Bio
VDon, born Tivon Key, is a 27 year old established music producer. “You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there. Everything influences each of us…” as told by the incomparable Maya Angelou. Harlem has had one of the most prolific influences on music since the Harlem Renaissance and its reach extends today. As a child VDon walked the same streets as Duke Ellington, passed the doors of legendary venues from a bygone era such as The Cotton Club and listened to stories from friends and relatives about people from the neighborhood like Nina Simone, Sugar Ray Robinson and Frank Lucas. And as a son of a Harlem DJ, VDon could hear the beats and sounds of artists like Freddie Jackson, Kool Moe Dee and Teddy Riley on any given day of the week.
It was no shock when Tivon started making beats on his PlayStation 2 as a teenager. Inspired by music from the neighborhood and his own generation, VDon would hone his talent in neighborhood studios eventually gathering enough equipment of his very own.
His first major production placement was “Sex, Money & Murder” featuring artists Trae The Truth & Maino. Working on the record led VDon to a friendship with Trae. Next, through an introduction by a friend, VDon would meet fellow Harlem resident and rapper Vado, eventually producing Vado’s “Large on the Streets,” single. The song would premiere at the 2010 XXL Top 10 Freshman Concert followed by a video premiere on BET’s 106 & Park. The record performed well nationally at radio.
Vado and VDon would continue their relationship with the follow-up records, “Wake Up,” “Rugby Down,” “Crimesquare,” and “Filthy Game” from the “Slime Flu” debut album.
By 2011, VDon had become a sought-after new Producer with contributions for Trae The Truth’s song “Getting Paid,” featuring Wiz Khalifa on the “Street King” album. The music video currently has six million YouTube views.
VDon produced ASAP Rocky’s “Long Live ASAP,” from his critically-acclaimed RCA/Polo Grounds debut album and has contributed to a variety of productions ranging from Lloyd Banks, 50 Cent and Curren$y to Smoke DZA, Jadakiss and Jae Millz and in 2015 partnered with Bodega Bamz, producting every track on the full length album “Sidewalk Exec”.
VDon has taken his talent as a producer and his long established relationships and excuted his musical vision through his debut album The Optiate. The Opiate is a series of collaborations with some of rap’s top young artists in the game today including Dave East, A$SAP ANT, A$AP Nast, Trae The Truth, Smoke DZA, Aston Matthews, Dark Lo and many more.
