Taylor Gang’s J.R. Donato Announces New EP and Releases His Next Single “Make It Count” ft. Cody Blankz

There aren’t many 21-year-old’s that can say they’ve been in the rap game for 8+ years. Taylor Gang via North Chicago rapper J.R. Donato is one of the few that can. Premiered by DJBooth, “Make It Count” is an embodiment of the work that J.R. Donato has put in since he began rapping at 13. Rhyming as Young J.R., he scored two regional hits in Chicago while still in his early teens. Still, his peers didn’t take him very seriously as he was distributing CD’s of his music at school – but finding the music he worked hard to make on the floor or in the garbage didn’t deter his ambitions, rather it pushed him to take things a few steps further. He’s turned doubters into believers and aspires to continue this effort with his forthcoming Fast Money & Freedom project, due September 28th via Taylor Gang Ent.

Falling under the wing of local vet Twista, J.R. Donato dropped out of high school as a teenager and began touring the Midwest. The young rapper that garnered attention for rapping over Lil Wayne beats was coming into his own, and soon he crossed paths with Wiz Khalifa back stage on the Under the Influence Tour. Wiz later enlisted J.R. for a feature on his Cabin Fever 2 mixtape before signing him to his Taylor Gang imprint. While last year’s North Pole boasted big name features like Wiz Khalifa, Iamsu!, Ab-Soul, Chevy Woods, and Smoke DZA, Fast Money & Freedom’s only guest appearance comes from J.R.’s The Jetsonz cohort Cody Blankz, while the 8-song tape is produced in-full by Sledgren.