Dario McCarty F r e e l a n c e W r i t i n g P o r t f o l i o Politics Music Fashion ‘Dark money’ group pushing ‘woke heat-maps’ targeting schools has ties to Christian education foundation - OpenSecrets News Electronic Monitoring Is Not True Reform - Progressive Magazine This article is an original piece of investigative reporting complete with accompanying data visualizations which I created in LucidChart and Datawrapper. It was featured on CNN and the Washington Post. It recieved 1300+ Retweets and 1100+ likes on Twitter. "Political groups and nonprofits aligned with the Democratic Party have spent nearly $44 million on advertising campaigns across five states’ Republican primaries to boost the profile of far-right candidates in California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Maryland. Democrats strategy is rooted in the belief that these candidates — many of whom spread unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential race was stolen from former President Donald Trump — will be easier to defeat in a general election." This article is an original piece of investigative journalism complete with accompanying data visualizations which I created in LucidChart and Datawrapper. It received 110+ retweets and 100+ likes on Twitter. "A Missouri-based 'dark money' group that recently launched an online map targeting what they claim are 'hotspots' of 'woke activity' in the state has deep ties to the Stanley M. Herzog Charitable Foundation, a Christian education organization, an OpenSecrets investigation found." This article is a brief but impactful opinion editorial (op-ed) piece. The article was pitched and written by me. "When proponents of monitoring argue that it saves money, what they are conveniently leaving out is the way in which it does so — namely, that instead of the state spending public funds to house defendants in jail, defendants’ home incarceration is outsourced to private electronic monitoring companies who in turn fund these programs by charging defendants up to hundreds of dollars a month in fees. It means that defendants, who historically are those most poorly positioned to do so, must bear the financial burden for their own pretrial incarceration before they even have a chance to prove their innocence." The Rappers Pushing Milan's Drill Movement Forward - Passion of the Weiss This article is a round-up of first generation Italian drill rappers from San Siro, Milan. I researched and wrote about how the musical movement was in part a product of the country's disenfranchisement of many first generation Italian immigrants. "Gucci side bags, the rosso e neri of AC Milan soccer kits, billowing Moroccan flags, and crude hand rolled spliffs. These are the trademark visuals that accompany the rapped tales of mobsters and portside drug buys coming out of the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. The neighborhood – more commonly known for being the home of the San Siro soccer stadium where AC Milan plays their soccer matches – is one of Italy’s largest centers of public housing and home to a diverse immigrant community that has become the cradle of a flourishing multicultural Italian drill movement." OhGeesy Wants to Be More Than A Regional Rap Star - OkayPlayer For this article, I interviewed former Shoreline Mafia rap star OhGeesy. I scheduled, recorded, and transcribed the interview in which we discussed his new solo career, his love for graffiti, and more. "OhGeesy’s life wasn’t always the glamor of GQ and Bape. When he was growing up, his father was deported on two separate occasions and his mother, he tells me, came to this country in the trunk of a car. Despite the pop-star aspirations, OhGeesy is acutely aware of the struggle that went into getting him to this position." An Interview With Vallejo Rapper DaBoii - Passion of the Weiss For this article, I profiled former SOB x RBE rap star DaBoii. We discussed growing up In Vallejo, the influence NWA had on him, and more. "DaBoii recently made a significant change to his hair – his once iconic, voluminous afro is gone and replaced by locs. The album cover for his latest album Can’t Tame Us depicts the transformation. It’s a symbolic moment for the rapper, a shedding of his old self that marks the beginning of a new epoch." Public Housing Skate Team's "Authentic Hood Skatewear" - OkayPlayer This article is a feature on Vlad Gomez and Ron Baker's Public Housing Skate Team brand that they started out of the Gun Hill Housing Projects of The Bronx. I also interviewed the two's childhood basketball coach and a Bronx historian for this feature. "Ron and Vlad's designs take inspiration directly from where they have spent their whole lives: Gun Hill. Their logo is a flip of the New York City Housing Authority one. The typeface they use on their branding is taken directly from the numbers and markings stenciled around the projects. The graphics that cover their skateboard decks and T-shirts speak to the events they see in their daily lives." Democrats spend millions on Republican primaries - OpenSecrets News