WASHINGTON — A precocious 7-year-old from Annapolis, Maryland, who has been rapping and singing since he was a toddler, got his first shot at fame Monday with an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres’ TV show.
Second-grader Dylan Gilmer, whose parents established a “Young Dylan” Instagram page to showcase snippets of his rapping skills, caught the attention of producers of “Ellen,” who arranged for the boy and his mother to travel to Los Angeles for a taping last week, according to the Capital Gazette.
Young Dylan has more than 64,000 Instagram followers. His videos, most consisting of him rapping along with popular hip-hop songs, with his father assisting, show an ability to master the quick and free-flowing lyrics.
His mother told the Capital Gazette that strangers approached her in the grocery store, suggesting Dylan should be on “Ellen.”
“He would do the movements and the gestures,” mother DeAundra DeJesus said. “You wouldn’t think this would be coming from a 6-year-old.”
Dylan said he was “very nervous” to meet Ellen, but she was “very cool” when he met and spoke with her.
In the D.C. area, “Ellen” can be seen on NBC Washington, Channel 4, at 3 p.m.
Watch his appearance:
Here’s more from Dylan’s Instagram page:
