Zdon : iSOUND.COM™

Biography

Zdon Paporrella is one of the artists leading The New School Revolution out of Africa to take the rest of the music industry by storm.
Born to an army officer and civil servant, the singer’s early life was shaped by the discipline and forthrightness of his father, Dauda Nimyel, who was a Colonel in the Nigerian Army and later a Borno State Military Administrator (1993-1994). Zdon’s parents exposed the young Nimyel to the music of Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Ik Dairo, Fela Kuti, and Bob Marley.
Zdon grew up in affluence, enjoying the favor his father found with the government. However, this all came to an end when his parents’ marriage fell apart and his father refused to support his mother—and his children. Zdon went from eating with a silver spoon to not knowing where his next meal might come from. He, his brother, and his mother had to fend for themselves entirely, “Friends and family deserted us when my father turned his back on us,” Zdon said. He deals with this painful experience on the emotional track, "No Shaking".
In the meantime, Zdon sold whatever legitimate merchandise he could get his hands on and, eventually, ended up getting a DJ gig to make ends meet. Before long, he studied sound engineering and his career in the music business was born. In 1997, Zdon and his friends Paul and Icy formed a pop music group called ZIP. Their fresh, nervy sound made record labels unsure if their music was marketable, but the group finally had a hit record that that could be heard just about anywhere in Nigeria in 2003, Tight. That same year, the three decided to part ways.
On July 28, 2005, Zdon kicked off his solo career with his debut single, “Na U. ” The song received massive radio airplay from mainstream entertainment media including The Punch, Encomium Weekly, and The Sun. “Na U” is a favorite on African MTV, Channel O, and many other Nigerian TV stations. His debut solo album, Experience Da Zee, released by Culbeed Music, showcases Zdon’s eclectic style, as he flows effortlessly from rap to reggae to R&B on each of the 14 tracks.
Zdon was just awarded the "Excellent Youth Performance Award” by all tertiary institutions in Ogun State and he was nominated as “R&B Artist of the Year” at the Nigeria Music Awards (NMA).
Zdon is a tremendously gifted singer/rapper/songwriter/producer; he has been already tagged as the artist who will scope and shape the Nigerian music industry in 2007. He cannot wait for his music to reach American soil and he has legions of fans in Nigeria who would agree the excitement is real.