QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 23, 2022 Page 26
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Deezy ready to take hip-hop by storm Rising Rosedale rapper thanks his mom and dad for support by Naeisha Rose Chronicle Contributor The Queens hip-hop music scene is extensive. Hollis has brought us artists from Run-DMC and Jam Master Jay (Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels and Jazon Mizell) to Ja Rule (Jeffrey Bruce Atkins) to LL Cool J (James Todd Smith). Nicki Minaj (Onika Tanya Minaj-Petty) and 50 Cent (Curtis James Jackson III) hail from Southside Jamaica. Roxa n ne Sha nté ( Lat asha Shante) and Nas (Nasir Jones) came out of Queensbridge. The St. Albans rap group A Tribe Called Quest (Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Jarobi White and the l a t e P h i f e D a w g) might have not made the cut for this year’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but are still pioneers in hip-hop. Among those emerging today is up-and-coming Rosedale singer and rapper Wendell “Deezy” O’Brien, who recently performed his songs “Anniversary” and “Smooth Talker” at the Memorial Day parade in his neighborhood on May 30. He also surprised his mother, Marcia O’Brien, with a performance of the unreleased track “Superman” in honor of his father and h e r l a t e hu sb a n d , We n d el l O’Brien Sr. “I was 13 when he passed,” said O’Brien, 26. “He was my best friend, my role model and my superhero. That is why the song is called ‘Superman.’”
O’Brien’s father, who passed away at 42 from a heart attack, was a well-respected EMT in the FDNY. “The chief of the FDNY gave me his letterman jacket,” said O’Brien. “He told me that I was the man of the house now. That moment was surreal for me. I had to grow up immediately ... I just thank God I have an amazing mom. My younger sister is incredible as well. All the stuff he instilled lives on in all of us.” While O’Brien’s father has always inspired his motivation to work hard, it was football where the rapper initially pushed himself to excel. “He would never see me have a touchdown,” said O’Brien, who would go on to star t playing fo o t b a l l w it h t h e youth development organization Rosedale Jets and for the Commodores at Bayside High School after his father passed away. “I ended up with the Rams, but I got hurt.” O’Brien was in the 2018 draft class for the Rams as a wide receiver, but pulled a hamstring during a workout session. The Cowboys and the Falcons would later express interest in him at other workout sessions, but the coronavirus pandemic reared its ugly head, according to the Rosedale native. Before the pandem ic shut dow n the cou nt r y, a deejay friend from Los Angeles pushed the hip-hop artist to pursue his hidden passion for singing and rapping on the social media app TikTok. “I was always playing music, actually. I played the lead trump e t i n fou r t h g r a d e,” s a id O’Brien. “It was always a dream of mine to go into singing and rapping, but I never told anybody that I sang ... I was always known just for the football.” At Bayside High School he also was a member of the school and jazz bands and played the trumpet, guitar and piano. The pandemic may have led to O’Brien’s football career taking a backseat, but he started to realize the rap videos he made on TikTok were blowing up. “I started with 60 followers with a few views, more viewers started watching and now I have 10 million views with people
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• 2022
Hip-Hop
Wendell “Deezy” O’Brien, right, and his mother, Marcia O’Brien. COURTESY PHOTOS
Hip-hop artist Wendell “Deezy” O’Brien performed the unreleased track “Superman” at the Rosedale Memorial Day PHOTO BY NAEISHA ROSE Parade to his mother Marcia O’Brien. from all over the world following me,” said O’Brien. “I would have friends tell me that their brother was following me and I had people from Spain and Turkey listening to my music.” O’Brien, who has had acting roles in short films and has more upcoming projects that have been pitched to Hulu and Netflix, says he also admires the rapper-turned-mogul and television producer 50 Cent. “Seeing him come f rom Queens and make it on a big platform, not only in music but in business and television, that’s amazing,” said O’Brien. “For him to come from Jamaica to being in board rooms, of course that is an inspiration.” A nother favor ite ar tist outside the World’s Borough is Puff Daddy, founder of Bad Boy Records. “I also love Sam Cooke,” said O’Br ien. “He always expressed what he was going through in his music.” T he p er son always i n O’Br ie n’s c or ne r is h is mother. “Until this day, he has tried so hard to walk in his father’s shoes,” said Marcia, about her son promising to t a ke ca re of her a nd h is younger sister after the FDNY chief’s words about being the man of the house. “I felt so super proud to hear him sing such a beautiful song to me ... It proves that our work as parents was not in vain and even though
he lost his dad at a young age, cer t ai n th i ngs were al ready instilled in him.” Ever y Christmas, O’Brien and his sist e r , Amanda, help w it h a Santa T o y Giveaway in
Rosedale, which the family started in honor of O’Brien Sr., said Marcia. The charity event now has the support of local block and civic associations. “They understand how to give back to the community and help make a difference in the life of others,” added Marcia. O’Brien’s mother has supported both of his careers. “She was always like, shoot for the stars and sky’s the limit,” said O’Brien.
