B I O G R A P H Y
DON HATALI was born in 1985 in RWANDA. His adventures have been mixed with fortune and misfortune as a survivor of the Genocide of 1994. Hatali has visited FRANCE, KENYA, CONGO, HOLLAND, UGANDA, BELGIUM, U.S., JAMAICA and now lives in CANADA. Luckily he has a positive outlook on LiFE and a creative understanding of everything that happens. He started taking an interest in music around 1996 when he first heard the French rap group from Marseille; IAM. His favourite album and most influential is called L’ECOLE DU MICRO D’ARGENT, he knew every song and every word by heart. In the year 2000 he decided to start writing his own lyrics and made a couple of French songs in his Mom’s basement. In November 2001, Hatali and his friends Richy Nix with Mel Raymond wrote a song called CHANGE THE WORLD it was performed on Remembrance Day and dedicated to all the victims of crimes against innocent people especially those who died in September of 2001. In 2002, Richy Nix and Hatali received an ONTARIO JUNIOR CITIZEN AWARD NOMINATION for the song, they were also featured on the FESFO: Nos Artistes CD of the same year.
After finishing High School in 2003, Hatali had started writing in English as well. He went on to Laurentian University where he produced and released 2 Mix-tapes (I.M.P. volume 1 and volume 2). In 2007 Hatali released his First "double" album called “IN A CLASS OF MY OWN” with a French version “DANS MA PROPRE CLASSE”. Hatali also started to make beats under his own independent production company: INNOCENT MOVES PRODUCTIONS (I.M.P). In 2008 Hatali graduated in Modern Languages with a specialization in Spanish and Italian. This is where Hatali evolved into DON HATALI. The word “Don” is given to someone who is known and respected in Latin cultures, but it was also added because in French it means “Gift”. The word “Hatali” comes from the Swahili language where it means “Dangerous” but people also use it to talk about something that is “Very Impressive”. Don Hatali was finally ready to present his art to the World.
On (10/10/10) October 10th 2010, Don Hatali released a 3rd Mix-tape called (R.C.T.) REVOLUTIONARY CAR-TUNES the 1st Hour. This was his first project officially released on the Internet and allowed Don Hatali to reach a wider audience across Canada but also in other parts of the World.
In 2011, Don Hatali, Chezza, D., Ronin, and AntiFrantik got together to start a collective called “GET FAMILYA”. All year, GET FAMILYA went on tour all around Ontario and Quebec, Canada. The tour’s stops included: OTTAWA, TORONTO, MONTREAL, SUDBURY, and OSHAWA. By the end of their first year together, GET FAMILYA had done a show every month of 2011, to top it, a Surprise Christmas album was release on December 19th 2011. It is called THE CHRISTMIX STORY… Get Familya was disolved one year later, at the end of 2012 as its members were all refocusing on personal careers and growth.
In 2012, Don Hatali released his 4th Mix-tape and 6th project “THE ALL INCLUSIVE DREAM” with his first professional music video for the single “What’s Th@ about” featuring Mass The Boss from Oshawa. The music video was inspired by one of Don Hatali’s favorite movies “The Usual Suspects”. At the end of 2012, Don Hatali relocated to the City of Toronto where he works on his next project.
“Dear Rwanda” is the first single of this album and has been well received by his audience. Don Hatali decided to Remix the song and feature another group of Rwandese artists living in France, called Kigali’z illest. The same year www.DonHatali.com was inaugurated and has been a key element in showcasing Don's Music.