Damoli, Melanie and Kourtney make up the female trio DMK. Hailing from Detroit, these talented and gifted singers have been singing most of their lives, but have been together as a group just over a decade. DMK’s music foundation is strong. Kourtney’s grandfather, Levi Stubbs of the legendary Motown group the Four Tops, has impacted the girls tremendously as R&B artists.
Over the years, DMK has made significant accomplishments. With an appearance on FOX’s hit show “Empire” and the recent release of their self-titled EP, they’ve found a great musical balance of traditional and current R&B that merges perfectly with updated new jack swing rhythms.
DMK has plans for the future but as of now they are focusing on becoming great women and artists. Read what they have to say.
At what age did you realize you had a gift?
Kourtney: We all started singing in the church. At the age of three we joined the children’s choir.
What led you ladies to be artists?
Kourtney: When we started out we were just performing at different places in our community and everywhere we performed, there was always a good response from the audience. People liked us so we decided to pursue a career in the music and entertainment industry.
What social media outlets do you use to market your music?
Damoli: We use Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook. We use multiple outlets just to get ourselves out there and to get noticed. We post videos of us singing so that our fans and people who may not know of us yet can see our craft?
How do you stay inspired to create your music?
Melanie: Our everyday lives and the challenges we face together inspire us to create music.
Do you think there are any misconceptions about artists? If so, what are they and how do you work to dispel them?
Damoli: There are a lot of misconceptions about girl groups. Many girl groups do not stay together, they break up because of relationships with guys, and many other reasons but we do not have those problems.
What is the style of DMK?
Kourtney: Our style is a little bit between edgy and urban. We want to be raw and real.
Who do you consider to be your peers in your field?
Kourtney: Anyone who is pursuing R&B at the moment
What groups do you admire?
Damoli: We look up to all of the Motown groups and the sound of En Vogue inspires us everyday.
If there was one thing you could change about yourself, what would it be?
Kourtney: There is not anything that I would change because I feel that the obstacles I faced is what made the person that I am today. Damoli is short so she would probably change her height, but we are pretty satisfied with the way we are.
During these past 12 years of singing together, is there anything that you ladies would have done differently?
Melanie: Damoli and I graduated from High school in 2011 and we thought that we could do DMK and go the college at the same time. I went to Michigan State and Damoli went to Clayton State University in Georgia. If I knew what I know now I never would have taken a year off for school because we lost a lot of time.
Who is your #WCW and your #MCM?
Damoli: Kourtney and Melanie are my #WCW and my #MCM is my music.
Kourtney: My #WCW would be Beyoncé and my #MCM is Smokey Robinson because he is such a cute old man.
Melanie: My #WCW is Brandy. My #MCM is Michael B. Jordan.
