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Katana Da Don (Tana Matthews) was born in Pittsburg, California and was introduced to Salsa and Afro-Cuban rhythms at age three by her father. By age five she played the drums and cowbell alongside a group of brothers that lived up the street who later became known as Los Lobos. At age ten Katana Da Don was writing Hip Hop and R&B lyrics. At age twelve she started taking Jazz/Gospel piano lessons and that gave her the knowledge and tools to compose her own music.
By age sixteen, Katana Da Don was taking classical piano, composing songs and dancing in the Pep Squad at her high school. Music and dance became a way for her to escape a dark past. Although, she was shy eventually Katana Da Don became known in her circles for lyrical abilities and guys would refuse to battle her in house party rap ciphers. With the motivation from friends to do something with her gift, Katana began collaborating with artists in the Bay Area of California on projects in search of a home for her music. Being able to sing, rap and write her own lyrics made her stand out amongst other artists. She released her first solo cd Bad Habits in stores throughout the northern California area (including Rasputtan's) and CD Baby but later moved to Minnesota where she began writing songs for local artists through Urban Grooves Productions (UGP) at Fuzzy Slippers Studios.
Katana released her double album: Secret Weapon Vol. 1 (Hip Hop) and Secret Weapon Vol. 2 (R & B) in 2007 at Electric Fetus and CD Baby. The cd's received good reviews from local dj's, amongst her rap peers as well as the local Hip Hop/R & B audience. Her song "Lost" featuring St Paul Slim and produced by T - Lace, was listed as one of the best songs of the summer by Peter Scholtes of the City Pages.
Katana Da Don has performed at several venues throughout Minnesota and opened for major artists such as Genuine and Keyshia Cole. In 2008 she performed throughout Oahu, Hawaii with songstress Janey Neal and The Blue Light Funk band.
On January 20, 2009 Katana Da Don's talents were recognized when she was deemed First Lady at the TC Hip Hop Awards.
Never afraid of testing her artistic boundaries, Katana Da Don branched out to flex her acting muscles playing a main character in local drama/comedy TH3M! The 5 episode series was showcased at the Twin Cities Black Film Festival in 2010. In 2011, she starred in the gospel play/musical The Devil Didn't Raise You, where she sang an original song selected from her catalog by the play's author.
Recently, Katana Da Don has finished her first novel called A Sober Mind, which deals with a character struggling with sobriety and finding purpose in her life, and From the Bottom; a collection of poetry she has written over the years. Musically, she is finishing up her most eclectic album to date: Paranoia - a mixture of Rock, Hip Hop, R&B and a little Reggae on which she produced the majority of the material. With her first single Grim - a cutting edge rock anthem - Katana Da Don is showing her range as an artist and baring her soul.
