The graffiti tag "Cool 'Disco' Dan" is connotative of all things D.C. during the 1980s and early 1990s—citywide double-dutch competitions, the politics of then Mayor Marion Barry, the war on drugs and coke kingpin Rayful Edmond III. No part of the city was off-limits to the phantomlike Dan, who dropped tags on just about every overpass, wall, metro tunnel, and Dumpster he could find. In D.C. his presence was ubiquitous, even as his identity was unknown.

Known to be a very private person, Dan says he's always been shy. "When I was younger I was very bashful. I had a hard time expressing my thoughts because of my shyness and I didn't speak much, but as I got older I slowly started to break out of my shell, and I started to speak from my heart and through my art," says Dan.