About

Our goal at the Donut Lounge is to connect artists to opportunities, and communities to resources by uplifting emerging independent artists who need a wider platform and redirecting resources so that all proceeds we receive from Hip-Hop culture go back into grassroots music education programs and events to inspire the next generation.

MISSION STATEMENT

Hip-hop was started in The Bronx, by people who didn’t have access to the traditional means of making music and art but were still filled with the innate desire to express themselves. Using what they had, they invented a medium all their own that no one ever had seen or heard before. Fast forward to the present day and you begin to see that the communities that birthed the phenomenon are still clamoring for any opportunity they can get, creating a situation where only a select few people have access to a career in Hip-Hop music.

We are aiming to change that narrative. Borrowing from Hip-Hop’s D.I.Y. tradition, The Donut Lounge serves as a platform for the community at large. We feel it is necessary to not only provide local artists with the tools they need to succeed but also to invest time, energy, and capital into music education. In New York City and New Jersey, we have a thriving ecosystem of musicians looking to push the strong cultural history of Hip-Hop production to the next level. These artists are not single-mindedly concerned with what sells and are more focused on being true to themselves and their artistry. The Donut Lounge has already played an integral role in this community by hosting events and live streams showcasing Producers and Beatmakers. We feel the next step is to bring all of that energy together and share it with the world through a series of compilation albums.

This is only the beginning! As the idea continues to grow alongside the community we hope to continue to be able to create new and progressive ways to build with each other. Through various social media outlets, we are looking to spread information to people who need it. So much of the music industry is veiled by politics and “Who you know”, more often than not people who don’t have anyone to take them to “the next step” are left in the cracks. We want to be able to teach people the things we’ve learned in our own careers, connect people with each other so they can build their own networks, and invest in our community because if we don’t do it, who will? Hip-hop was born from the combination of necessity and innovation, and the Donut Lounge will follow in the same traditions that built our foundation.