Danny Boy O'Connor

Daniel O'Connor (born December 12, 1968), 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 (Everlast) and DJ Leor Dimant ( DJ Lethal). 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'' (1994), which went gold, and '' Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again'' (1996), 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 ( Slaine), William Braunstein ( Ill Bill), Dimant, and Schrody (only for the first album). Together they have three releases: '' A Brand You Can Trust'' (2009), '' Masters of the Dark Arts'' (2012) and '' To Thine Own Self Be True'' (2016).

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 (Everlast) who had just released a rap album called '' Forever Everlasting'' (1990), that didn't have much success. O'Connor knew Schrody when he went to William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California (1984–1986), 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 ( DJ Lethal), 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. Their second single " Shamrocks and Shenanigans (Boom Shalock Lock Boom)", 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. ''Rolling Stone'' gave three point five stars, good plus, and noted "with a groovy swagger, this collection of hard-core hip-hop tracks offers many moments of technicolor snap and crackle, and also titled House of Pain". ''Q magazine'' wrote that it is a good album three stars and said "...their music is of the dense, hard-hitting school of hip hop...the group have absorbed black rap's musical lessons and create a satisfying platform for their above average deliveries..." ''The Source'' said it was a good plus, gave it three point five stars and concluded that it is "...a very solid and at times exceptional album...imagine if '' Licensed to Ill'' wasn't an upper middle class Jewish thing but rather a working class Irish thang...the atmosphere is like that of a cross between a frat party and a bar room brawl... ''NME'' gave it a six calling it good and noting "...contains some creative and accomplished rap music..." Rob Theakston of ''AllMusic'' gave it four stars.

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. ''AllMusic'' gave it four out five stars. Matt Carlson of ''The Michigan Daily'' found the album quite good and noted "the music is laid back with some heavy driving forces underlying and strengthening it". J.D. Constantine of ''The Baltimore Sun'' did not like album and found it monotonous and unimaginative. Roger Catlin of the ''Hartford Courant'' said that while finding the continuity monotonous it's "hard and compelling" as well as a "strong outing". Andrew Love of '' The Ocala Star-Banner'' gave it four stars saying "this is a band that has definitely progressed over the course of one album". Music critic Robert Christgau, who did not like their previous and subsequent album, gave it an A− and described it as "the hardest hip hop of the 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. Dave Ferman of the ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' gave it one star and a half, calling it a "woeful mess". Steve Juon of ''RapReviews'' gave it a seven out of ten. ''AllMusic'' music gave it two point five stars out of five. Sputnikmusic wrote that "the trio’s most rounded, consistent & memorable LP is grossly under-appreciated."

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''.

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 (XSM) 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 ( Slaine) and John Faster (Big Left) 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 didn't 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 ( Ill Bill) 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 (who left some time after the first album was released).

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. ''AllMusic'' gave four out of five stars. Andrew Kameka of ''HipHopDX'' wrote that "the album is a mostly solid effort and exactly what someone would expect from a supergroup of like-minded members known for high-energy music". Adam Kennedy of the ''BBC'' while praising some the moments of the album said "it’s a tantalising parting taste of potential capabilities, yet until they improve a customer satisfaction hit rate that barely troubles one in three tunes here". Steve Juon of ''RapReviews'' gave it a seven out of ten. Thomas Quinlan of ''Exclaim!'' said "La Coka Nostra are an interesting collection of collaborators that live up to the hype".

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 at the second annual Epicenter music festival in Fontana, California, on September 25, 2010. Though Diamant is still a member of the group, he did not join them on their 2011 reunion tour due to prior obligations with Limp Bizkit. In April–May 2011 House of Pain attended the Groovin' the Moo touring festival in Australia, and also performed at Scotland's T in the Park festival on July 9, 2011, as well as Sonisphere UK Festival on July 12 of the same year. House of Pain reunited in 2017 for a 25th Anniversary Tour. The tour included shows in DC, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, and California.

