Darryl Thomson (DLT)
Musician / Artist
“I had to prove to my family that a decision I had made was good.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationDarryl Thomson (DLT)
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
As a child, watched a gang film called The Warriors-it was his first exposure to graffiti artists.
Soon after, saw a cautionary documentary on what the "ghetto" kids in America were doing.
Says it had an opposite effect on New Zealand's kids; "the next day, there were 100 graffiti artists heading down to the railways lines."
Right around that time, he was being "dissed" at school for the art-based subjects he'd chosen to study; hip-hop came around right in time.
One of his first graffiti "missions" was painting black idols-Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix-near billboards that primarily used white faces in their advertisements.
Says he wanted his hip-hop, art to stand up for underrepresented kids who couldn't fight for themselves-"come over here; I'll fight for you."
His family kept saying, "get a job," "grow up"; felt that he constantly had to prove that he'd made a good decision.
Says that if you remember the things you liked when you were growing up, before you were "business-oriented," those things will guide you.
Career
Musician / Artist
I'm a music producer and artist, credited with bringing hip hop music and culture to New Zealand.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Acting & Theatre
Music
Being Creative
Interviewed By
Los Angeles - Auckland, New Zealand
Three young Americans fly to New Zealand to embark on a four-week roadtrip on the other side of the world. Meeting up in Los Angeles, Ray, Fawna, and Allison fly to Auckland. Upon arrival, they paint their RV home and experience the challenge of driving on the other side of the road. Their first interview is with adventurer and mountain climber Peter Hillary. Then they meet up with fashion designer Trelise Cooper and hip-hop and graffiti artist DLT.
