Danny Boy (rapper)
Daniel O'Connor, better known as Danny Boy or Danny Boy O'Connor, is an American rapper, art director, and the executive director of The Outsiders House Museum. O'Connor spent his childhood in New York, before moving to Los Angeles in the 1980s. In the 1990s, O'Connor co-founded the rap group House of Pain, with fellow rapper Erik Schrody and DJ Leor Dimant. Based on their cultural heritage they fashioned themselves as rowdy Irish-American hooligans. O'Connor played the role of art director, designing logos, branding, hype man, and co-rapper. In 1992, with the singles "Jump Around" and "Shamrocks and Shenanigans", their self-titled debut album, also known as Fine Malt Lyrics, went platinum.
They followed it up with Same as It Ever Was, which went gold, and Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again, before they all went their separate ways. O'Connor took part in several music projects, and continued doing designs as freelance work. In 2006, O'Connor founded the rap group La Coka Nostra where he was joined by George Carroll, William Braunstein, Dimant, and Schrody. Together they have three releases: A Brand You Can Trust, Masters of the Dark Arts and To Thine Own Self Be True.
In 2016, O'Connor, who is a lifelong fan of S. E. Hinton's book The Outsiders and its film adaptation by Francis Ford Coppola, bought the house used in the film located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He turned it into a museum named The Outsiders House Museum, that contains much of the book and film memorabilia. For his efforts preserving a cultural landmark, he received a key to the city.
Early life
O'Connor was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on December 12, 1968. He explained, that his father was incarcerated when O'Connor was two months old. O'Connor and his mother moved to Los Angeles when he was six. When O'Connor was seventeen, his father, a homeless alcoholic, was murdered by someone who poured gasoline on him to set him on fire. During that time O'Connor was in a gang involved in petty crimes, and he was placed on probation.Career
1990–1992: Founding House of Pain and breakthrough
In 1990, O'Connor got together with fellow rapper Erik Schrody who had just released a rap album called Forever Everlasting, that did not have much success. O'Connor knew Schrody when he went to William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California, and various hip hop event they attended in their teens. Both of Irish descent, they decided to make a hip hop group with this identity. While hanging out at O'Connor's home, Schrody noticed a cassette with the title House of Pain, which was a demo of a Punk group O'Connor tried to put together. Schrody really liked the name and felt they should re-use as their name. Schrody brought in his former DJ Leor Diamant, who is actually of Latvian descent, and House of Pain was created. While in House of Pain, O'Connor acted as the hype man, second emcee, art director and the graphic artist of the group. After they recorded a demo, for which O'Connor designed the cover, that created a bidding war among labels. The label they chose was Tommy Boy Records, who credits O'Connor's art work to have initially caught their attention.In 1992, they released their debut album House of Pain, subtitled Fine Malt Lyrics. Their first single "Jump Around" was a major hit. In the United States, it peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, while reaching number 5 on the Hot Rap Songs, 13 on Rhythmic Top 40, 1 on Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, number 17 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs, and is certified platinum. O'Connor expressed regrets for not doing any writing on Jump Around, for the later royalties it could have provided him. At the 35th Grammy Awards, "Jump Around" got them nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Their second single "Shamrocks and Shenanigans ", it peaked at 65 on the Billboard Hot 100, 75 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, 14 on the Dance Club Songs, and 74 on Radio Songs. The album peaked at 14 on the Billboard 200, 14 on the U.S. Billboard Top Current Albums, 16 on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, 14 on the U.S. Billboard Top Album Sales, and is certified platinum. The album was generally received as good to strong across major outlets. Critics highlighted its swaggering energy and dense, hard-hitting production, praising it as a solid and often exceptional entry in early 1990s hip-hop. Comparisons were drawn to both Licensed to Ill and traditional party-ready rap, but filtered through a working-class, Irish-American lens that gave the record its distinctive character. The consensus recognized its creative moments, accomplished sound, and above-average delivery that set it apart from many peers.
1993–1996: Subsequent success and group's breakup
In 1993, O'Connor with his group mates were among the rap artists who had cameo roles in Ted Demme's film Who's the Man?. For this project they provided a theme song by the same name, which was also used as a single for the soundtrack and their subsequent album. It rose to number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100, 77 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, and 10 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales.In 1994, they released Same as It Ever Was. The album peaked at 12 equally on the Billboard 200, the U.S. Billboard Top Current Albums, the U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, the U.S. Billboard Top Album Sales, and is certified gold. The second album drew a wider range of reactions than the debut, though the overall reception leaned positive. Some critics praised its progression and stronger sense of direction, with several awarding it four stars and noting its mix of laid-back grooves and driving force. Others found the record hard, compelling, and even among the toughest hip-hop of its year.
Also in 1994, O'Connor acted in Allan Arkush's television film Shake, Rattle and Rock!, part of the Rebel Highway series.
