Music is his first and great love. Donovan Mijnals knew from the age of four that he wanted to be a singer and, after some detours, he succeeded. In the future, the 34-year-old musician would like to tour the world and start social projects.
Music is his first and great love. Donovan Mijnals knew from the age of four that he wanted to be a singer and, after some detours, he succeeded. In the future, the 34-year-old musician would like to tour the world and start social projects.
Donovan may have known what he wanted to be when he was four, but he wasn’t sure about his frizzy hair. “When I was a little boy, frizzy hair wasn’t really popular, but as I got older, I became more and more aware of my hair. There were a lot of movies that influenced that, like the one about Malcolm X’s life.”
Donovan lost sight of his dream of becoming a musician for a while. “I had it in the back of my mind during school that I was going to be a doctor, but after high school I had the opportunity to study chemical engineering in Cuba. I was already interested in chemistry, so I took the chance.” Music continued to burn on a back burner in his life. “At the time, I was performing with some friends in an a capella group called After B-4. In Cuba, I continued to perform and won a few awards at festivals that I participated in. I didn’t finish my studies in chemical engineering because my first love eventually won out and I decided to study music.”
But when he returned to Suriname, another opportunity came his way. “Because of my affinity with languages, I ended up at the daily newspaper De Ware Tijd as an editor. I also wrote a number of articles during that period and after I left the company as an editor, I was asked to come back as a journalist.” In addition to his work as a journalist, Donovan is now also at The Green Conservatory in Suriname. “It is quite difficult to combine the two. I still prefer to be on stage. Music is my great love and I will most likely always continue to enjoy it. Unfortunately, I have had so little time for it lately, so I really need to make some changes.”
The musical style of the Surinamese musician cannot be described in one word. “I do a mix of r&b, soul and a bit of funk. I feel most related to artists from the 70s, the so-called Motown era. I also identify with the music of d'Angelo, Eric Bennett, Maxwell, Anthony Hamilton and others from that scene. But my music should not become rigid, so I strive for it to continue to evolve.” This progress in his music also includes new projects. “I want to tour the entire world, but I hope that one day I will also be able to carry out social projects everywhere. I have a concept for a school in mind that I hope to realize in the future. This year I hope to do a project where I will be on stage with some family members.” Donovan is keeping secret which family members these will be for now.
Donovan used to be a bit insecure about his frizzy hair, but now he thinks that's a shame. "People with frizzy hair are very unique and should be aware of that. If you travel around the world, it's only a select 'group' that has frizzy hair. In my opinion, that uniqueness should be proudly displayed." Nowadays, Donovan also wears his frizzy hair with pride. Until recently, his long dreads were almost down to his waist. "It was the idea of a Jamaican friend who convinced me to start with dreads during my studies in Cuba. She tucked my hair in and I didn't cut it for a very long time. With the warm weather in Suriname, I sometimes had to put my hair up, but most of the time it just hung loose. The long dreads didn't really irritate me, although I have to say that I have now cut the long dreads off. After ten years, I was simply ready for a change."
It comes as no surprise that Donovan sees music as the most important thing in his life. But his parents are also very important to him. “My parents are two very strong people who show their strength in different ways. My father is a true revolutionary and patriot of the old guard, of whom far too few people know the crucial role he played for the country. My mother is the proverbial strong woman who stands next to this man, who is so strong that she has overcome illness and then even started her own business.” For the born Surinamese it is not difficult to come up with what he thinks is the most beautiful place on earth: “I am a nature lover, so the most beautiful place on earth for me is the Surinamese jungle.” .”
When asked why he cut his dreads and whether it took some getting used to, he replied:
Hi Mireille… I didn’t have a special reason for it. I thought it was time for something else. I think I started in 2003, so you could say I had locs for about ten years. I think I was mentally prepared for it, so it didn’t really take me any time to get used to it. What’s funny is that I’m no longer approached by pseudo rastas on the street who then try to sell me a product.