by Howard Campbell
[NEW YORK] – Raised in a Christian home, Damion Hawthorne learned early in life the importance of benevolence and giving back to community. He has done just that as a businessman and artist/musician known as Damiedon.
For the past two years, Hawthorne and like-minded colleagues make weekly trips in New York City, providing food for the impoverished in homes and shelters, even when the Coronavirus scare was at its peak last year.
In January, the keyboardist/singer released Next Morning, a song produced by his younger brother, Andre “Dretegs” Hawthorne. The song looks at the economic and social challenges people face in the Coronavirus era.
Since 2019, the siblings have hosted Voice Out, a weekly live jam in the Bronx that has attracted high-profile artists such as Junior Reid, Lila Ike, Dre Island, Chino McGregor, Carlene Davis and Naomi Cowan.
The latest edition on May 20 was headlined by Chi Ching Ching, one of the dancehall’s top acts. Though he gets a lift from Voice Out and the outreach program, Damion is also excited about Next Morning and subsequent releases.
“It’s just a satisfaction for me, in that people see me not behind the keyboards or not in the studio with someone else. This is a different thing now when you can actually get a reception from your song or see the impact it has on people,” he said. “People tell me that they cried when they heard the song, they feel so motivated.”
Damiedon, 37, was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He migrated with his family to New York City in 2002.
He is the son of Leroy and Herma Hawthorne, pastors at Bible Truth Church of God International in the Bronx. His father is the older brother of Lowell Hawthorne, visionary founder of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery which has over 100 outlets in the United States and Canada.
Lowell Hawthorne died in December, 2017 in the Bronx from a self-inflicted gunshot. Goodbye For Now, a tribute to his uncle, was Damiedon’s first song.
“My uncle is identical to what I am doing now, he was a very humanitarian person. I got the business side from him. He was the one that brought us here,” said Damiedon. “He was the one that put me in a job for the first time, put me in a Golden Krust to bake patties and just guided me all the way from a baker to an accountant to payables to now a warehouse director and manager. It’s all him, it’s all me watching his footsteps. But what he never failed to do was do charity.”
In June, Damiedon plans to release Yahweh, the follow-up to Next Morning. His debut EP is scheduled for release this year.
