Rodney "Don Vito" Richard (born July 9, 1978) is an American record producer. He is best known as the producer who collaborated with

Kandi Burruss Kandi Lenice Burruss Tucker (born May 17, 1976), known professionally by her mononym Kandi, is an American producer, television personality, singer, songwriter and actress. She first gained notice in 1992 as a member of the female vocal group Xs ...

on projects portrayed on ''

The Real Housewives of Atlanta ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' (abbreviated ''RHOA'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on October 7, 2008. Developed as the third installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired fourteen season ...

'', including

Kim Zolciak Kimberleigh Marie Zolciak-Biermann ( Zolciak; born May 19, 1978) is an American television personality and singer. In 2008, she appeared as one of the original housewives on the reality television series ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta.'' Zolci ...

's breakout single "Tardy for the Party", as a judge on ''

The Kandi Factory ''The Kandi Factory'' is an American reality competition series on Bravo that debuted April 9, 2013. Developed as a spin-off of ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'', starring Kandi Burruss. The show chronicles Burruss and her team at The Kandi Fac ...

'' airing on

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

, and as executive producer for Burruss' weekly

webisode A webisode (portmanteau of "web" and "episode") is an episode of a series that is distributed as part of a web series or on streaming television. It is available as either for download or in streaming, as opposed to first airing on broadcast or c ...

series ''

Kandi Koated Nights This is a list of programs broadcast by Bravo, an American cable and satellite television network owned by NBCUniversal that originated as a premium channel, when it launched in December 1980. The channel largely features on reality television, wi ...

''.

Personal life

Don Vito was born on July 9, 1978, in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

to Louis and Juanita Richard. While in high school, he learned the art of

DJing A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio Music radio is a radio format in which music is the main broadcast con ...

and would perform at school dances and local house parties. After being discharged from the Marine Corps, Vito moved to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. On August 21, 2013, Don Vito and his girlfriend,

LaTavia Roberson LaTavia Marie Roberson (born November 1, 1981) is an American R&B singer. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as an original member of the R&B group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. During her time as ...

, formerly of

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

, welcomed a daughter named Lyric. On September 23, 2019, Don Vito and Roberson welcomed son Londyn.

Music career

Vito was introduced to record producer, DJ Cooley C, who gave him the opportunity to work with hip hop artist,

Ghetto Mafia The Ghetto Mafia is an American hip hop group from Decatur, Georgia, United States, composed of Nino and Wicked. Formed in 1993, the Ghetto Mafia signed to local hip hop label, Ichiban Records Ichiban Records is an American independent recor ...

and

Kilo KILO (94.3 FM broadcasting, FM, 94.3 KILO) is a radio station broadcasting in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colorado, Pueblo, Colorado. It also streams online. History KLST and KPIK-FM The 94.3 signal signed on th ...

. Later, he met Ian Burke who introduced him to rapper

Solé Tonya Michelle Johnston (born July 17, 1973), better known by her stage name Solé, is an American rapper from Kansas City, Missouri. Biography Solé was born in 1973 in Kansas City, Missouri, to Phyllis Frazier and James Johnston, Her siblin ...

, signed to

RedZone Entertainment RedZone Entertainment is an Atlanta-based, music-production entity. Redzone's discography includes collaborations with many artists, producers, and composers of note, and is responsible for over 25 million records sold. RedZone Entertainment has ...

Tricky Stewart Christopher Alan "Tricky" Stewart (born January 4, 1974) is an American record producer, record executive, songwriter, and music publisher. In a career spanning over 30 years, Stewart has won 5 Grammys and is responsible for over 50 million rec ...

signed him to Redzone, working with artists such as

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), (stylized as Mýa), is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born into a musical family, she studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Initially, Mýa began her career as a VJ ...

, and

Blu Cantrell Blu Cantrell (born Tiffany Cobb; March 16, 1976) is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. Cantrell rose to fame in 2001, with the release of her debut single, " Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)", which peaked at number two on the US ''Billboa ...

. Less than four years later, Don Vito ventured out with the R&B group, Cherish. In 2005, Don Vito launched Don Vito Productions, a music & video production company.

Discography

Credits

Singles

Awards and nominations

* 2010, BMI, Nomination Special Background Performance Cue * 2007, Songwriter Award, Cherish,

Do It to It "Do It to It" is the lead single from American girl group Cherish's 2006 debut album, ''Unappreciated''. "Do It to It" features rap/hip hop artist Sean P. The song peaked at number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 during its 16th week on the ch ...

References

External links

Meet Superstar Producer Don Vito, Freddyo.com

Real Housewife of Atlanta Kim Zolciak Being Sued By Music Producer, Radaronline.com

Cast of Kandi Koated Nights, Straigftfromthea.com

Yung Joc Album Review, XXL, xxlmag.com

The One, Hip Hop MVP.com

Soundcheck, Soultrain.com

A&R, Learnthemusicindustry.com

Don Vito Celebrity Judge, BET's 106 & Park

The Kandi Factory is Worth Visiting, Kandi Factory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vito, Don 1978 births Living people African-American businesspeople African-American record producers African-American male rappers 20th-century African-American people American male singers African-American television personalities American hip hop record producers American music managers American rhythm and blues keyboardists A&R people Businesspeople from Atlanta Businesspeople from Indiana Participants in American reality television series Musicians from Gary, Indiana Rappers from Atlanta Rappers from Indiana Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Southern hip hop musicians Songwriters from Indiana 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American musicians American male songwriters