Average Homeboy
{{Short description|American internet personality}}
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Average Homeboy (also known as Denny Blaze and Denny Blazin Hazen) is the creation and alter ego of Cleveland-based AV artist Denny Hazen.{{cite web|last=Stipe|first=Zach|title=Once lost demo vaults rapper to Internet fame|url=http://www.vindy.com/news/2006/jul/28/music-once-lost-demo-vaults-rapper-to-internet/|publisher=Vindy|accessdate=March 24, 2014}}
Hazen (as Blazin Hazen, a self-proclaimed "Suburban White Rapper") was the subject of a circa-1989 video demo tape that mysteriously appeared on YouTube in 2005,{{cite web|last=Kane|first=Dan|title=Unexpected fame continues for 'Average Homeboy'|url=http://www.cantonrep.com/x532925814/Unexpected-fame-continues-for-Average-Homeboy|publisher=Canton Rep|accessdate=March 24, 2014}} and achieved viral video status in a relatively short time.
"Average Homeboy" polarized viewers and critics, who were divided between praising the inherent entertainment value of a sincere, clean-cut teenager in 1980s attire attempting to rap, and denouncing the excesses of the era, absurdity of the rap, and ineptitude of its star, yet it garnered the attention of several prominent news and infotainment entities, including Time{{cite magazine|last=Friedman|first=Megan|title=Top 10 YouTube Train Wrecks|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1975979_1975977_1970506,00.html|magazine=Time |date=March 28, 2010 |access-date=March 24, 2014}} and VH1,{{cite web|title=The Greatest> Ep. 72, 40 Greatest Internet Superstars|url=http://www.vh1.com/video/misc/137829/denny-blaze-the-average-homeboy.jhtml#id=1554283|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100214184918/http://www.vh1.com/video/misc/137829/denny-blaze-the-average-homeboy.jhtml#id=1554283|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 14, 2010|publisher=VH1|accessdate=March 24, 2014}} as well as men's culture magazine Complex, which, in a 2011 article, included it in its list of the 100 Best Viral Videos of the 2000s.{{cite web|title=The 100 Best Viral Videos of the 2000s|url=http://www.complex.com/tech/2011/12/the-100-best-viral-videos-of-the-2000s/denny-blaze-the-average-homeboy|magazine=Complex |accessdate=March 24, 2014}}
Background
Hazen, with the aid of self-purchased synthesizers and AV equipment, recorded, filmed, and edited "Average Homeboy", then sent a VHS copy to MTV, who reportedly shelved it in the same storage area as the thousands of other self-submitted recordings they had received, over the years.{{cite web|title=Propped: Average Homeboy|url=http://www.vh1.com/celebrity/2006-05-10/propped-average-homeboy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313052713/http://www.vh1.com/celebrity/2006-05-10/propped-average-homeboy/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 13, 2014|publisher=VH1 |accessdate=March 24, 2014}} Hazen's video has been described as having been created around 1989, but a 1991 calendar appears in the video. In 2005, the video was uploaded to YouTube by 'K-Maxx' (who claimed to be an MTV employee),{{cite news|last=Rubin|first=Daniel|title=Blinq: Unsung rapper blazes across blogosphere.|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-148511983.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611091231/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-148511983.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 11, 2014|accessdate=March 24, 2014|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required)|date=July 22, 2006}} and as its popularity skyrocketed, it came to the attention of Hazen who was working behind the scenes in radio and television production in the Cleveland/Akron area.{{cite web|title='Average Homeboy' is Back in Action in New Documentary|url=http://www.rightthisminute.com/video/average-homeboy-back-action-new-documentary|publisher=RightThisMinute|accessdate=April 3, 2014}}
Hazen reclaimed his property, and ultimately embraced his new-found fame, reuploading "Average Homeboy" to YouTube in 2006,{{cite video|people=Denny Blaze|title=Average Homeboy|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXb6bjCCtuY|publisher=YouTube|date=2006}} along with other earlier efforts "Blazin Hazen",{{cite video|people=Denny Blaze|title=Blazin Hazen|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA_iMuZ3ZDw|publisher=YouTube|date=2006}} and "Like a Seagull",{{cite video|people=Denny Blaze|title=Like a Seagull|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4uTdeplJzw|publisher=YouTube|date=2007}} and new ones such as "White as Rice",{{cite video|people=Denny Blaze|title=White as Rice|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilUB0GTdfkg|publisher=YouTube|date=2009}} "Black Men Can't Swim",{{cite video|people=Denny Blaze|title=Black Men Can't Swim|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj5urT2VBxo|publisher=YouTube|date=2010}} and a remixed version of "Average Homeboy".{{cite video|people=Denny Blaze|title=Average Homeboy Smooth Remix|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT8bmlnP0XI|publisher=YouTube|date=2009}}
Hazen's popularity as Blaze{{cite web|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/popcandy/post/2007/03/158614/1?loc=interstitialskip#.UyschI5Lq5S |title=A Candy Exclusive: The '40 Greatest Internet Superstars' |website=Content.usatoday.com |date=March 20, 2007 |accessdate=October 10, 2016}} grew to where he received numerous invitations to attend music and internet culture-related venues and gatherings across the country, including the NY Music Festival at Madison Square Garden in 2006,{{cite video|people=Denny Blaze|title=Denny Blaze Performs Live at NY Music Festival|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3-IeSN9ZXM|publisher=YouTube|date=2006}} ROFLCon 2008 (an internet meme convention in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he appeared with other live musical acts of similar origin, including Group X, Leslie Hall, Lemon Demon, and Trocadero),{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89990930 |title=My ROFLCon Weekend: Breakfast with Tron Guy |website=Npr.org |accessdate=October 10, 2016}}{{cite web|author=Caitlin E. Curran |url=http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid60532.aspx |title=LOL in the family - Live Reviews |website=Thephoenix.com |date=April 29, 2008 |accessdate=October 10, 2016}}{{cite web|author= |url=http://kroq.cbslocal.com/2012/01/13/denny-blaze-the-average-homeboy-himself-joins-kevin-bean |title=Denny Blaze, The Average Homeboy Himself, Joins Kevin & Bean « The World Famous KROQ |website=Kroq.cbslocal.com |date=January 13, 2012 |accessdate=October 10, 2016}} He has been a fixture on various internet culture programs, both on television and online, including CollegeHumor,{{cite web|title=CollegeHumor: Average Homeboy Remix|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-148511983.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611091231/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-148511983.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 11, 2014|accessdate=March 24, 2014|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required)|date=July 22, 2006}} G4 TV's Attack Of The Show,{{cite web|author= |url=http://g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/videos/21521/ROFLCon.html |title=ROFLCon Videos |website=G4tv.com |date=April 29, 2008 |accessdate=October 10, 2016}} and Tosh.0 (as the subject of one of Daniel Tosh's 'Web Redemptions').{{cite web|title=Web Redemption: The Average Homeboy|url=http://tosh.comedycentral.com/blog/2010/02/10/web-redemption-the-average-homeboy|publisher=Tosh.0|accessdate=March 24, 2014}}
Present day
On March 8, 2014, Hazen posted a documentary short on his alter ego's origins and journey to internet fame.{{cite video|people=Denny Blaze|title=The Average Homeboy Movie|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5Jp0OTS-yU|publisher=YouTube|date=2014}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.dennyblaze.com}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/theaveragehomeboy YouTube channel]
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Category:American Internet celebrities
Category:Midwest hip-hop musicians
Category:Musicians from Cleveland