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 film'' The Outsiders'' (1983). 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'' (1982), ''Saturday Night Fever'' (1977), ''Valley Girl'' (1983), '' The Bad News Bears'' (1976), ''All in the Family'' (1971 to 1979), ''Gilligan's Island'' (1964 to 1967), etc.

In 2012, separately from ''The Delta Bravo Urban Exploration Team,'' 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. Adam Fleischer of '' XXL'' magazine noted that "La Coka Nostra remain decidedly true to their core with their new album" and "that they are indeed masters of the dark arts". ''HipHopDX'' gave the album a positive review and noted that the album was a "sinister, happily violent detour from the pop-centric". Peter Marrack of ''Exclaim!'' also gave the album a positive review and noted that the album was "more or less a one-way ticket to hell". Nathan G. O'Brien of ''Scene Point Blank'' gave it four out five star and said "with Master of the Dark Arts La Coka Nostra’s pluperfect union of bombastic boom-bap, record scratching, and realism-based hardcore rhyming".

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.

2019–present: The Outsiders House museum and current works

O'Connor, a lifelong fan of S. E. Hinton's book '' The Outsiders'' and its film adaptation by Francis Ford Coppola, opened The Outsiders House Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on August 9, 2019. Since 2009, when discovering the house where the lead characters of the film, the Curtis Brothers, lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma. O'Connor always had the thought of buying it, which he eventually did in 2016. O'Connor said he bought it sight unseen and when he first went inside that it was falling apart. With the help of friends, the Oklahoma Film and Music Office, the City Council, local business and individuals who volunteered the restoration started. After raising funds the house went through extensive renovations to restore it and maintain its authenticity from the film. A GoFundMe was set up for additional funds, notable donors include Jack White who donated $30,000 and Billy Idol. Also to raise funds, screenings of the film were organized that actor C. Thomas Howell (one of the film's lead) attended. Also in 2016, the street signs on the corner were changed to "The Outsiders way" and "The Curtis Brothers Lane". Since its opening, the museum now contains a collection of ''The Outsiders'' memorabilia. On the quiz show ''Jeopardy!'' a question about him and the museum was showcased ''Rapper Danny Boy O'Connor loved the Tulsa house used in the film version of this author's The Outsiders so he restored it''. Of the museum Hinton said “Danny has done a great job with the Outsiders House. People come from all over the United States, and even the world. He said teenage girls have walked in and burst into tears. It floors me.” The Museum is widely praised as a must-visit destination, especially for fans of the film or novel, and is consistently highlighted as one of Tulsa’s top attractions. On the 2024 list of '25 things to eat, see and do this summer' ''People'' magazine listed The Outsiders House museum at number 3. For his efforts on preserving a cultural landmark O'Connor received a key to the city of Tulsa.

On November 1 of that year, the institution installed a plaque commemorating in a scene ''Rumble Fish'' (1983), another film directed by Coppola based on a Hinton novel shot in Tulsa, in the alley south of 5th Street between Main Street and Boston Avenue.

In 2021, separately from ''The Delta Bravo Urban Exploration Team'' and The Outsiders House museum, O'Connor acted in the suspense film '' Ida Red''. That same year he was a prominent interviewee in Soleil Moon Frye's documentary '' Kid 90''.

On June 3, 2022, O'Connor released a photography exhibit named ''We saw the same sunset'' at Mother Road Market. It shows the photos of a thousand sunset taken from the same window on the thirteenth floor of the Mayo Hotel. O'Connor said, “This exhibit is my love letter to Tulsa, when I moved from L.A. to Tulsa five years ago, I was awestruck by Tulsa’s sunsets. I love the idea that we all share the same sunset regardless of our differences, bringing us a step closer to each other.” On June 10, the short documentary ''Old House New Home'', where O'Connor is credited as an executive producer, premiered at the DeadCENTER Film Festival, where it won the best Okie short award. The documentary is about O'Connor's effort to preserve the house from ''The Outsiders.'' At the same festival the thriller film ''Out for Exile'' premiered. In it O'Connor plays a role. In October, O'Connor with The Outsiders House Museum published the book ''The Outsiders ‘Rare and Unseen’'', which contains 148 photos by David Burnett who was the set's photographer. O'Connor said: “We originally got the first lot of photos and then urnettsaid there may be more. They found the rougher photos, and for me, that’s where the rubber meets the road because they’re unpolished, their guard’s down, they’re not posing".

