Homeless Denver Musician Makes A Splash On iTunes
DENVER (CBS4) - A homeless Denver man who plays regularly on the 16th Street Mall has made it onto iTunes.
David Adebonojo, who uses the performance name Dred Scott, moved to Denver sixteen years ago for the music scene. He found work and had an apartment. But then things went wrong. The apartment was infested by bed bugs.
"I couldn't work because I wasn't sleeping. Then I got behind in rent," he told CBS4 on Friday from his performance spot on the mall.
Now he does what he loves full time, but income is inconsistent.
"I've come out here, set up, played, broke a string, made a dollar, and left. I've come out here, played, and made $300," he said.
Three weeks ago local musician Tyler Ward stumbled onto Adebonojo's talent.
"I had dinner on 16th street mall and right after I came outside I was walking outside and on the corner, I heard this amazing sound and was like, 'Who is that?'" Ward told CBS4.
Joining forces with a Christian outreach group His Love Street, Ward shot a video for YouTube of Adebonojo performing. This week they got an EP of Dred Scott's music on iTunes. It has already generated almost $2,000.
It wasn't enough right away to take him off the streets, but Adebonojo is hopeful the help he's getting to get his music heard will change his life for the better.
"That's what these guys have done for me ... you know, take my music and make it available to larger groups of people," said Adebonojo, who says the Internet was the "next logical step" for him but he didn't know enough about the web to figure out how to make it happen.
Watch Dred Scott perform Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?" in its entirety in the video below:
Ward, who runs an online independent label, would love to see Adebonojo get popular enough to be able to get off the streets and into clubs, and perhaps tour.
Adebonojo says his music is something akin to "anti-pop."
"Pop is like the majority of everything so there has to be a counterweight on it. There has to be serious music. And I provide serious music."
LINK: Dred Scott - Live From 16th Street Mall (on iTunes)
LINK: His Love Street
LINK: Tyler Ward Music
