Get to know the Raiders: Why music led Darren Waller out of ‘darkness’ and to success
.JPG "Darren Waller is not just a football player for the Las Vegas Raiders. He also makes music.")
Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller will always say yes to making music.
Waller has released two albums and is back at it. “Once the season ended, it’s been super productive for me as far as writing and recording,” he told The Fresno Bee.
He was productive on the football field, too, emerging as the Raiders’ top receiving threat last season with 90 catches for 1,145 yards and three touchdowns.
In October, the 27-year-old signed a four-year extension that is worth at least $29 million, according to Spotrac.
Even with his busy schedule during the football season, Waller continued to “carve out some time” to write music during flights.
“I’ll be making beats the entire flight and I’ll just go over some ideas on the spot or make the beats vibe out and come back and write something later,” he said.
On Sept. 13, Waller released his second album (Wall Street) on his 27th birthday. The track can be found on Spotify.
His first album came out in 2017 titled “Better Call Wall” under the name D. Wall.
Familiar name: Fats Waller
Waller traces his passion for music to family and need.
Family goes back to his grandfather, legendary jazz musician Fats Waller whose credits include “Ain’t Misbehavin.’”
Need, he told The Bee, came when he was battling a drug addiction (revealed during the HBO preseason series “Hard Knocks”): “I was in Baltimore, I was just like a vegetable,” Waller recalled on “Hard Knocks.” “I was getting high, literally, every day. Whatever I could get my hands on. Like opiates first, like oxy pills, stuff like that. Xanax, cocaine. Not caring about anything, any kind of consequences, or anything like that.”
Music, he told The Bee, “was a real positive outlet for me. It was a time of my life where things on the outside world wasn’t all that great for me, but music was a great positive escape for me.”
After two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, Waller came to the Raiders. He was an afterthought in 2018 before his breakout 2019 season.
“I believe in quality music,” he said. “Something that is not to be messed around. You just put your all into it and it’s a good outlet for me. I don’t have to be myself and sitting still just let my mind race 1,000 miles per hour. I can spend my time in music to express myself. It’s a tool that really helped me in the midst of darkness areas of my life.”
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 3:13 PM.
