Dallas Penn, a trailblazer and unparalleled voice in hip-hop, politics, digital culture, and urban fashion, departed from this world on April 30, 2024, at the age of fifty-three. His wife and partner of twenty years Susan Penn, fondly known on the internets as Chocolate Snowflake, announced his passing on social media:

“Dallas has ascended to the music that was waiting for him. From September 1970 to April 2024, he always said ‘it don’t stop, it won’t stop,’ and he’s waiting for us all at the Funkadelic Stevie Wonder Sean Price party in the sky. Rest my love and see you in our other lifetimes. Love you always, for all time.”

Raised in Queens, New York, in the seventies and eighties during the flourishing of hip-hop, Dallas became a vital voice and chronicler of the scene, making an indelible impact on New York City’s burgeoning music community.

A sharp-eyed observer who could see the humor in dysfunction and worthiness in the overlooked, Dallas was a pioneering blogger and vlogger. He started http://DallasPenn.com in 2003, where he lifted the veil on everything from NYC “politricks” to the intricacies of culture to hilarious and often ribald chronicles of growing up in New York City. His blog quickly became a staple for those interested in authentic representations of hip-hop culture. Dallas wrote from the heart, blurring the stylistic lines between prose and poetry, tempered with the wry stance of someone who was both observer and observed. Never one to shy away from provocation, he carried forward time-honored traditions within Black storytelling such as double- and triple-meaning, wordplay, and sophisticated analysis couched in deceptively simple language. Dallas built observations into narratives that were both incisive and deeply personal.

Dallas’s interest in broadening the scope of his self-expression and the collective conversations he inspired led him to develop a robust video catalog (https://www.youtube.com/@BLUC…) that offers a window into his eclectic interests, ranging from alternative music videos and action-figure shorts to sneaker reviews and the indelible contributions of the film collective, Internets Celebrities (https://internetscelebrities.…) which he founded with Casimir Nozkowski and Rafi Kam. From his paradigm-shifting approach to fast food offerings in the now infamous “Ghetto Big Mac” and the reliance on the “Bodega” in urban food deserts, to the economic realities of legalized usury through check cashing industries in “Checkmate” and the displacement provoked by eminent domain in “Stadium Status,” there was no cow too sacred for Dallas to interrogate.

It is an approach Dallas continued to develop as the charismatic co-host, with Reggie Ossé, of the influential Combat Jack Show (https://soundcloud.com/thecom…) There Dallas infused episodes with his sharp wit and vast knowledge of hip-hop culture, reveling in the margins of acceptability to push the show’s hosts and guests to be both less scripted and more candid. His genuine, unfiltered commentary on the podcast and the Complex TV show (https://www.youtube.com/playl…) made him a beloved figure to listeners who delighted in his unapologetic originality. Dallas was inspired by podcasting as a platform, returning to it several times over the years as guest and host, most notably with The Newlyweds Podcast (co-hosted with Chocolate Snowflake) (https://www.instagram.com/the…) and Talkitecture (https://www.instagram.com/tal…)

In the world of footwear, Dallas was lauded as much for his sneaker and Timberland boot collections and video reviews as he was for his ability to tap into the stories that each represented. Whether as “Uncle Sneaker,” “Godd BootGod,” or via "Sneaker Fiends Unite!" video segments, Dallas explored how what we wear amounts to more than mere fashion—shoes can be symbols of our aspirations and social status, identity, and community belonging, integral to any understanding of the cultural moment. As he shared in a 2021 New York Times piece about putting his best foot forward (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/…)

“The popularity of sneakers has allowed people to pull it out of its root and the root is Black culture. It’s putting yourself together in a fresh outfit and going out on a Sunday. That’s the genesis of it.…And it goes from head to toe, but it starts with the shoe. Because like a house, you need a good foundation.”

Instantly recognizable in person, Dallas was an iconoclast and a self-taught scholar of street fashion, a master of what he termed “outfit architecture.” His journey into fashion began in high school where he developed a passion for "rocking fly shit” to mine the possibilities both personal and political contained within the sharp creases of a reinvented Ralph Lifshitz. In a 2012 interview for Put This On with Jesse Thorn about his Ralph Lauren Polo collection (https://www.putthison.com/put…) he said “You could be anything you imagine yourself [to be]....I just relate it back to tying the towel around my neck and becoming Batman, becoming Superman. This allows me to become a super hero.”

For many, Dallas was just that – a larger than life figure and personality, a big heart who always found a way to invite people in and create a space for their contributions to multiple, ongoing conversations. Dallas nurtured a community that transcended the typical boundaries of fandom – and the community nurtured him in return.

Health challenges prompted Dallas to openly share his struggles with diabetes and his weight. While he was fond of saying, tongue firmly in cheek, “I don’t want to lose weight, I want to sell it to finally make it worth something,” Dallas took these trials seriously, changing his diet and reconnecting with a teenage love of cycling. He used his platform to advocate for more awareness and better care in communities often underserved by the medical mainstream. His honesty and vulnerability around his struggles fostered a connection with and support from a following that saw his experiences as an avatar for living a full, complex life.

Dallas’s work in the culture was so omnipresent that it might surprise some to learn he spent the last twenty-five years working as a Construction Project Manager for New York City’s Department of Design and Construction, allowing him to fulfill a lifelong love of the city and its inhabitants. He reveled in the architectural and engineering details tucked in the corners of cultural institutions, libraries, and police and fire stations. A stalwart union activist, Dallas was Executive Chair and Delegate of Chapter 4 Local 375 DC37. He loved the important work of his colleagues within DDC and across city agencies and the can-do spirit that permeated the projects they took on. This was especially true post-9/11 when Dallas and his colleagues worked tirelessly to clear the World Trade Center site, making way for the eventual memorial that now stands. He understood that the value of the work he did for the city was in helping to make spaces where everyday people could gather in secular and sacred communion.

Dallas Penn created a legacy as vibrant as the city and cultures he adored—a true connector of people and ideas, infinitely curious about the world both seen and unseen, a man who lived passionately and left an indelible mark on our collective cultural fabric.

His absence leaves a void in our personal and cultural landscapes, a testament to the vibrant life he led and the countless lives he touched. In honor of Dallas’ rich legacy, a public Celebration of Life in honor of his birthday is being organized in September 2024 across the many interconnected networks in which he traveled. For more information, visit the Dallas Penn memorial website (http://everloved.com/life-of/…)

Dallas is survived by his wife Susan Penn, his mother Lynda Penn, his younger brother Kito Penn and many dear aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, Susan is requesting donations be made to the Penn Storytelling Fund at The Bklyn Combine, an organization Dallas loved, which provides scholarships for high school and college students focusing on storytelling, podcasting, creative writing, and restorative justice. (https://www.bklyncombine.com/…)

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