Today we’d like to introduce you to Donnie Senna.
Donnie, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
46 yrs. old father of 8 (yes, I said 8 lol). born in New York and grew up in east providence, Rhode Island. always had music and arts around me. I have been youth sports coach and activist in my community for many years.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
As a kid I was always very athletic and into sports. when I reached about 9 years old I got into the break-dancing scene and naturally immersed myself into the hip hop culture. I did my first head spin on my 9th birthday and the rest are history lol. over the years I traveled to many local skating rinks and entered in and battled against many local boys. at age 13 I started to collect records and got a set of turntables. following in the steps of my cousin DJ snap the funk lord who was good friends with George Clinton and boots Collins THE FUNK was always around me. I did my first party when I was 16 years old in a friend’s basement. I loved to make the people dance and have a good time. that’s what drove me to keep on spinning music. I was still dancing at the time too. Along with the djing and dancing I started practicing a Brazilian martial art called CAPOEIRA . I fell in love with it
Someone of the names I have had the privilege to DJ / dance for are (but not limited to); RAKIM, LISA LISA, KEITH MURRAY, CAPADONNA, WU TANG, KRS ONE, MR CHEEKS, REDMAN, TALIB KWELI …. and many more
Fast forward to my mis 20s, I started my own bboy crew named GROUND FX which became one of the top crews in the country. this crew quickly became a second family, not only to myself but to each other. we held each other accountable for everything on and off the dance floor. we did community service and made sure our younger members excelled in their schooling. we built many friendships with crews from New York and Boston. my crew won several awards. I was privileged to watch members of my crew go on to win MAJOR competitions worldwide, star in movies and also major dance television shows like SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, AMERICA’S BEST DANCE CREW and STEP UP 4. in 2001, My crew and myself started throwing and event called SPINFACTOR and brought in the top bboys form the west coast. this event was deemed one the best on the country and people from places like France, Canada and Europe flew in to support and battle against the top in the world. we also became the first official branch of the ZULU NATION in Rhode Island. GFX crew hosted and threw the first national 2 vs 2 battle. we flew out to places such as Alaska, Georgia, California, Chicago and Texas. the winners came back to Rhode Island for the championship finals.
Meanwhile I was still djing and doing parties to support my family. I was fortunate enough to gain full custody of one of my sons when he was 11 yrs. old and got him into sports immediately. he became an all-American wrestler and was being recruited by teams and schools from mass and CT. he became a graduate student in my capoeira group and we trained together quite often. the great part about watching him grow was that I was able to coach him in different sports like basketball and wrestling. during his middle school days my city decided to cut all middle school sports due to lack of funding. I started a movement called PROJECT 106 with some of the local coaches and people I grew up with. we had a lot of publicity and new coverage alone with meeting with city council. middle school sport was eventually saved the following year thanks to all of our efforts.
After many years of djing, dancing and other things I linked up with a dear friend (spike tallo) and decided to throw an OLD SCHOOL FUNK party at a local club in providence. a place where grown folks could hear the old school music we grew up on. a place to get dressed up and dance the night away with no worries. I was blessed to have 2 of providence pioneer and icons as our DJs (DJ buck and snap the fun lord). the reception was out of this world. we hit capacity in 2 hours. my business partner and myself decided to do it again. the attendance was even more then the last one …. finally, we sat down and said to each other, ” I think we have something special here”. and with the first Friday of the month being a mini-holiday in the old school scene, we took a chance and did a monthly grown folks dance party on the first Friday of the month. each month we have buck and snap as our resident DJ’s and we bring in a 3rd “heavy hitter” to also play alongside these pioneers. we offer free food to all that attend from local restaurants (buffet style), like chicken wings, pizza and more. the good part of this event is our dress code. we have a policy of NO HATS, NO HOODIES, NO SPORTS GEAR, NO OVERLY BAGGY CLOTHING, NO TIMBERLANDS … pretty much dress like you’re going to Sunday service … or … dress like you got some sense LOL. our motto is ” DRESS GOOD, FEEL GOOD, PARTY GOOD. this monthly event will mark its 2nd year anniversary in September. so, EACH AND EVERY FIRST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH we open the doors and bring you a party like we had back in the days growing up.
There’s sooooooooooo much more details but don’t want to write a book about it lol. Thank you to the many people over the years that have supported and helped me reach my goals and always gave great words of encouragement … my fiancé Michelle, spike tallo, Donnie Bennett, Paul Morse, mason Santos, fadayz, lino Delgado and the floorlords, Paris Fischer, dr silas o. pinto, the entire alves family
SPECIAL THANK YOU GOES OUT TO: MY PARENTS and BIG SISTER LORI cause without their support over the years I wouldn’t be the man I am today. I love you ALL more then you will ever know and I hope you’re proud of me
Any advice for aspiring or new artists?
I would tell everyone, especially kids …… Follow your heart. never leave anything to chance. you don’t want to think back 20 years later and say WHAT IF !! if you can’t make yourself happy then trying to make others happy is IMPOSSIBLE. As I taught all my kids ” greet others with respect and look them in their eyes and you speak ”
At the end of the day if you think back and can honestly tell yourself that you tried your best and hardest, then no matter what the outcome was, YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF YOURSELF FOR AT LEAST TRYING. If you are trying to do something positive and someone shoots you down, don’t get mad at start fighting or arguing …. think to yourself ” what are they doing to make a difference?” … haters will always be trying to block you from doing your best at anything positive. surround yourself with like-minded people and GO GETTERS.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Feel free to reach out on my personal Facebook page: www.facebook.com/djdonniebattle … Donnie Donnie battle senna.
Contact Info:
- Website: east providence , rhode island
- Phone: 401-390-9741
- Email: deebee401@gmail.com
- Instagram: @djdonniebattle
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/djdonniebattle
Image Credit:
Justin case photography , jessica pohl photography
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