Wynter Gordon - Stimela

Following the release of her brand new “Doleo” EP, Wynter Gordon premieres the music video for lead single “Stimela.” The track which is backed by Genesis/Phil Collins style percussion is inspired by Hugh Masekala’s anti-apartheid song of the same name and features a chorus sung in Zulu and African-pop. Wynter Gordon (born Diana Gordon; August 25, 1985 in South Jamaica, Queens, New York) is an American pop/dance singer-songwriter. She began as a writer for other artists, later signing with Atlantic Records where she began working on an album while continuing to write songs for other acts and providing vocals on songs. Her debut With the Music I Die was released in 2011. Gordon was born in Queens, New York City and was brought up in a poor and dangerous neighborhood in South Jamaica. She is the middle child of six, they lived in a two bedroom house.[1] She recalled in an interview that many people she knew were deceased at a young age, because they "got into the wrong things".[1] However, she refused to call her childhood difficult, she said that "if things were rough, I didn't feel it," explaining that the familiarity of the environment that she grew up in prevented her from objectively describing it.[1] She attributed her well being to her strict mother who did not allow her to leave the yard and told her to go to the library after school.[1] Her mother remarried when Gordon was 5, but Gordon did not have a close relationship with her step father.[2] Her strict upbringing resulted in a strained relationship with her parents.[2] Gordon began singing at a young age and she began singing at funerals from the age of 6.[1] She and her siblings would perform together in church and at street corners by her parents.[2] They were strict about the music that Gordon and her siblings sang, only allowing them to listen to and sing gospel.[2] However, Gordon would listen to the radio when her parents were not at home and recorded songs from the radio onto tapes that she smuggled into the house.[2] It was during high school that Gordon decided that she was going to pursue music.[3] She was later accepted to the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts[2] and interned at a record company.[3]Gordon wrote her first complete song, "Daddy's Song" at age 15 After high school, Wynter threw herself fully into realizing her music dreams, while also dealing with surviving on her own for the first time. She juggled several jobs while working in the studio at nights and as much as she could. During this time, Wynter met her manager, Keith White who introduced her to Don Pooh at Atlantic Records. Wynter worked closely with producer D'Mile since 2004 where they both came with her first track to fame, "Gonna Breakthrough" written by Wynter Gordon and produced by D'Milewas used as the title track to Mary J. Blige's 2005 album The Breakthrough. Soon after, Wynter was given an opportunity and signed to Atlantic Records, through Don Pooh Music Group, where she has been working on her debut album since 2004. Also, in 2008, Wynter penned two tracks for Danity Kane's second album Welcome to the Dollhouse, "2 of You" and "Do Me Good"