Eric Donté Is One of This Year's STL 77

This year ​the RFT recognizes ​St. Louis' ​stellar music scene by presenting the STL 77, ​our list of 77 acts who did big things in the last twelve months. From now through June 17, the date of our huge annual music festival ShowcaseSTL, we'll be announcing two ​honorees per weekday on our music blog. For more information on STL 77, as well as the complete lineup for ShowcaseSTL, go here.

He calls it “ghetto trance” music; you might call it dark, twisted, honest and minimalist. Donté, who also goes by the name Fadda Vampire, creates hip-hop confessions that sound cinematic, even without the benefit of his stylish videos (Donté’s also a model). Donté’s stream of consciousness flows in an eerie mist, but it also reverberates, like Tricky arriving strung out and late to an underwater séance in St. Louis. The 23-year-old native St. Louisan released the haunting God Don’t Like Ugly EP last year, and his current releases, notably “World War E,” take a hard political turn even as the beats sound even more club-ready. Keep your eye on Donté. He’s just getting started, but he’s got talent that sounds built to last.

Recommended if you like: Tyler the Creator, Tricky, J. Cole, Childish Gambino

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