This weekend, family and friends gathered in Bridgeport for the funeral of DeMonte Anozine. The 20-year-old was killed in a crash early Tuesday morning that closed down I-95 in Fairfield for several hours.
Anozine was born and raised in Bridgeport, the son of Haitian immigrants. His cousin, Piagett, said he was the funniest person she ever met, and people were drawn to him. "He was the most popular person," she said. "He was always smiling, always laughing, always telling a joke. He was more concerned about other people than himself."
Piagett Anozine grew up with Demonte, and said that her cousin, despite his small stature, was quite athletic. He was a hip hop dancer, and before that, a basketball player at St. Ambrose School, where he earned the nickname Speedy.
When Demonte Anozine turned his talents to rap music, he took the name "Speedy the Degenerate."
Piagett said Demonte was driven to be a good rapper. "He put a lot of time and effort into it, more than anything else," she said. "He was always keeping me updated, telling me, oh, I'm getting better, I'm getting better."
"I like his voice, his flows, his delivery, and he writes about topics that he can really relate to," said Atlanta hip hop producer Jarod the Sixth, who worked with Speedy on several projects. He said Speedy's talent as a rapper could have taken him far. "I would say he could have changed people's perspective on a lot of things, because he was a great person," said Jarod the Sixth.
DeMonte Anozine was killed early Tuesday morning. He was a passenger in a car that collided with another car on I-95 in Fairfield. He was 20 years old. According to Piagett Anozine, DeMonte was coming back from a performance at New York City's Webster Hall.
