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Lay Dicaprio Bio
Great artists are able to draw upon their life experiences to create.
When an artist is able to connect with an audience by telling their
story, relating on an emotional level, they become a performer. When a
performer begins to actually change their world, they become an icon.
Born in Mount Vernon, New York, a short drive north from where DJ Kool
Herc created Hip Hop at that legendary Bronx birthday party, Lay
Dicaprio began his life experience early. He almost died from a birth
defect and doctors were barely able to save his life. It was the first
of many brushes with death that would mark the young man’s early life.
There would probably be no Lay Dicaprio story had his mother not taken
an eight-year-old boy to a garage sale and gifted the child with a
used MP3 player. It wasn’t just an ordinary electronic gadget, as it
was loaded with music from the legendary Tupac Shakur. Lay immediately
connected with the rawness of Tupac’s lyrics, drawn into storytelling
that addressed contemporary social issues that plague inner cities.
The themes of social resistance and activism struck close to home.
Lay’s connection to rap music evolved into a personal mission four
years later, when he attended one of his cousin’s music video shoots.
Being part of the experience, seeing art coming to life in front of
him, flipped a switch in his mind. Music was no longer just sound
coming out of a tiny speaker. It was something that could be created,
a form of personal expression. He went home from that shoot and told
his mother that he wanted to be a rap artist.
He started to write his own verses, but life intervened to make his
teenage years difficult and dangerous ones. Drugs and crime become a
habit, a pastime, his lifestyle. He began running with the notorious
Sex Money Murder street gang, resigning himself to the life that would
lead to an early death and the waste of his unlimited potential.
When Lay was 18, his then-girlfriend became pregnant. Living a life
destined to be cut short, while dreaming of providing for a child’s
future, forced Lay to make a difficult choice. He would provide for
his son, give that child everything he never had. It was time to
become serious about his music, make it a career, and step up to the
promise he’d be carrying around hidden for ten years.
The serious writing began, and his lyrics became deeper and more
focused. He started to perform at open mics and any local club that
would give him the stage, building his audience, honing his craft and
leveling up his game. He recorded three dozen low-fi tracks at the
Soundview Housing Projects at a cousin’s home studio. It was raw, and
more potential than polish, but his confidence was growing.
The turning point happened in 2015, when Lay took a trip to South
Carolina, and met with his cousin, the same one who did the video
shoot that first inspired Lay to make how own music ten years earlier.
A business partnership was formed, and Lay took that next big step
towards a bright future, where he would make his own mark on the
world.
Lay Dicaprio is a multi-talented artist and performer. In addition to
being a skilled lyricist and rapper, he can harmonize and sing, and
has started earning acting work to expand his creative outlets. He
dreams of living up to the standards set by Tupac and the other greats
who inspire him, while becoming an icon on his own merits. He believes
that “staying blessed brings success,” and showcases that example both
in his art, and the way he lives his life.
Tracks By Lay DiCaprio
Videos By Lay DiCaprio
Mixtapes Featuring Lay DiCaprio
Performances for Lay DiCaprio
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Coast 2 Coast LIVE | NYC All Ages 12/15/19
Sixty Sixth Congress |