Biography
Daniel O'Connor (born December 12, 1968), better known as Danny Boy or Danny Boy O'Connor, is an American rapper, and the executive director of The Outsiders House Museum. In the 1990s, O'Connor co-founded the rap group House of Pain, with fellow rapper Erik Schrody (Everlast) and DJ Leor Dimant (DJ Lethal). Based on their cultural heritage they fashioned themselves as rowdy Irish-American hooligans. O'Connor played the role of art director, designing logos, branding, hype man, and co-rapper. In 1992, with the singles "Jump Around" and "Shamrock and Shenanigans", their self-titled debut album, also known as Fine Malt Lyrics, went platinum.
They followed it up with Same as It Ever Was (1994), which went gold, and Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again (1996), before they all went their separate ways. O'Connor took part in several music projects and continued doing designs as freelance work. In 2006, O'Connor founded the rap group La Coka Nostra where he was joined by George Carroll (Slaine), William Braunstein (Ill Bill), as well as Diamant and Schrody (only for the first album). Together they have three releases: A Brand You Can Trust (2009), Masters of the Dark Arts (2012), and To Thine Own Self Be True (2016).
In 2016, O'Connor, who is a lifelong fan of Francis Ford Coppola's film The Outsiders (1983) and S.E. Hinton's novel it is based on, bought the house used in the film located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He turned it into a museum named The Outsiders House Museum, which contains much of the book and film memorabilia. For his effort preserving a cultural landmark, he received a key to the city.
Separately from his regular endeavors, O'Connor is an actor, director, and producer. In front of the camera, he appeared in Ted Demme's Who's the Man? (1993), Kyle Kauwika Harris's Out of Exile (2022), two Soleil Moon Frye films Wild Horses (1998), and Kid 90 (2021). He is a common collaborator of director John Swab acting in Let Me Make You a Martyr (2016), Ida Red (2021), Little Dixie (2023), and One Day as a Lion (2023). As a director, he directed four music videos La Coka Nostra: That's Coke (2009), La Coka Nostra feat. B-Real: I'm an American (2009), La Coka Nostra: Letter to Ouisch (2012), and Slaine: 99 Bottles (2010). As a producer, he made two award-winning projects Just for Kicks (2005) and Old House New Home (2022).
