LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 Music has always been an emotional salve for Dawn Richard. In the early days of her career, she processed life鈥檚 adversities by dancing onstage and escaping in the grandeur of performance.
Now, the former member of Danity Kane is choosing to lean into stillness, forcing herself to rest in the moments between pain and freedom. Richard鈥檚 latest album, 鈥淨uiet in a World Full of Noise,鈥 is her time to be vulnerable, showcasing her journey to stand in her truth, take time for herself and find hope at the end of the tunnel.
鈥淚 promised myself that if I did do this (album) with Spencer (Zahn), in the end, there would feel and be hope. And every musical journey I鈥檝e been through, my music has had that hope at the end," Richard said.
Richard made headlines in September after against Sean 鈥淒iddy鈥 Combs, her former boss and collaborator, alleging that he manipulated and assaulted her. In the lawsuit filed Sept. 10, Richard is suing for unspecified damages as well as millions of dollars in income that she says she was denied. Combs' representatives have accused Richard of making 鈥渁n attempt to rewrite history.鈥
Combs has been and has been held at a federal jail in Brooklyn since his Sept. 16 arrest.
Richard doesn鈥檛 directly address her lawsuit or time with Combs during an interview to discuss her new album. She says her new music 鈥 melancholic and poetic 鈥攚as inspired by the loss of a family member and the stress of having parents who were in and out of the hospital.
鈥淭here was just a lot going on for me that added to the reality that if I don鈥檛 start speaking, I鈥檓 not going to be in the right place,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 something that I think for me, music has always been a piece of therapy that has saved me.鈥
She says she鈥檚 been standing up for herself since the early days of her career, both as a member of Combs' 鈥淢aking the Band 3鈥 group Danity Kane and as a solo artist.
鈥淎s a Black woman, I had my story in it, and I鈥檝e been very vocal about what that has been,鈥 Richard says. There were moments when she felt like a product more than a human. She says her album 鈥淕oldenheart鈥 was a metaphor for her struggles in the industry.
鈥(It) was about a warrior who felt she was like David and Goliath, this person that has this one little rock trying to fight these massive dragons,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd that was literally the story and the message that has been through most of my projects.鈥
Now, Richard wants others in the music industry to follow her on this new path of freedom, one where she is in control and creates music as a tool for healing and expression.
鈥淚 want people to feel like they can speak their truths and do it in whatever way they see they can. I want that change,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd I hope every woman, queer person, whomever, they feel safe enough to have that comfort to say, 鈥業 can speak on this. I have that quiet in me to speak on this.鈥欌
Released earlier this month, 鈥淨uiet in a World Full of Noise鈥 is Richard鈥檚 second album with . The musical duo, who met in 2018 through indie pop musician Kimbra, previously worked on 2022鈥檚 鈥淧igments.鈥
鈥淲e give each other the space to really be ourselves,鈥 said Zahn. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a space that maybe is harder to access if you鈥檙e making music that is set out to be more commercial. Neither of us ever thought about that for better or for worse.鈥
Richard appreciated that Zahn didn鈥檛 judge her lyrics as they were building songs: 鈥淚f anything, he said, 鈥榃oo, OK, let me play. Let me build around it.鈥 And that鈥檚 what you hope for.鈥
She sees 鈥淨uiet in a World Full of Noise鈥 as a metamorphosis, a chance to lay bare some of her most intimate moments with the hope that listeners can find solace and comfort.
鈥淚 love the person that I鈥檝e become. I love the musical person I鈥檝e become. And this project speaks to what that journey has been and how I feel,鈥 she said. 鈥淭his is an honest process about me as a person, less about the things I鈥檝e done and what I do, but who I am as a person and who I鈥檓 aspiring to be.鈥
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The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Richard has done.
