Bio
And then there was Ryan…
Hailing from the Island of Jamaica, Ryan-O’Neil moved to the island of NYC in early 1994, where he’s lived ever since. As far back as he can remember, Ryan-O’Neil (no relation to the actor and father of troubled actress Tatum O’Neal) was listening to Paul Simon, Simon and Garfunkle, and Billy Joel tapes played by his aunts.
In 1998 Ryan-O’Neil was accepted to the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and the Performing Arts as a vocal major, where he was introduced to the world of classical training. 8 years later he had a bachelor’s degree in music from Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
In 2006 Ryan-O’Neil took on the alias The One Hand Bandit after meeting producer/DJ 100dBs through a mutual friend and writing and recording a song with the same name for their joint debut album “The Adventures of The One Hand Bandit and The Slum Computer Wizard.” The album was regarded as the breath of fresh air hip hop needed. Ryan-O’Neil’s style has been said to be the “logical antecedent” to artists like D.I.T.C. and Native Tongues.
After receiving much love from the indie scene, Ryan-O’Neil has continued to make music with 100dBs as well as artists like Prince Po from Organized Konfusion, Kats and Domer, and of course the original crew from back in high school Tense, Sir-Real and P. Murray. He lives in Brooklyn and works as a pre-school teacher in Manhattan as well as a high school track and field coach. Ryan-O’Neil is currently pursuing his master’s degree in music education from Hunter College all while bringing you some of the dopest hip hop this side of the Atlantic.
stay tuned…
