DONIKA is an Albanian-American singer, songwriter and producer from New York City. A child of refugee parents who escaped war-torn Kosovo in 1990, the Brooklyn native has been making music her entire life. By the time she was just 7 years-old the young artist was already writing her own original poetry and songs. By 16 she was singing cover songs on her YouTube channel and attracting the attention of folks in the music biz.
At first, DONIKA worked anonymously as a ghost writer. In 2019 she decided to take the reins and taught herself the ins-and-outs of music production. In 2021 she is going public. She makes her professional solo recording debut with a sound influenced by the classic Pop and Hip-hop of her youth and a thoughtful writer’s eye toward the social issues plaguing our modern era.
“Superiority Complex” is the debut single and video from DONIKA, available worldwide via all major streaming services. With a cool organic sound the singer delivers a powerful commentary on our culture’s epidemic-level empathy deficit. A downtempo beat that mixes analog and electronic elements meets a jazzy and melodic bass. The sparse arrangement leaves a wide-open space for soft background vocal harmonies that stretch out across the horizon.
DONIKA enters the mix with a smooth and confident performance that alternates between a laid-back melodic rap and soulful R&B vocals. Lyrically “Superiority Complex” delivers a smart, subtle but powerful message. Touching on subjects of gender, sex and racism she sings of the dehumanization of people and how it is used as justification to perpetrate horrible acts against the innocent. It’s a powerful message, made more so by the fact that DONIKA is talking to everyone of us and herself, acknowledging the subtleties of latent bigotry and hate.
Watch the powerful “Superiority Complex” video below. You can also hear the track on the Deep Indie Dive playlist. Follow the links below the video to connect with DONIKA. Get on her socials and get in the loop on all of the great music to come from this talented new voice.