Mcdaniel, Darryl “DMC”, Angel, The Moth, April 13 2007, NPR 

Darryl is a rapper from Brooklyn New York. He was a part of the historic group Run DMC and toured the world bringing hip hop into the mainstream world. He was at the height of his powers in the early 90s but still felt depressed for reasons he couldn’t understand. It was performed on April 13, 2007, in New York. I believe the story was intended for anyone struggling with mental illness and people who are searching for something to grasp onto to help keep them going. The Darryl says that he wanted his legacy to be more than just the music. People knew ‘DMC’ but not so many knew Darryl McDaniels. The piece is sort of an  autobiographical snapshot of a period in Darryl’s life and what he was feeling and coping with throughout. He sets the scene of the piece by describing his suicidal tendencies but how he would never go through with it. He was trying to figure out the meaning behind his existence asking the question over and over and never finding the answer. Until he found the song Angel by Sarah McLachlan. He coped by listening to Sarah McLachlan records. He meets her at a party and can hardly hold his excitement. After years pass and he’s writing his autobiography and asks his mother what it was like when he was born. He finds out he was adopted and decides to make a song so he asks Sarah McLachan to join him. After they record she tells him that she was also adopted. The most effective element is the familiarity he already had in my mind from his music and how my expectations turned on its head by his delivery of the story. He sounds vulnerable which is rare for a rapper from his time and is certainly rare for a black man. The story was put on air in 2007 and this was before mental health and especially depression was at the forefront of the national conscious so it was extremely brave for someone with the reputation of DMC to speak about his feelings.