Worcester Public Schools - From Here, Anywhere... Together

WORCESTER – Wednesday, May 22, 2024 – Darryl “DMC'' McDaniels, one-third of the legendary hip hop trio Run DMC, visited with students of Worcester Alternative School on Wednesday morning to discuss the importance of mental health and perseverance through life’s many obstacles. 

Over the course of his one-hour speech, McDaniels spoke on the importance of respecting those that came before you, the history of hip hop, and his own struggles with mental health. 

“[Kids] have got all of these emotions and we have a bad habit of telling them ‘don’t think like that,” McDaniels said following his speech. “We have to let them express those emotions because if they don’t let it out, whether it's anger or sadness, it’s the very thing causing them to hurt themselves, or others, or try to check out.”

The visit to Worcester Alternative comes on the heels of the school’s students finishing a read of McDaniels’ memoir entitled Ten Ways Not To Commit Suicide. McDaniels has publicly struggled with his own mental health, even at the height of his music career. 

“I was there,” said McDaniels. “These kids have a lot of frustration, they have a lot of anger, confusion and a lot of anxiety, and a lot of the things going on that amplify it. They also have low self-esteem. They think if I don’t act or behave like everyone else, I won’t be cool.”

Darryl McDaniels, member of the legendary hip hop trio Run DMC, gives a speech to students at Worcester Alternative on Wednesday, May 22. (Kyle Prudhomme/WPS)

Dennis Vanasse, an educator at Worcester Alternative who organized the visit with McDaniels, said his students relate to McDaniels’s message with many going through similar challenges in their lives as the multi-platinum recording artist.

“He shows anything is possible. Darryl reached all the different heights in his career and what he did was show that even as he was reaching these heights, he struggled with mental health and there is a way to overcome mental health,” Vanasse said. 

“He let these kids know that anything is possible in life no matter what obstacles in life they have had. Believe in yourself, do your work, and they can get there too,” Vanasse said.

Following the speech, McDaniels stood to sign autographs and take photos with students, despite having to make another local appearance, putting action to his own words on a gap growing between generations.

“There is a missing element that we gotta use to combat social media, showing up and being one-on-one in the presence of the kids. There’s no such thing as a generation gap, it’s a communication gap.”