Dan Singer (born December 20, 1971), known professionally as Danny Diablo and Lord Ezec, is an American

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

and

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He is currently a member of

underground hip hop Underground hip hop (also known as underground rap or simply underground) traditionally refers to hip hop music that is outside the general mainstream canon or counter-cultural in nature, usually with a heavy emphasis on emotion, lyricism, and/or ...

acts The ShotBlockers, KAOS 13 and FTW, as well as a founding member of hardcore bands Crown of Thornz, Skarhead, and Icepick.

Early life

Born in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, New York, Singer is the son of a

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

-born Polish-Jewish police sergeant father and a Puerto Rican homemaker mother from the East River Houses of

Spanish Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or , is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and Harlem Rivers to the east ...

Musical career

Crown of Thornz

In 1994, Singer formed

New York hardcore New York hardcore (also known as NYHC) is both the hardcore punk music created in New York City and the subculture and lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle associated with that music. The scene established many aspects that are fixtures of hardcore ...

band Crown of Thornz consisting of former Breakdown guitarist Mike Dijan, drummer Dimi, and bassists Steve O'Brien and Franklin Rhi. In 1995, the band released their debut EP ''Train Yard Blues'' on

Equal Vision Records Equal Vision Records is an independent record label based in Albany, New York. It was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo, the singer for the punk bands Youth of Today, Shelter, and Better Than a Thousand. Initially, the label existed sol ...

, dedicating it to Singer's younger brother David, who had committed suicide the previous year. The following year the group released ''Mentally Vexed''. In 1998, the band began a hiatus. In 2013, Crown of Thornz reunited for ''Ieperfes''t in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, ''This Is Hardcore Fest'' in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and a North American tour with Rancid and

the Transplants The Transplants are an American punk rock and rap rock supergroup. They formed in 1999 when Tim Armstrong (of the bands Rancid and Operation Ivy) played his friend and roadie Rob Aston some beats he had made using Pro Tools and asked Aston ...

Skarhead

After Crown of Thornz went on hiatus, Singer formed Skarhead with

Madball Madball is an American New York hardcore band. Originated in the late 1980s as a side project of Agnostic Front, the band developed after Agnostic Front's vocalist Roger Miret would let his younger half-brother Freddy Cricien take the micro ...

's guitarist Brian "Mitts" Daniels, bassist Hoya Roc, former

White Trash White trash is a derogatory term in American English for poor white people, especially in the rural areas of the southern United States. The label signifies a social class within the white population, especially those perceived to have a ...

bassist Aaron "White Owl" Collins,

Murphy's Law Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." Though similar statements and concepts have been made over the course of history, the law itself was coined by, and named after, Americ ...

's and

Misfits MiSFiTS was the acronym for the ''Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy''. This organization has now changed its name to GPS, an acronym for Geek Partnership Society. It was founded in 1999 and was the parent non-profit org ...

' drummer Eric "Goat" Arce, and Puerto Rican Mike from District 9. The band released their debut EP ''Drugs, Money & Sex'' in 1997, followed by ''Kings at Crime'' on Victory Records in 1999.

Icepick

In 1996, Singer collaborated with

Jamey Jasta James Vincent Shanahan (born August 7, 1977), known professionally as Jamey Jasta, is an American vocalist, best known as the lead singer of metalcore band Hatebreed and sludge metal band Kingdom of Sorrow. Jasta also fronts metalcore band Ic ...

to form the

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

band Icepick, which served as a side project of

Hatebreed Hatebreed is an American metalcore/ hardcore band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, formed in 1994. The band released its debut album ''Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire'' in 1997, which gave the band a cult following. The band signed to Universa ...

, alongside their bandmates

Derek Kerswill Derek M. Kerswill (born April 5, 1973 in Wilmington, Delaware) is an American musician best known for his drumming in the bands Unearth, Seemless, Kingdom of Sorrow, and multiple fill-ins/studio projects. While no longer on the road, he conti ...

