In his early teens, Danny Tran was not expected to graduate high school, after dropping out halfway through his senior year. Today at 30, he is a student at City College, eligible for four AA degrees, pursuing a music career, all while preparing to transfer to UCSB in the fall.
Tran’s journey was not one he envisioned for himself as a child, but through this, he was able to find not only his passion but also his saving grace, music.
Currently going by the stage name Deity and having four albums out, his 12-year music career came from humble beginnings, with two friends and a garage.
“When I was 18, I was meeting my buddy Angel at his parent’s house, and we would write music together,” Tran said. “We would comb through beat selections, pick out a beat, sing together, rap together, and we’d record in the corner of his garage with these mattresses that we found to reduce noise.”
The two went by “The Goonie Crew” and produced music together on platforms like Reverb Nation, and Soundcloud during their years at Dos Pueblos High School. This was until the time he spent in a behavioral rehabilitation center began to change Tran’s immediate path.
Tran had always been a motivated student, taking dual enrollment courses while in high school and striving to excel academically. After his time in rehabilitation, he began to fall behind in school and feel ousted by his friends at school.
“I felt like my identity changed because of my peers,” Tran said. “I didn’t connect with my friends, it was probably more of me feeling like they were looking at me differently.”
This led to him ultimately dropping out of Dos Pueblos High School, finishing at an alternative high school, and putting his music career on the back burner. He began taking classes at City College after his graduation in 2012 but did not have the same drive he once did before his time in rehabilitation.
“Something changed in me, I wasn’t as motivated. I didn’t really know what my aim or trajectory was,” Tran said. “Like, I’m gonna become an engineer, or I’m gonna become a doctor, or whatever a substantial title is because my parents tell me to, but it has to really come from within.”
After a short stint at City College, Tran left the education world to pursue work and did not fully return until the spring of 2024.
Through his break from education, Tran never gave up on his artistry, though it wasn’t always lucrative. He views songwriting and singing as his form of therapy and has also explored avenues such as sketching and painting.
“With writing music, one of the motivations is freedom of expression, but it’s also very therapeutic,” Train said. “I have so much to say, and when I can write it concisely in a song and share it with the world, that’s the best experience. Especially getting the feedback if it’s negative or positive.”
Tran continues to develop himself as an artist in many different ways, going to a “Sunday mastermind” every week, where he collaborates with other artists about his music, as well as continuously producing music, with over 60 songs currently released.
His knack for self-expression through songwriting became more than a passion project in the winter of 2018, after another stint in rehabilitation, which in turn caused a severe depressive episode.
“I was at home in a depressive episode for almost a half year, it wasn’t until 2019 that I started really coming out of that coma,” Tran said. “[Through music] I was able to find my voice again, and find myself again.”
After coming out of this low, Tran began to take his artistry more seriously, traveling to Los Angeles every week to record music.
He strives to be a “conscious rapper”, avoiding lyrics that degrade women, promote violence, etc.
“It’s more conscious rap in the sense of, your words have value, so whatever you say or speak about gets recorded and gets broadcasted out into the universe, and you know what you say may come back true,” Tran said.
After gaining more traction with his career as an artist, reaching over 30,000 streams on his single, Fake Love, Tran decided to return to City College to finish his education.
Since returning to City College in 2024 as a Communication major, Tran has aced all of his courses and finished enough credits to transfer to UCSB in the fall of 2025.
He continues to be a full-time student and artist, releasing his next EP in November of 2024.
“Music saved my life,” Tran said. “And music is still saving my life. Whatever you want in life, show up for it, you don’t know what the outcome will be.”