Rapper DevMo has said that seeing her famous uncle's success helped inspire her to break the entertainment industry herself.
Los Angeles-born rapper DevMo is being called the breakout star of the year. But here's a surprising connection, did you know that she is the niece of Riverdance supremo Michael Flatley?
The artist, real name Devin Moses, topped the charts with her debut tracks "Kylie Jenner" and "Hollywood" earlier this year. In an exclusive interview with the Irish Sun, the flame-haired rapper said that her uncle was a major inspiration for her.
"Just seeing the success my uncle had made the possibility of “making it” seem so real to me. I knew if I worked hard, I could make myself a success too," she told the outlet.
Moses' mother Annie is Michael's older sister. The fledgling performer said that before Riverdance became the runaway success it is now, the Flatleys all lived together in Los Angeles.
"Growing up we would go see his shows all the time and it was incredibly inspiring to me. I loved the music and lighting and, of course, the dancing. I thought it was incredible how rhythmic the dancers were using just their feet," she recalled.
While dancing was not her forté, Moses was taken by the rhythm. During her high school years in Santa Monica, she was captivated by West Coast Hip-Hop stars like Tupac, Dr.Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick Lamar.
"I was constantly listening to Drake, Kid Cudi, E-40, Kanye West, Eminem, Tech N9ne, Hopsin, Yelawolf, Rittz and so many more. I could rap their songs flawlessly and when I did, it felt like I was solving an intricate algebra problem," she said.
With her fiery red hair, Moses laughed that people were shocked to hear she actually could rap. She began writing and making her own beats and lyrics, and record them on her laptop. She then joined an emerging rap group at her school and the rest, as they say, is history.
“My first performance was on their set at the House of Blues Hollywood in the foundation room. I was intensely nervous because the room was packed with people from my High School who wanted to see if I could actually spit," she said.
“It was my first taste of performing live and I think I fell in love with that aspect of music more than anything else.”
The up-and-comer also told the outlet that she spent a semester studying at University College Dublin - and called Ireland her "second home".
"I’ve spent time with my grandmother Elizabeth at her home, and recently my mother and I spent some time at the family’s 300-year-old farm house making it beautiful and enjoying the quiet nature."
Read More: Michael Flatley's dodgy dance at Trump inauguration was a 'huge mistake'
Read More: 24 years ago today, Riverdance changed Irish dance forever
"If I’m ever feeling sad or stagnant, I try to get away to Ireland. There’s something so healing about it. I hope to spend a longer length of time in Ireland in the near future and hopefully come back for another show," she noted.
Read More: Lord of the Dance Michael Flatley's $23.4m Cork mansion fails to sell
Comments