, Wayne Lozinak, and Frank Novinec. The group remained virtually stagnant until the song "Born to Crush You" appeared on ''UFC: Ultimate Beat Downs, Vol. 1'' in August 2004. Former

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

heavyweight champion

Andrei Arlovski Andrei Arlovski (, born 4 February 1979) is a Belarusian-American professional mixed martial artist and actor. A former UFC Heavyweight Champion, he competed in the heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and holds th ...

frequently used their song "Onward to Victory" as his entrance music for fights. Icepick's debut album, ''Violent Epiphany'', was released on April 18, 2006, under Jasta's record label

Stillborn Records Stillborn Records is an American-based independent record label, founded by Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed, and primarily operated by Jay Reason of the Distance. Stillborn Records has released a variety of bands, mainly focused in the genres of heavy ...

Wilding Incident

Singer's current band is The Wilding Incident, which also features Jimmy Williams of

Nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat. Over 30 d ...

and Maximum Penalty.

Solo

Singer's first solo recording began with "D.R.E.A.M." by

, which led him to sign with

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician, songwriter, and music producer who is the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has collaborated with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transplants ...

Blink-182 Blink-182 is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California, in 1992. Its current and best-known line-up consists of bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though its so ...

's LaSalle Records for the 2005 release of his ''Hardcore 4 Life'' EP. Diablo included some of its tracks on '' Thugcore 4 Life'' record released in 2007, featuring the

Tim Armstrong Timothy Ross Armstrong (born November 25, 1965) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Known for his distinctive voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid (band), Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup T ...

-produced track "Living By The Gun". His friendship with Armstrong continued, and he moved to

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. A large portion of the record label, known as Hellcat Records, is owned by Tim Armstrong, frontman of the punk rock band Rancid. Several ...

and signed with Tim's

Hellcat Records Hellcat Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. The label, an offshoot of Epitaph Records, was started as a partnership between Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, the owner of Epitaph, and Tim Armstrong of Rancid ...

to release his sophomore solo album '' International Hardcore Superstar'' in 2009. The album included guest appearances by

La Coka Nostra La Coka Nostra (short LCN) is an American hip hop music, hip hop Supergroup (music), supergroup currently composed that of Danny Boy (rapper), Danny Boy, Slaine (rapper), Slaine, DJ Lethal, and Ill Bill. In 2004, its creation started when Dann ...

members

Vinnie Paz Vincenzo Luviner ( Luvineri born October 5, 1977), better known as Vinnie Paz (formerly known as Ikon the Verbal Hologram), is an Italian-born American rapper and producer behind the Philadelphia underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. He ...

, Sick Jacken, and Tim himself. In early 2012, Singer founded his own independent record label, ILL-ROC Records and released his third solo album, ''The Blood Of Eden'', which featured Madchild, Bizarre, Adil Omar, and the ILL-ROC roster. He went to Paris and released his fourth solo album, ''Dollerz Make Sense'', in 2016 with label Knives Out Records.

Production

Singer has made vocal appearances on releases by Ceekay Jones, Jay R, Grizz, and Prince Metropolitan.

Discography

Studio albums

* 2007 - '' Thugcore 4 Life'' * 2009 - '' International Hardcore Superstar'' * 2012 - ''The Blood of Eden'' * 2016 - ''Doller Make Sense'' * 2017 - ''The Crackson Heights Project'' *2019 - ''Diablo's Way Mixtape''

Extended plays

* 2005 - ''Hardcore 4 Life''

Compilation albums

* 2003 - ''The Street CD Volume 1'' * 2005 - ''Street C.D. Volume # 2'' * 2008 - '' Hardcore 4 The Coldhearted'' * 2016 - Force 5 Records Mixtape Vol. 1

Vs series

* 2008 - ''When Worlds Collide'' (w/ The Vendetta)

Collaborative albums

*2016 - ''The World Is Fucked'' (w/ Skriptkeeper & Tony Slippaz as FTW) *2020 - Devils & Demons (w/

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

) *2021 - Spictacular (w/ S.P.I.C) *2023 - Danny Diablo vs. Piss Mobb (w/ Piss Mobb)

Guest appearances

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diablo, Danny Living people American people of Polish-Jewish descent American musicians of Puerto Rican descent People from East Harlem American male singers Suburban Noize Records artists Underground rappers Equal Vision Records artists Rappers from Manhattan Hellcat Records artists 1971 births 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians