Sean Delaney

Although he had always been interested in music in general and loved to write and perform his own stuff since he was very young, Sean Delaney sat in his living room a few Fridays ago, stunned, showing me the tape of himself being interveiwed and performing on FOX23 news that morning. He just couldn't get over how all of these elements seem to have brought him to this particular time, and, all working together, seem to be steering him to ever-more prominent places. In the brief time spent getting to know Sean a bit, it seems apparent that at least part of his success could be attributed to his sense that every time and every place, as well as every person, is important. They say that the greatest "art" is the "art of living" - and Sean seems to be doing that just fine.

Born and raised right here in Hudson, Sean is the son of Bart and Marilyn Delaney. Sean says his entire family, including his brother Bart who works at the middle school, have been incredibly supportive of him. They are proud of him, and more importantly, he is of them. Sean went to Hudson schools, served in the Navy, and for the past few years has worked as a counselor in an establishment for developmentally challenged individuals in Ghent, NY, all the while developing his music and writing. The point here is , here is a guy who is "engaged" in life - part of his family, part of his friends and associates, part of his community and part of the larger world. Speaking of engaged, Sean's "significant other", the lovely Shannon was incidentally responsible for his meeting last year with his now friend and manager Gary Malick, an independent filmmaker, who looked at Sean's package of music, recognized a talent he could steer in the right direction and took it from there.

This coming Friday, February 15th, Sean will be performing and holding a CD release party for his first break-out album, "The Shining", at Joes Lounge on Fairview Ave. He has a music video out last summer called "Open Your Eyes" that has had over 400 responses to it from families with disabled children. Agencies use his video in conferences and trainings, and the "Autism Speaks" website carries and in-depth interview. Another new release will be aired at Joes called "Unsung Heroes", an elaborate musical tribute to our troops. On March 29th, Autism Speaks will be flying Sean down to their telethon in Florida to participate. If readers want to know more about the background, career or history of Sean, log onto www.myspace.com/sdotlyric.

This writer is in absolutely NO position to critique music of any kind, not knowing enough to do so, but one of the reasons that rap, hiphop and other related genres of the music scene sometimes get a bad reputation (especially around Senior Citizens, I must admit) is that the THEMES of much of these seem to center around violence or alienation, conveying more anger than passion. This does not seem to be the case here, quite the opposite. Sean jokes that his father calls him the "Hip-Hop Bob Dylan." (Hey, from a 60's point of view, that can't be all bad, can it?)

This show at Joes promises to be a GREAT one, with other talented musicians performing with him, and local DJ Terry Johnson spinning. For mor info on the show itself and schedule, call Joe's at (518) 828-9028, but for others of you who couldn't or wouldn't be there, watch this guy Sean Delaney anyway. He knows he is incredibly lucky to have been in the right place at the right time with the right help and the right cause. He knows he has talents but so do many others who won't get this measure of success because of it. He knows what his "day-job" is, and no one will have to tell him, "don't quit your day-job", because he himself will know when. What he may not realize, since he is still in his twenties, is that he likely to have a successful life no matter what forms of fame and fortune come his way or pass him by. He will always have his music, which will be important to him and anyone else it touches. He will always have himself and his community because he knows who he is, where he comes from, what he cares about and what really matters. Unless he forgets all that, this won't be the only greatest year of his life!



- Hudson River Sampler-Hillary Hart

HUDSON — A local hip-hop artist performed for Hudson Middle School students Friday and delivered a message of success through hard work.

Sean Delaney presented his “Five Steps to Success” through music and a speech, telling the students that through “hard work, dedication, commitment and motivation” they could achieve their dreams.

Mark Brenneman, associate principal for the middle school, said that when he heard Delaney had a program and was “helping kids get on the right path,” he was excited.

“How fast can you get here?” he remembered asking Delaney.

Delaney, 28, is a life-long Hudson resident who is a Direct Support professional with the Special Needs Program.

Delaney’s program included five raps interspersed with a PowerPoint presentation of the five areas he says are necessary for success.

This includes preparing for school in the same way you prepare for life; working hard at school and in all aspects of life; physical and mental strength; choosing the right path; and achieving the impossible.

He had several of the students up in their seats during the musical performances and all of them waiving their arms in the air during the performance. “Believe it ... Do it ... Accomplish it ... Enjoy it,” he and the students chanted.

“Believe in yourself and you can do anything,” he told the students at the end of the performance.

Delaney, a 1998 Hudson High School graduate, told the audience afterward that he respected all his teachers, whom, he said, helped him when he was younger.

