Leon DeRose has overcome a tough childhood to become an artist, poet and hip-hop MC.
As a child, DeRose contracted meningococcal disease and was in a coma for nine months. Coming out of the coma, he had to re-learn how to walk and talk.
DeRose’s father also died when he was three. One of his best friends was killed at the age of 12, and another friend committed suicide.
DeRose said he had also been diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, but credited his creativity with helping him to conquer his past.
The Wyndham Vale resident, 30, said he had never picked up a paint brush or written a lyric until three years ago.
DeRose said he wrote his first poem after years of “turning off my emotions”.
“I got sick of not feeling emotions and wanted to find my voice,” he said.
“I’m now a completely different person – the way I see the world, the way my emotions are – almost nothing about me is the same.”
Under the alias of ChameLeon, DeRose has released two online musical albums, Lizard Life and Musical Scales.
See facebook.com/Chameleonhiphop/ or chameleonhiphop.bandcamp.com for details.
