Dawn Angeliqué Richard (born August 5, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter. She started her career after auditioning for Making the Band 3 in 2004. During this time, Richard became a member of girl band Danity Kane, from 2005 to 2009, and reformed the group with 3 of the original 5 members in late 2013. In 2009, Richard joined the duo Dirty Money with fellow singer-songwriter Kalenna Harper, and label boss Sean "Diddy" Combs to form Diddy – Dirty Money. With the group, they released the highly successful album Last Train to Paris, as well as two additional mixtapes before their disbandment in 2012. In 2011, following her departure from Bad Boy Records, Richard began her career as a solo artist, performing first as DΔWN, more recently as DAWN. Her debut album Goldenheart was released on January 15, 2013, by Our Dawn Entertainment; it received universal acclaim from music critics. In 2015 Richard's second album Blackheart peaked at number two on Billboard's Dance/Electronic charts. On November 18, 2016, Richard released the final installation to her album trilogy, Redemption. In April 2021, Richard released her sixth studio album Second Line through Merge Records and Entertainment One, to critical acclaim. She also played the main role in the erotic action thriller "Kinky." Early life Richard is of Louisiana Creole and Haitian descent and was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. She has one brother. She later moved to Baltimore, Maryland due to being displaced following Hurricane Katrina. Music has played an influential part in her life since early childhood. Her father is Frank Richard, former lead singer and percussionist of the popular funk/soul band Chocolate Milk. Her mother owned a dancing school where Richard spent much of her childhood developing her choreography and singing skills, but currently works at a school in Baltimore, Maryland. Early in her teens, Richard began performing with a local New Orleans group called "Realiti". Discovered as a solo artist by Kemic A. Smothers at a 2004 live performance at Tipitina's Uptown in New Orleans, Richard was soon signed under the name "Dawn Angelique" to an exclusive recording contract/development deal with Octarve Anderson, Jr. and his Atlanta independent record label, Yeah! Brother Records. Recording in Los Angeles, Atlanta and New Orleans, Richard and Yeah! Brother records, along with platinum awarded production team The NexMen, Rochad Holiday and Curtis "Sauce" Wilson, crafted a studio solo album called Been a While, featuring