“I had a lot of learning to do,” he commented.

He said the idea for the program, which had its debut that day, came from Dr. John Pelizza, a motivational speaker.

Delaney said he spent about a month and a half coming up with the raps he performed for the presentation.

“I think they liked it,’ he said of his performance.

Delaney said he will be performing in several local schools in the upcoming months. - 5/2/09 -Register Star Article By: Andrew Amelinckx

Sincerely Dedicated
By GiGi Capone
5/25/09
If I had to choose 2 words to accurately describe Sean Delaney I would have to quote his newly released hit song “Sincerely Dedicated”. I first met Sean Delaney aka S.D. On the job at WSRP Radio; a small but rapidly growing syndicate/internet radio station based in upstate New York. It seemed as if Sean just popped out of nowhere in our chartroom and he immediately started promoting his music and clothing line “Sean Delaney Clothing”. There was no “hi nice to meet you room” or anything cute like that. Sean got right down to business with a “here I am, I’m a good dude, get on board or get left behind” type of attitude. My first reaction was “who the hell is this kid”? OH MY STARS did I get my answer to that question! With over 15 pages of smoking hot interview material sitting on my desk I found myself in writers’ heaven. Just like an artist when they are writing a song; when I write an article good energy inspires me. A fact for certain; Sean Delaney’s energy has had me on a natural high since we started putting this interview to work 3 days ago.
Over the past 17 years in the rap game Sean Delaney shared with me that has gone through 6 different rap names, released 8 albums, endured several unrelenting rap boot camps, been sold dreams by many not even worth mentioning, been shot down by major label reps and told it was because “they weren’t accepting any rap right now. Everybody raps” and countless other trials and tribulations that would have made the average artist collapse dead in their tracks. I asked Sean if he felt that any of these experiences he has been through could be considered failures. Sean simply replied “not at all, the experience has helped me grow into the person I am today”. It is obvious that the intimidation and rejection that Sean has experienced over the years has seasoned him into a notable industry professional and not just the average rapper who clings onto an ongoing rap dream that will stay just that; a dream. Sean Delaney continues to make his dreams a reality through being what I like to call him “The Prince of Perseverance”. The more Sean is told “No” Or he “can’t” the harder he pushes to use that negativity as inspiration to show the world YES SEAN DELANEY CAN!
The rap game & hip hop has earned itself a bad name over the years amongst many. With over 286,737 (100,000 in the first day)YouTube Plays on his latest video “Open Your Eyes” a video about adult’s living with Autism directed by Gary Malick; Sean Delaney definitely open’s the worlds eyes to the fact that every rapper is not the same. Sean’s video earned him several awards amongst which include but aren’t limited to: NY State Excellence Award, Moving Mountains and You need to know Me Awards from Anchor, A NYSACRA Award and the list goes on. The inspiration for Sean’s Video “Open Your Eyes” came directly from the people whom he is privileged to work with on an everyday basis at his 9 to 5 job. Sean is a Direct Support Professional in the day rehabilitation portion of the Special Needs Program based in Hudson, New York. Working with people with special needs takes a special person. Patience, understanding and a big heart are amongst the qualities that one must have to be a Direct Support Professional. Sean has worked with these amazing clients at his job for over 5 years. Many of his clients are blind, have speech impairments and can’t even function to do the everyday tasks that most of us take for granted. Sean’s client’s make him feel as if “He is on top of the world” and he whole heartedly “enjoys bringing smiles to their faces and doing the little things that make their lives better”. With a heart the size of a giant and an extraordinary lyrical talent Sean continues to use those superior characteristics to drive him to success not only in his personal life but in his career as well. It’s no wonder Sean’s new video has gained so much national attention. Overall the macaroni and cheese & chocolate milk loving kid at heart is no different than you or me but what separates him from the common is how he put’s others first and goes the extra mile to make life better not only for himself but for the family, friends and loved ones that surround him as well.
If you think this rapper extraordinaire and his contributions and accomplishments end here... well guess again. Not only is Sean the CEO of his own indie label HUD CITY RECORDS but he also owns “Sean Delaney Signature Clothing” which is a joint venture he decided to capitalize upon with his friend Scott Allen; local owner of 2HOTTEEZ and successful clothing manufacturer. The concept of marketing his own clothing line is an idea that first came to Sean after performing Bullets; a song he recorded with a Columbia County alternative rock group called CRAVER at a local venue.


