Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels: Hatred, Fear, and Finally Becoming Yourself

Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels - Define Who You Are

Rap icon Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels on how he overcame his fear and finally became himself.

Transcript:

So, I'm already an alcoholic, suicidal, metaphysical, spiritual recluse about to jump and kill himself. And I'm sitting here like you said. Stevie Wonder comes in, and the joke is Stevie didn't see me. Stevie's boy see me. So Stevie's guide that has Stevie, they're walking in, and I'm sitting by the door. So, Stevie's boy sees me. It's real funny. His guy turned Stevie ... It was the coolest thing ever. Turned Stevie towards me, and I'm sitting there, and I'm hating, and I'm like, "Stevie effing Wonder, I hope he bumps into the wall and breaks his knee." I mean, that's how far gone, because I didn't want ... Don't come messing with me.

Alicia Keys walks in. She sees me. DMC, I always see Run and Russell and this and that. I never get to see you. It's an hour to meet you and this and that. I'm like Alicia Keys. I literally said I hope ... And this is bad. I said, "I hope the piano falls and smashes her fingers." That's evil. That's just evil, but that's where I was at.

When I found out that I was adopted, what was happening was I started drinking again, but it wasn't until about eight months when I started drinking, started getting out of hand. You know my wife, she finally confronted me. I love women because they're so perceptive. She looked at me, and she said this to me. She said, "Motherfucker, you fucking drinking because you can't handle the fucking fact that you just found out that you were adopted." And I tried to deny that. But she was 100% right. It made me realize that when I first started drinking it's because I thought I needed help to be who I was trying to be with Run DMC. People think they need stuff. I realize all you need to do is feel good about who you are, but I'm talking about really just feeling good. When you feel good, everything comes to you.

Do not be ashamed of yourself. Do not be ashamed of yourself. Now, that's hard. Why? Because the way the world is. Social media. Before social media you just had people in the neighborhood. The bullies and the jealous people and all of that. You've got to find the thing that makes you feel good and just continually, non-stop every day without a paycheck doing that. And that thing will empower everything else that you have to come into.

I want people not to be afraid to be themselves, no matter what circumstances they in. There's no chance thing as rejection. There's only projection. Your situation doesn't define who you are. You define who you are.