ALTHOUGH HE'S JUST 23 NICHOLAS JOYNER A.K.A RAZ' DA DON IS A HIP HOP VETERAN. IN 1995, THE YOUNG MC WROTE HIS FIRST SONG, AND HAVEN'T STOP WRITING SINCE, IN 2001 HE BECAME A WELL-ROUNDED PRODUCER USING REASONS AND FRUITY LOOPS, AND THOUGH MUCH HAVEN'T BEEN SAID ABOUT BALTIMORE HIP HOP IN BALTIMOR CITY RAZ' IS DOING HIS PART TO CHANGE THE PERCEPTIONS.
WHEN HE WAS A CHILD HIS MOTHER WAS A BIG FAN OF HIP HOP LISTENING TO JAY-Z, NAS,TUPAC,BIGGIE,THE FIRM, AND JUST ANYBODY ELSE THAT WAS WORTH LISTENING TO IN THE EARLY 90'S RAZ HAD A EAR FOR RAP MUSIC EARLY. AT JUST 8 YEARS OLD RAZ WAS WRITING HARD RAP KYRICS THAT WAS FELT AND RESPECTED BY EVERYBODY WHO HEARD HIM RAP, AND HIS BEEN ADVANCING EVERY YEAR SINCE. IT WASN'T UNTIL HIS FRESHMAN YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL THAT HE BECAME INTRESTED IN MAKING BEATS AND BY HIS JUNIOR YEAR HE WAS PRODUCING SONGS FOR FELLOW CLASSMATES AND OTHER LOCAL RAPPERS IN NORTHEAST BALTIMORE.
RAZ SPENDS A LOT OF TIME TRYING TO PERFECT HIS WORK,"I DON'T WANT MY MUSIC TO SOUND LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, I WANT TO STAND OUT AND STILL BE ABLE TO BE RESPECTED AS A LYRICAL ARTIST AND A WELL ROUNDED PRODUCER".
IN 2005 RAZ DA DON PUT A STUDIO IN HIS BASEMENT AND IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON HIS AS OF YET UNTITLED DEBUT ALBUM, THE YOUNG MC IS TRYING TO PUT HIS CITY ON THE MAP.