In 1996, they released Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again. The album peaked at 47 on the Billboard 200, 47 on the U.S. Billboard Top Current Albums, 31 on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and 47 on the U.S. Billboard Top Album Sales. At the release party, Schrody decided to breakup the group. The third House of Pain album received mixed reviews, with some dismissed it harshly, while others praised it as the group’s most consistent effort. With O'Connor fading almost entirely into the background, and unlike House of Pain’s first two albums that were brash, aggressive, and built for impact, the focus was on more brooding, often critical themes. Critics were divided some welcomed the grittier tone and saw it as their most cohesive effort, while others thought it lacked direction and energy compared to the raw spark of their earlier work.
Also in 1996, O'Connor was announced to be part of the cast of Soleil Moon Frye directorial debut. The film was released in 1998 as Wild Horses.
1997–2018: return from obscurity and back to prominence
After House of Pain disbanded, O'Connor said he struggled with drug abuse, a problem he developed when he became famous, and spent all the money he made from the group's success. He said he sobered up briefly in 2000 joining the twelve-step program but relapsed after a having a drink, and rejoined the program in 2005, and stayed sober ever since.Nevertheless, O'Connor continued being involved in musical projects and did freelance work such as logo designing, streetwear, and sneakers.
In 2001, O'Connor's next group XSupermodels only saw a promotional release for their album Artificial Intelligence. That year, he was the featured rapper in Powerman 5000's remake of the Frankie Goes to Hollywood hit song "Relax", on the Zoolander soundtrack.
In late 2004, the creation of the rap supergroup La Coka Nostra started when O'Connor was mentoring young artists. O'Connor explains that he took notice of two up and comers George Carroll and John Faster and brought them to meet his former DJ from House of Pain, Leor Diamant. They decided to make a group with an additional rapper, who did not stay too long, that Diamant took under his wing, as well as O'Connor becoming its hype man and art director. The group started releasing music on MySpace, and went viral. Eventually, O'Connor felt that there was a void and asked experienced rapper William Braunstein to join. The group's name came about, when O'Connor teased other members with that nickname, after they had a night out. Eventually, former House of Pain colleague Erik Schrody, showed interest to join. By 2008, the group consisted of O'Connor, Carroll, Diamant, Braunstein, and Schrody.
In 2005, the documentary film Just for Kicks about the sneaker phenomena and history in hip-hop, had its world premiere. O'Connor was among the producers. It won "Best Documentary", and "Best Overall Film" at the USVI Film festival. It was part of the official selection at Tribeca Film Festival, Sheffield Documentary Festival, Amsterdam Documentary Festival, Bangkok International Film Festival, Res Fest, New York Latino Film Festival, San Francisco Black Film Festival, NYC Urban World Festival, Leipzig Documentary Festival, and US Virgin Islands Film Festivals.
In 2009, La Coka Nostra released A Brand You Can Trust was released on July 14, 2009, on Suburban Noize Records. It sold over 500,000 units. Their debut was met with generally positive reception, praised for delivering the raw intensity and high-energy sound expected from a group of seasoned underground veterans. Reviewers noted it as a mostly solid effort that lived up to the hype surrounding the supergroup, showcasing strong chemistry and hard-hitting production. The overall impression was that of a powerful and promising release that confirmed the group’s reputation.
Also in 2009, House of Pain reunited at a private event held by UFC president Dana White in Boston on St. Patrick's Day. It was officially announced on August 10, 2010, that House of Pain had reunited and performed their first "official" show in a decade, on September 25, 2010. From thereon, they continued performing shows. House of Pain reunited in 2017 for a 25th Anniversary Tour.
Finally that year, while touring, they had a three-day layover in Tulsa, Oklahoma. O'Connor took advantage of this free time to visit the town and found the location of the house used by the main characters in the filmThe Outsiders. He took a picture, posted it on MySpace, and the photo went viral. This led O'Connor to found The Delta Bravo Urban Exploration Team. With team-members in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City, their visit documents notable pop culture landmarks from film, television, music, and true crime. One of their speciality is to show a photo of what the location looks like now to compared it to what it looked like when it was part of something that gained notoriety. Delta Bravo identified locations from movies and television shows including Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Saturday Night Fever, Valley Girl, The Bad News Bears, All in the Family, Gilligan's Island, etc.
In 2012, La Coka Nostra released their second album, Masters of the Dark Arts. It reached 176 on Billboard Top Current Albums, 40 on Independent Albums, and 31 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album was widely received as a fierce and uncompromising record that stayed true to La Coka Nostra’s gritty identity. Critics highlighted its unapologetically dark tone, describing it as a hard-edged alternative to mainstream, pop-oriented rap. The album was praised for its heavy boom-bap production, sharp scratching, and raw, street-driven lyricism, with many noting that it captured the group at their most menacing and effective.
In 2016, La Coka Nostra released To Thine Own Self Be True. The album reached 38 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Steve Juon of RapReviews gave eight point five out of ten and wrote "for a blissful 45 minutes it's an uncut dose of that nostalgia straight through the ear canals to the dopamine centers of my brain".
That same year, the film Let Me Make You a Martyr premiered, in which O'Connor plays a role.