In 2023, O'Connor acted in two John Swab's films ''Little Dixie,'' and ''One Day as Lion''. On April 14 of that year, as part of a 40th anniversary celebration of the release of ''The Outsiders'', O'Connor installed a plaque commemorating the film which was installed at the Admiral Twin drive-In where a scene was shot.

In February 2024, O'Connor served as judge alongside Olivia Jordan and Zac Hanson for the talent competition the "Big Show Off". The event was created to raise funds and awareness to the homelessness issues in Tulsa. Also that month the documentary film ''Mad Props'' started its theatrical run. The film is about movie prop collectors and O'Connor is among the interviewees. In May, O'Connor with The Outsiders House Museum published the book ''The Outsiders on set,'' which contains 254 pages of photos by Nancy Moran a photographer who visited ''The Outsiders'''s set while they were shooting. O'Connor explained that when he discovered that this additional slew of photos existed, he approached Moran, who he didn't know, and to his surprise she let him have the negatives so that he could develop them. On December 14, the 98th annual Tulsa Christmas Parade celebrated The Outsiders House Museum with its theme, "Stay Gold, Merry, and Bright," and O'Connor served as Grand Marshal.

In January 2025, at the annual Tulsa Regional Chamber event, awards were distributed to partners whose efforts were valued in 2024. O'Connor won the "Partner of the year" award for "Regional Tourism".

Currently, O'Connor serves as a member of the Arts Commission of City of Tulsa. This came about when the Mayor searched for Tulsans willing to volunteer their time to City of Tulsa Authority, Board or Commission. The initiative is meant to have a citizen committees with a range of interests and their advice to develop future policies.

Personal life

During the height of House of Pain, O'Connor had a friendship with Mickey Rourke and was romantically involved with Soleil Moon Frye (with whom he maintains a friendship). He is also friends with Robert Romanus.

Accolades

1992 - Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group - " Jump Around" - Nomination - with House of Pain

2017 - Honorary High School Diploma - Will Rogers High School

2018 - Key to the city - Tulsa, Oklahoma

2025 - Tulsa Regional Chamber - Winner - Partner of the year: Regional tourism

Discography

with House of Pain

*''House of Pain'' (1992)
*'' Same as It Ever Was'' (1994)
*'' Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again'' (1996)

with XSupermodels

*''Artificial Intelligence'' (2001) promo album

with La Coka Nostra

*'' A Brand You Can Trust'' (2009)
*'' Masters of the Dark Arts'' (2012)
*'' To Thine Own Self Be True'' (2016)

Filmography

Actor

*'' Who's the Man?'' (1993) ''-'' Steve
*''Shake, Rattle and Rock!'' (1994) Cochran's Drummer Boy
*''Wild Horses'' (1998)
*''Let Me Make You a Martyr'' (2016) - Willie
*'' Ida Red'' (2021) - Bird
*'' Out for Exile'' (2022)
*''Little Dixie'' (2023) - Coka
*'' One Day as Lion'' (2023) - Prison Guard MacDougal

Interviewee

* ''Kid 90'' (2021)
* ''Mad Props'' (2024)

Producer

* ''Just for Kicks'' (2005)
* ''Old House New Home'' (2022)

Bibliography

* 2022 - ''The Outsiders ‘Rare and Unseen’'' - with David Burnett
* 2024 - ''The Outsiders on set'' - with Nancy Moran

References

External links

*

Danny Boy
at MySpace

Delta Bravo Urban Exploration Team
at Facebook

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danny Boy
20th-century American male rappers
1968 births
Living people
American people of Irish descent
House of Pain members
Rappers from Los Angeles
Rappers from Brooklyn
East Coast hip-hop musicians
William Howard Taft Charter High School alumni
21st-century American rappers
21st-century American male musicians
La Coka Nostra members
Hype men