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Daniel Kelly from Degrassi stopped by TWIST's offices to chat about the show and his new music! He spilled about the drama on Degrassi and what it's like on set. Check out our Q&A to find out who his favorite rapper is, and see his message to TWIST readers in our exclusive video!
XOXO,
TWIST
TWIST: Can you tell us anything that's coming up on Degrassi?
DK: It's going to be nuts. Some crazy things have already started happening if you've watched the show. It's going to start getting even heavier actually.
TWIST: Can you tell us about your character Owen on Degrassi?
Daniel Kelly: Owen is,a jock. He's a mean dude. He's a bit of a bully. He also has a very soft side to him, especially when it comes to his family like his brother, which you see throughout season 12. He's very set in his ways but at the same time he's open to change. He's multidimensional in that way, which is really fun to play. All around he's just a fun character.
TWIST: How do you relate to him?
DK: I relate to him with my music and how I feel about certain things. Like I'm very passionate about certain things and Owen is very passionate about his athletics, his football, his brother, and his friends. I relay that same passion to my music and the things I do there.
TWIST: Can you tell us about Ready Or Naught? Do you write your own songs?
DK: I do, I write everything. I wouldn't really let anyone touch my craft, that's my baby. After getting on Degrassi I started doing a lot of work on the show. I'm not going to lie, my music sort of took a bit of a back seat at that point because Degrassi was going on and it was really crazy, but during a little hiatus of Degrassi I found my pen and my pencil and I got back into it. From that point, I started recording and releasing on YouTube. I'd tweet this song to see what people thought. Eventually I got into contact with one of the people I knew from an acting class I took after I got on Degrassi. He has quite a few connections in the music game. We started talking and I started rapping for him, he said "Wow, you're sick!" At that point he said, "Yo, let me make some calls. Let's get you a sick feature with someone prominent in the game" Next thing I knew, I did a song with Royce Da 5'9 and Crooked I, who are part of Slaughterhouse and labelmates on Eminem's record label Shady/Aftermath. Eminem happens to be my favorite rapper, and from that point on, I thought, "you know what, how 'bout I put out some material instead of just the single" so I actually went into my room and did it bare bones right there, found the beats, made some of them, my friends made some of them for me, and then wrote out a bunch of songs, made it, put it out. Just to get a little hype going, see what people were thinking.
TWIST: Why should TWIST readers check out your music?
DK: I think the message of individuality is something that's really needed today. Everything is sort of melding together, there's not much thought put into things anymore, I feel. With my music, I take my time, I really think about what I say, I mean everything I say. Some things I say in jest, but I stand behind the principle of what I say at all times. I have a message, there's substance to it, even when I'll do a funnier track, I think that message of individuality and being able to stand up for yourself is something that's needed today.
TWIST: What's up next for you?
DK: I just wrapped up an indie film that just premiered at Niagara On The Lake. Right now I have no ongoing productions because I did just graduate on Degrassi this year, Owen has officially graduated Grade 12. He'll be leaving the show as a season regular, so right now I've got nothing production-wise, acting-wise going on, so I'm gonna focus hard on my music, I have another mixtape coming out "Naught Again." I'm gonna take it a step further with this one, really showcase what I can do.
