1. Take one lookat thisgenre-bending,culture-shockingduo,andone couldsee how theirname fits so
appropriately.Hailingfrom Cincinnati,Ohioand Atlanta,Garespectively, femalevocalist“Ring”and
artistknownas “Dolla”collectivelymake upthe grouptitledWHOAA (pronouncedWHOAA!). With a
dynamicblendof Top40 / Urban witha “Retro-pop”flair,thiseye-catchingduo isa breathof freshairin
today’scrowdedmusicscene. Equippedwithahighlyenergeticstage performance, andacommercially
sensible image,WHOAA embodies aninnate “realness”totheirlargerthanlife personalities,evidenced
throughtheiravidFan interactionsattheirconcertsandviaSocial Media.Female member“Ring”,afiery
blonde,pop-rockdivawitha“Britney meetsLitaFord”vocal edge, bringsoutthe sexieredge of WHOAA.
The other half,“Dolla”,agenre-defyinglyricistwithretro80s “funk”flair,and versatilitythatseamlessly
weavesHip-HopandPop,bringsquite the dynamicbalance toWHOAA.
Ashley“Ring”wasbornin Cincinnati,Ohio,graduate of SCPA (School forCreative andPerformingArts),
and leftherhometowntopursue amusiccareer inMiami and Atlanta. She signedherfirstrecorddeal
withCashMoney Records,afterbeingdiscoveredbyCEORonald“Slim”Williams. Ringreleased“Moving
Target” featuringLil Wayne andworkedwithmanytopproducers andengineers,includingGrammy-
award winningKenLewis andKevinRudolf.Duringhertenure atCashMoney,Ringhonedhertalents
undermulti-platinumvocal directorEjayRandolph andvocallytrainedwith legendarysoul singerBetty
Wright. Ring firstworkedwith“Dolla”,duringarecordingsessionwithDolla’sformer hip-hopgroupin
2014, where anorganicchemistrywasfound,whichultimatelyledtothe creation of WHOAA in late
2015.
Darren “Dolla”Murphywas born inAtlanta,GA andbeganhismusical pursuitas a teenagerand
foundingmemberof the successful independenthip-hoptrio,EDUBB.Mostlyknownfortheir“tongue in
cheek”popmusiccontributions,the viral hit“Whooty”andinternationalclubhit“RainBoots”. Their
indie success,with over12million YouTube views, garneringmentionsonTMZand placementson
Germany’sNextTopModel,allowed Dollatotourabroad inEurope, furtherestablishinganinternational
and statewide brand. Dollanotonlyperformedwith the group,butalsohandled marketingandbrand
dutiesandco-ownedthe independentlabel,sellingover80,000 digital units. WHOAA alignsbothartist’s
individualpastsandexperiencestocreate a dynamic-duopowerhouse,youthfulbutseasoned,delicate
yetbold,determinedtoleave theirmarkonthe musicindustryandtoday’sworldculture.
WHOAA’sdebutEP“The Day Before…”& LP “The Day ItAll Changed…”isa culminationof anew sound
that’sbeencraftedoverthe course of a year,withemergingproducers:Mike Maven(productioncredits
for AtlanticRecords/WarnerBrothers),Jamil DeBardlabonakaJMillz(JessieJ/Universal Republic),
Earegula(TeddyRiley/DJMarleyWaters) andGrammy WinningEngineerKenLewis(Drake,Rihanna,
Jay-Z,Eminem,Kanye West).Leadingoff withtheircatchy“Let the Good TimesRoll”,Top-40/Urban
radioanthem“Crusin”and the heavy popballad“Unconditional”,inwhichthe grouphopeswillinspire a
newmovementforlove andpeace intoday’shectictimes.“We justwanttospreadLove and spread
Hope to those that mightbe Hopeless,toshow the worldthatmusicisstill a healingtool”,saysRing.
Withan acronym like “WhenHeartsOpenAndAttract”,it’sclear to see WHOAA,isona missionwith
ambitiousintentions.