Bio
And then there was Ryan…
Tired of the gang banger/ drug dealer meets producer and then starts rapping story? Me too. Meet Ryan O’Neil. A cocky kid from Jamaica, Ryan grew up in Queens, post LL Cool J and pre 50 Cent. He is a classically trained singer who started rapping out of creative curiosity rather than out of social necessity. “I was singing R&B, doo wop, and classical, said O’Neil, “I wanted to try something new so rap became that.” What seemingly began as an artistic challenge is slowly becoming a full fledged career. Oh… and he was born without his right hand. Ryan attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and the Performing Arts AKA “The Fame School,” or affectionately referred to as LAG by its alumni. He took classes in music history, music theory and voice. But training wasn’t enough to give him the poise he needed to perform until he helped form a five member acapella group called Magnificat. “Stage fright was a problem with me, because of my insecurity when it came to singing,” O’Neil explained. “Once I hooked up with the other guys in the group and [we] started making girls ‘splash’ with our sound it helped me gain a lot of confidence, that I think helps me a lot with performing now.”
Continuing his training in college, he discovered his talent as a rapper but more importantly a storyteller. He wrote his first rap song for a friend who was attacked on campus. “My lyrics are inspired by my real life. I like to write about things that I’ve experienced [,] or people that have had an effect on my life.” So when an A&R rep told him that a one handed rapper can’t be marketed, he responded by penning a song titled One Hand Bandit, which is also the name of his alter ego.
In 2006 he met producer, 100dBs, forming a hip hop duo that crosses race, culture and height – a combo that has proven to be musically rewarding for the both of them. Not quite conscious, not quite mainstream and definitely not gangster rap. As a storyteller his style is akin to what he wants to evoke out of his audience. When it comes to genre in true wiseass fashion he says, “I want to be in the genre of ill ass musicians – not rappers – musicians. I want to be good enough to be talked about in the same sentences as John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Bob Marley …you know, good song writers.” In case you were wondering if he listens to rap his influences are, Mos Def, MF Doom, and the essentials Nas and B.I.G.
Right now look out for Ryan O’Neil getting down at a Lower East Side Club near you.
Credit: Isabelle Pierre