D.D. Artis

Amongst a myriad of genres, artists, singers, songwriters, producers and imitators alike, D.D. Artis emerges like a phoenix. This talented singer/songwriter, birthed in Brindisi, Italy, has weathered many storms, suffered disappointments, learned many a lesson and tasted a victory or two. Although she’s influenced by the greatest soul singers of this generation such as; Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Prince and Karen Clark-Sheard, D.D. doesn’t like being labeled. As D.D. embarks on a burgeoning solo career with her forthcoming debut album, From Me To You, her journey of self-discovery captures her greatest lesson learned on the road of life thus far, “that we’re really all the same.”
D.D. was an Air Force brat who grew up (as well as lived) in North Carolina, Florida, Texas and Virginia, citing Hampton, Virginia as her hometown. Since the age of five, D.D. could always be found singing her heart out from church choir to talent competitions and she always stood out amongst the crowd. With her parents stationed in Texas, D.D. quickly took a job as an airline reservationist. In her spare time, she would fly between New York and Los Angeles performing at open mics and building a network of relationships. A mutual friend introduced her to another emerging singer named Anthony Hamilton. While watching the recording process, songwriting and singing, Uptown Records became a school of sorts, as D.D. was surrounded by Anthony and his then label-mates Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Heavy D and Monifah. D.D. “soaked up everything like a sponge,” also witnessing the darker side of the business when Anthony’s deal took a turn for the worse. Bold and confident, D.D. pushed past her own fears, packed her bags and relocate permanently to New York City.
With the encouragement of her mom and lodging between family and friends, D.D. hit the ground running. Temping by day, singing and song writing at night, D.D. moved forward full steam ahead in pursuit of her dream. By 1996, she was working at Priority Records where she caught the attention of hip-hop manager Dru-Ha (Black Moon, Smif-N-Wessun) who wanted to sign her to a record deal. When the deal was delayed, D.D. confronted disappointment head on. “It was a really rough period feeling like I got somewhere and later found out it’s not going to happen”, but she didn’t give up.
D.D. then landed a job at a radio station in 1998 which allowed her to maintain her creative flexibility. She found solace in songwriting as her network of influential relationships continued to expand. D.D. began working with heavyweight producers Eddie F. (formerly of Heavy D. & the Boyz), his partner Darren Lighty, Ron “Amen Ra” Lawrence, Allstar, Eddie Berkeley and Kay Gee (formerly of Naughty By Nature). Unfortunately, none of the projects she worked on materialized, leaving D.D. disappointed yet again. She continued to push through the terrain eventually landing background performance opportunities with Kelis and Ciara.
At the radio station, D.D. was given an opportunity to on-air host, interview and vocally spar with Luther Vandross, Patti LaBelle and Roberta Flack. By 2005, she was quietly contemplating taking another leap of faith, this time to the west coast. Landing in Los Angeles in January 2006, nothing was coming together for confident D.D. on the 9 to 5 job front; however she remained busy performing spot dates. By May 2006, she received a call that would make her work inconsistencies a thing of the past. Justin Timberlake was embarking on his international FutureSex / LoveShow tour, and Ms. D.D. Artis was asked to join as a background singer for this once in a lifetime experience. After touring through December 2007, D.D. confidently acknowledges the experience as a good teacher and a period of personal growth (she also appeared on his HBO special). “It really let me know that I can hold a stage down. All the years people spend doing their own gigs, weddings, all that experience I didn’t have, I got it in that year and a half.”
Looking back on it all D.D. has this to say; “I knew God put me on this earth to continue to touch people through my music.” As her journey to the present has brought forth many challenges, perseverance has made her that much stronger. “More than anything, I want to show people that no matter what obstacles come your way, if you have faith in the creator and faith in yourself, there’s really nothing you can’t do.”