What happens when two immovable forces like the New York hardcore scene and the hip hop world collide?  What does the intersection of the two very different, yet very similar genres look like?   Look no further than Danny Diablo.  Danny is the "Lord" of his musical empire, he is singer, he is actor, he is entrepreneur; he is more than a person, Danny Diablo has successfully built and marketed himself as an underground icon and a product.     
 
Born as Daniel Singer, but known worldwide as Danny Diablo and Lord Ezec, Singer grew up in the Jackson Heights section of Queens, a backdrop musically known as the mecca of the hardcore world, a backdrop that proved integral to his musical career.   Like most kids, Singer participated in sports, but would eventually abandon much of the athletics he played as a child, and turn to both hardcore music and graffiti.   He would often frequent the famed and now closed CBGB's along with his friends in the Dirty Money Syndicate, and as the face and name of Lord Ezec spawned and increasingly gained recognition in New York, both in it's clubs and on it's buildings, so too came some of the trouble that would force Ezec to seek the solace and refuge a hardcore band can provide.   It was in 1994 that Ezec's younger brother committed suicide and trouble was also beginning to find some of his fellow DMS'ers.  Normally trouble begets trouble, but for Ezec, trouble begot fame.
 
After following the hardcore scene since the late eighties, Danny turned from fan to performer in 1994 when he started the acclaimed Crown of Thornz.   Crown of Thornz released the Train Yard Blues E.P. in 1995 and their only full length, Mentally Vexed , in 1996.  Although Crown of Thornz disbanded in 1998, Lord Ezec was well on his way to international recognition.   
 
The term "Thugcore" was coined in 1995 when Lord Ezec formed the at the time side project Skarhead with members of Madball and Subzero.   Meant to resemble a revolving hardcore super group, Skarhead featured some of the most recognizable hardcore personalities from the New York area.  The Drugs, Money, Sex E.P. was released in 1996, followed by Kings at Crime in 1998, and ultimately NY Thugcore: The Hardcore Years 1994-2000 in 2001.  Having toured the world with Skarhead, it was eventually time to call the band quits in the late nineties.   It was the end of Skarhead that brought on the beginning of Danny Diablo and the start of his hip hop career.   
 
Danny Diablo spent his solo career building up an insuperable reputation as a juggernaut in the New York City underground.   In addition to his solo career, Danny Diablo is also a member of the Jewish Gangsterz and Shotblockers, and in 2006 he returned to his hardcore form when he teamed with Hatebreed vocalist Jamey Jasta on the project Icepick, releasing Violent Epiphany.
 
And while Danny Diablo never really went away, he is back and as strong as ever.  Diablo is set to release Thugcore 4 Life: The Album on Suburban Noize Records on October 9, and he is currently recording his newest record, International Hardcore Superstar , to be released on Epitaph/Hellcat Records.  While International Hardcore Superstar is a long time in the making and will be comprised of all newer material, Thugcore 4 Life was also a long time in the making – only in a different sense. 

Thugcore 4 Life contains a collection of some of music's biggest names, including Production by Tim Armstrong (who is also co-producing International Hardcore Superstar), Zeuss and Dante Ross, and Executive Producer Jamey Jasta.   Guest spots on Thugcore include Daddy X of Kottonmouth Kings fame, the Sub Hoodz Stress and Paulie Havok , DJ Lethal , Slain, Daddy Boy, La Coka Nostra's Big Left and Ceekay, Necro, the Transplants own Skinhead Rob.
 
In addition to his continued achievements in hip hop and hardcore, Danny Diablo has also spent some time on the big screen.   Most recently Diablo filmed his role in Charles Nordeen's The Crackdown, in which he fittingly plays a gang member by the name Israel Rodriguez.   Lord Ezec can also be seen in the documentary N.Y.H.C. that chronicles New York City's hardcore scene of the mid nineteen nineties and the rise of Crown of Thornz.   Previously released on VHS only, the much anticipated DVD release of N.Y.H.C. features lengthy interview spots with Lord Ezec about his life and the hardcore scene.  
 
Crown of Thornz, Skarhead, Jewish Gangsterz, Shotblockers, Icepick, solo records, feature films, documentaries, the Dirty Money Syndicate.   And it doesn't stop there.   Danny Diablo has graced the cover of international magazines over a dozen times, and he is also sponsored by several clothing companies including SRH, Pitchfork Hardware, Black Flys, Hatewear, Tribal, and the Joker Brand.  
 
The past fifteen years may have been jam packed with trials and triumphs for Danny Diablo, but really they were just the start of a career that is as young as it is old.   What will the future bring for the hip hop and hardcore genres that are just now intersecting and reaching their maximum potential?  One can only guess, but if the future is anything like the past, Danny Diablo will be the real International Hardcore Superstar, and Thugcore 4 Life will be more than an album, it will be a mantra.   As the immovable hip hop and hardcore worlds collide, Danny Diablo and Lord Exec continue to be among the few still standing.

Written By: Andrew Gargano