooth, direct, and rooted in love.

But he didn’t stop there. His next EP, Waves, arrived in 2022 — a six-track dive into the unpredictable swells of love and emotion. “Each song came in one big-ass wave,” he says. “I wrote them all in one day, just letting it flow.”

That freeform honesty is now the backbone of his sound — and it comes through even more clearly on his full-length debut, The Don of J. Donte, released earlier this year. Across 12 tracks, he fuses soul, pop, alternative rock, and R&B into a cohesive story of self-love and evolution.

Half the project was written solo. The other half came through an unexpected collaboration with a 50-something white songwriter he met at work. “He sent me 20 songs,” Donte explains. “And I’m like, bro… these are actually good. I flipped a few to make them fit my story, and they made the album.”

Tracks like “Chasing a Dream,” “Bringing the Rain,” and “Rainfall” stand out — vulnerable, cinematic, and refreshingly adult. But don’t get it twisted: J. Donte isn’t here just to sing sad-boy soul. “Without You” hits like a full-blown pop-rock anthem, and he’s not afraid to shift genres mid-project if it tells the right story.

That’s the thing about J. Donte — he’s not trying to be the loudest in the room. He’s trying to be the most honest.

“I’m not here to oversexualize or act wild for attention,” he says. “I want to make music everybody can listen to — something that tells a story.”

All three of his projects — All Mine, Waves, and The Don of J. Donte — are streaming now. And while there’s no new release on deck just yet, he’s been busy promoting the album and diving into modeling.

“I’m letting the album breathe right now,” he says. “But when the next wave comes? I’m riding it.”