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

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

and hip hop vocalist. He is a current member of underground hip hop acts The ShotBlockers, KAOS 13 and FTW, and a founding member of hardcore bands Crown of Thornz,

Skarhead Skarhead is an American hardcore punk band from New York City, founded and fronted by Lord Ezec a.k.a. Danny Diablo (of Crown of Thornz). The group is considered the originators of thugcore music, a subgenre of hardcore punk "full of relentless ...

and Icepick, which gained him success on the

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. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Wa ...

scene.

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 (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

, New York, Dan Singer is the son of a

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

-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 and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fif ...

Music career

Bands

Singer formed

band Crown of Thornz in 1994 with former

Breakdown Breakdown may refer to: Breaking down *Breakdown (vehicle), failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that it cannot be operated *Chemical decomposition, also called chemical breakdown, the breakdown of a substance into simpler components *Decompo ...

guitarist Mike Dijan, Dimi on drums, Steve O'Brien and

Franklin Rhi Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral div ...

on bass. 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, singer for the punk bands Youth of Today, Shelter, and Better Than a Thousand. The label originally existed solely to ...

, a dedication to Singer's younger brother David, who had committed suicide the previous year. The following year the group released ''Mentally Vexed''. After their hiatus from 1998 to 2013, Crown of Thornz reunited at

Ieperfest Ieperfest is a Belgian hardcore music festival held in Ypres ( nl, Ieper). The summer edition of the festival was first held in September 1992, then annually each August from 1994 to 2018 (no summer event was held in 1993). Since 2019, the summ ...

in Belgium and This Is Hardcore in Philadelphia, and went on a North American tour with Rancid and

The Transplants The Transplants are an American punk rock/ 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 if ...

. After Crown of Thornz, Singer decided to set a new trend with his street blend of

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

, hip hop and

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

, founding a new music genre he calls thugcore, with the band

. The band consisted of

Madball Madball is an American New York hardcore band formed in New York City, that originated in the late 1980s as a side project of Agnostic Front. The band developed after Agnostic Front's front man Roger Miret would let his younger half-brother Fr ...

's guitarists Brian "Mitts" Daniels and Hoya Roc, former

White Trash White trash is a derogatory racial and class-related slur used in American English to refer to poor white people, especially in the rural southern United States. The label signifies a social class inside the white population and especially a ...

bassist Aaron "White Owl" Collins, Murphy's Law's and

Misfits Misfits or The Misfits may refer to: Film and television * ''The Misfits'' (1961 film), a film starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Montgomery Clift * ''The Misfits'' (2011 film), a Mexican film * ''The Misfits'' (2021 film), an American ...

' drummer Eric "Goat" Arce, and Puerto Rican Mike from District 9. Skarhead's debut ''Drugs, Money & Sex'' EP was released in 1997. The band soon signed to Victory Records for the release of the New York hardcore record ''Kings at Crime'', which hit stores in 1999. The band also had success with their sophomore LP ''Drugs, Music & Sex'', released in 2009. In 2011, European label

I Scream Records I Scream Records is an independent record label founded by Laurens Kusters in 1994 in Brussels, Belgium. The label has an extensive catalogue and is one of the leading punk and hardcore labels in Western Europe. History The label's first re ...

released the album ''Dreams Don't Die'', Skarhead's tribute to some of Singer's favorite bands from the era between 1986 and 1989. In 1996, Singer collaborated with

Jamey Jasta James 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 Icepick. P ...

to form the

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

band Icepick, which served as a side project of

Hatebreed Hatebreed is an American 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 Universal Records ...

. Along with their bandmates

Derek Kerswill 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. He was also invited to play in the heavy meta ...

, 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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

heavyweight champion

Andrei Arlovski Andrei Arlovski (born 4 February 1979) is a Belarusian-American professional mixed martial artist, actor and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and ho ...

frequently uses 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 ...

. 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. While not painful, it can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the ...

/Maximum Penalty.

Solo

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

, which mentioned him to sign with

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has also performed as a frequent collaborator with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transpla ...

Blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...

LaSalle Records LaSalle Records was an American record label and a former division of Atlantic Records. History The record label was founded in 2004 and was owned by musician Travis Barker. The label is located in Corona, California. Most of the bands curren ...

for the 2005 release of his ''Hardcore 4 Life'' EP. Diablo included some of its tracks on ''

Thugcore 4 Life ''Thugcore 4 Life'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop and hardcore punk artist, Danny Diablo. It was released August 14, 2007 via Suburban Noize Records. The album was praised by both hardcore punk fans as well as hip hop fans. This r ...

'' record released in 2007, featuring the

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

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

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...

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 ''International Hardcore Superstar'' is the sixth studio album by Danny Diablo. It was released on October 6, 2009, via Tim Armstrong's Hellcat Records. The record is the follow-up to his 2007 album Thugcore 4 Life. Track listing Samples *"Sex ...

'' in 2009, with guest appearances by

La Coka Nostra La Coka Nostra (short LCN) is an American hip hop group composed of DJ Lethal, Danny Boy, Ill Bill and Slaine. Biography Founded in late 2004 with no intention to record an album, La Coka Nostra was more a loose collective of artists conn ...

members,

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

, Sick Jacken and Tim himself. In early 2012, Singer founded his own independent record label, ILL-ROC Records and released his third album, ''The Blood Of Eden'', which featured

Madchild Shane Bunting (born October 21, 1975), better known by his stage name Madchild, is a Canadian rapper. He is part of the Vancouver-based hip hop group Swollen Members. In 2009, he released a solo EP titled ''The Madchild EP''. In 2012, he relea ...

, Bizarre,

Adil Omar Adil Omar (born 17 May 1991) is a recording artist, rapper, record producer, singer and songwriter from Islamabad, Pakistan. He released his debut album and film, '' Transcendence'', on 8 July 2018. In addition to being a solo artist, he is also ...

, and the ILL-ROC roster. He went to Paris and released his fourth album, ''Dollerz Make Sense'', in 2016 via Knives Out Records.

Production

Singer has made vocal appearances with Ceekay Jones, Jay R, Grizz, and Prince Metropolitan.

Discography

Studio albums

* 2007 - ''

'' * 2009 - ''

'' * 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 and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

) *2021 - Spictacular (w/ S.P.I.C)

Guest appearances

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diablo, Danny Living people American people of Polish-Jewish descent American people of Puerto Rican descent People from East Harlem American male singers Rap rock musicians 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