Lady Donli

Zainab Elizabeth Donli, known professionally as Lady Donli, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter associated with Alté music. Her music incorporates elements of alternative R&B, hip hop, jazz, and Afrobeats.

Donli was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and is the youngest of six children. She spent her early years in Abuja and Kaduna, where her father is from. After her secondary school education, she moved to the United Kingdom, where she obtained a degree in law from the University of Surrey. Donli's earliest musical influence came from the Evangelical Church of West Africa and its style of synchronous praise-chanting. She was also influenced by the music of Brenda Fassie, Angelique Kidjo, Aṣa, and Erykah Badu, as well as Nigeria's pop musicians.

Donli is associated with Nigeria's Alté music, a fusion genre that combines elements of several genres, including Afrobeat, R&B, and soul. She released her debut 12-track mixtape, Love or War, in 2014. Donli has worked with artists such as Adekunle Gold, Nonso Amadi, Tomi Thomas, M.I Abaga, Mr Eazi, SDC, Davido, Ayüü, Odunsi the Engine, and Tay Iwar, among others.

In 2018, Donli provided vocals for Boogey's "Motion" and Terry Tha Rapman's "Open Letter". That same year, she collaborated with Mr Eazi on "Lagos Gyration", which appeared on his second mixtape Lagos to London (2018). She was also featured on "+-" from M.I Abaga's fourth studio album A Study on Self Worth: Yxng Dxnzl.

In 2019, Donli released her debut album, Enjoy Your Life.

Lady Donli at the Enjoy Your Life Concert in 2020

Studio albums

• Enjoy Your Life (2019)
• Pan African Rockstar (2023)

EPs

• Love or War (2014)
• Wallflower (2016)
• Letters to Her (2018)
• Wild (2021)