Sean quickly seen the profit in selling one’s own merchandise at shows and took the concept a step further by making it available to the world market and not just music fans. Yes I said Sean recorded a rock song. Later he also released a not so successful but creative rock album “City of Noware”. The rock album came to Sean “by going through a period last summer of not really feeling the direction that hip hop was heading into”. After being shot down by Alicia Keys’ manager he found himself feeling “down in the dumps because the bubblegum music that was on the radio was taking over” Sean really felt that when Nas said “Hip-Hop is Dead” he really meant it. Although Sean doesn’t believe hip hop is dead per say, the normally confident and affirmative rapper found himself feeling “badly wounded and in need of intervention”. That night after experiencing rejection from Alicia Keys’ manager Sean had a dream about putting together a rock band and the very next day he gave Lou Towart the lead guitarist and talented producer from CRAVER a call with the idea of starting a rock band. Hence was the birth of ATANOWARE. In lieu of the fact that the band put out a hit single “XHALE” that showcased on the airwaves for 10 consecutive weeks; Sean felt out of place and yearned to return to “his hip hop”. Thankfully the band understood that hip hop is Sean Delaney’s calling and they dropped the album. Sean came back to hip hop with a vengeance and started right back up with his quickly evolving enterprise as we know it today “HUDCITY RECORDS”. Sean believed that the 6-8 month break is what he needed to get his head right and that it truly allowed him to see where his passion was and that his destiny was awaiting him.
Amongst Sean’s countless attributions to hip hop one of the greatest is “Music with a Purpose” the movement. Sean has made songs about disability, environmentally conscious songs, songs on the troops in Iraq and on life and general and felt that the “Music with a Purpose” the movement was the perfect summary for his music and its overall objective. Sean’s whole purpose with the self imposed movement was to create “Songs that grab the listener’s attention and enable them to actually learn something or perhaps change something in their lives and make life a better place in general”.
Currently outside of working on his new mixtape “Sincerely Dedicated”, focusing on the growth of his newly founded signature clothing line and being a family man to his wonderful fiancée Shannon and stepdaughter Savannah; Sean has yet one more major project that he is successfully pursuing. After being enlightened by motivational speaker / health educator Dr. John Pelizza at Sage College in Hudson whom had viewed his video “open your eyes”; Sean decided to selflessly contribute to the community once again. The propelling professor had asked him one day if he “was a doer or a babbler” and Sean replied “a doer of course”. Dr. Pelizza then suggested that he should do something with kids since he has such a knack for lyrics. After little contemplation and some inspiring motivation from the good doctor Sean created a program for kids called “The 5 steps to success”. The program consists of 5 songs that focus on preparing for school, hard work, strength, choosing the right path and achieving the impossible. “These are my 5 steps to success for a kid to succeed and be whatever they want to be. I have been in the newspaper for starting my tour for Kids in School; Dr. John took me under his wing and gave me a chance to back up my words, and like all other things I came through and actually came up with something really great for kids. I feel like I am a kid at heart, I am a very easy going individual. I can connect with the kids, I am not afraid to get anyone my message; kids, young adults. Parents, grandparents it really doesn’t matter. If I can make a change, I will. If I can get a kid to study harder, stay out of gang life, if I can teach that child not to let anyone put them down… then I have done my job.” WHO EVER SAID THERE AREN’T ANGELS ON EARTH! Sean Delaney is living proof! I even made the statement to Sean that most rappers would bitch about touring elementary schools and asked him why he loves it so much. Sean humbly replied “I’m not sure but I know that I enjoy anything if it includes me being on stage; I will do anything if it has to do with my music. Giving back to the community is a great way to earn respect from your peers; it brings out the haters too but that’s another interview… haha”. True indeed Mr. Delaney! Entrepreneur, self maintained/managed/promoted music artist, soon to be father and husband, direct support professional, part time consultant for NYSACRA(The New York Association of Community and Residential Activities), National Alliance of Direct Professionals member and a forefather of the Direct Support Professional Alliance of New York State are just a few jewels in this role model/mentors crown. With such sincere dedication and versatility it is absurd that there hasn’t been a label to sign him yet. Rap is not dead and Sean Delaney is an affirmative confirmation of that. Sean Delaney is … SINCERELY DEDICATED.
Sean Delaney’s music and clothing line can be found at www.seandelaneyworld.com , www.myspace.com/seandelaneymusic , www.soundclick.com/lyricallegend and of course my own personal site www.iPromoteMe.org . This interview in its entirety on video is underway and will be available in June.
- Gigi Capone, (Tapwire Magazine)