Danny Allen, right, playfully touches the head of Dyryan Bolton, 2, who happened to walk by as Bolton was chatting with long-time Central City resident Charmaine Baker-Fox on Friday, July 7, 2023. Allen has played a key role in the New Orleans Health Department's "violence interrupter" program. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com)
By Missy Wilkinson, NOLA.com, July 10, 2023
Danny Allen came of age in the Calliope projects during the epic, crack-fueled bloodshed of the 1990s. By age 17, he’d buried at least 25 of his peers and become a millionaire due to the drug trade. By age 26, his rap sheet was stacked as his bank account. He worked to extricate himself from the industry that had begun to feel hollow, a lifestyle rapper Soulja Slim described as “kill or be killed” in a 2003 album that Allen released on his label, Cut Throat Committy Records.
Allen successfully leaned into music as a way out of drugs. Driven by his faith, he became a known, trusted figure in Central City and beyond as he distanced himself from gangs and helped defuse conflicts.
“I was once one of those individuals causing havoc in my community,” Allen said. “I wanted to make a change.”
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