Lady Donli

Zainab Elizabeth Donli, better known as Lady Donli, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter who is a major figure in Alté music. In addition to Alté, she also makes alternative R&B, hip hop, alternative jazz, and Afrobeats music.

Biography

Lady Donli was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and is the youngest of six children. She spent her early years in Abuja and Kaduna, where her dad is from. After her secondary school education, she moved to the United Kingdom, where she obtained a degree in law from the University of Surrey. Donli's earliest musical influence was the Evangelical Church of West Africa, where a particular style of synchronous praise-chanting had become established. She was also influenced by the music of Brenda Fassie, Angelique Kidjo, Aṣa, and Erykah Badu, as well as Nigeria's pop pioneers.

Donli is a major figure in Nigeria's Alté music, a fusion genre that combines elements of several genres, including Afrobeat, R&B, and soul. She released her debut 12-track mixtape, Love or War, in 2014. Donli has worked with artists such as Adekunle Gold, Nonso Amadi, Tomi Thomas, M.I Abaga, Mr Eazi, SDC, Davido, Ayüü, Odunsi the Engine, and Tay Iwar, among others.

In 2018, Donli lent vocals to Boogey's "Motion" and Terry Tha Rapman's "Open Letter". That same year, she collaborated with Mr Eazi on the track "Lagos Gyration", which appeared on his second mixtape Lagos to London (2018). Moreover, she was featured on "+-", a track from M.I Abaga's fourth studio album A Study on Self Worth: Yxng Dxnzl.

In 2019, Donli released her debut album, Enjoy Your Life.

Discography

Studio albums

• Enjoy Your Life (2019)
• Pan African Rockstar (2023)

EPs

• Love or War (2014)
• Wallflower (2016)
• Letters to Her (2018)
• Wild (2021)

Selected singles

Major features

Awards and nominations