Zayvion Hamiel is 13 years old, an eighth-grader at Overbrook Educational Center, and already one of the most talked-about young performers to come out of North Philadelphia. He raps under the name Zaymoney, has shared festival bills with Jay-Z and Erykah Badu, and before every show he sits in silence to meditate. But the reason he picked up a microphone in the first place traces back to a single violent night in Southwest Philadelphia that took his 19-year-old cousin's life.
A Cousin's Killing Sparked a Mission
Maurice Quann was fatally shot during a party in Southwest Philadelphia on July 4, 2024, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Hamiel has said a call for people to come shoot prompted his cousin's killing. The shooting happened on the 1900 block of South Salford Street near Francis Myers Recreation Center, where a gunman in a white Toyota Highlander fired 17 shots into a crowd, wounding eight other young people between the ages of 14 and 24, per the Inquirer's earlier reporting on the attack.
Philadelphia police officials later said the July 4 shooting was connected to a June 14, 2024 mass shooting in Fairmount Park that killed 17-year-old Isya Stanley, with both incidents tied to social media-promoted pop-up parties involving connected youth promoters, according to CBS News. That pattern — youth gatherings advertised online and caught in simmering neighborhood feuds — became the backdrop for Hamiel's pivot from aspiring rapper to youth advocate, launching a diversion program under his parents' nonprofit to educate peers about gun violence, drug use, and gang culture.
From Family Rehearsals to the Roots Picnic Main Stage
Hamiel has been rapping since age 6, inspired by songs against street violence written by his eight older siblings, the Inquirer reports. He rehearses with his older brothers Treyvon Hamiel and Tamaj Garner at his family's community center, work that paid off during the 2026 Roots Picnic, held May 30 to 31 at Fairmount Park's Belmont Plateau. Hamiel performed on May 31 as one of the youngest featured acts ever booked at the festival, taking the AT&T stage in front of thousands and performing his songs “Pop Out” and “Philly Anthem.”
He also performed at the Africatown Diaspora Festival in Southwest Philadelphia on June 28, 2026, part of a touring schedule that has carried him to concert and festival stages from New York to Miami. His song “Pop Out” caught the attention of DJ Doc B, a longtime radio DJ and program director, who played the track on Power 99 FM. Hamiel counts Philadelphia rappers Fis Banga and Amir Ali among his fans, and he's also released “Rich,” featuring Amari Bryant.
A Platform Beyond the Stage
Hamiel's advocacy has reached well beyond local festival stages. On September 22, 2026, he spoke on a panel titled Truth Behind the Trendlines: Reducing Gun Violence at the Clinton Global Initiative's 2026 Annual Meeting in New York City, appearing alongside Cure Violence Global CEO Dr. Monique Williams and Northwell Health Director of Gun Violence Prevention Dr. Chethan Sathya. There, he spoke about sustaining gun-violence prevention strategies amid declining funding.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has encouraged Hamiel to continue making his music. His mother, Joanne Hamiel, put it simply: Zayvion is trying to save young people. In his own lyrics, Hamiel weaves in messages encouraging education and recreational activities, using his platform to promote positivity and nonviolence. He has said he wants young people to believe in themselves and avoid negative behavior.
Building a Studio — and a Block Party — Back Home
Much of that message takes shape inside Zay's House, Hamiel's home studio. Reporting by Chalkbeat in April described the space as an alternative venue for Philadelphia teens seeking to make music outside drill rap, a subgenre popular among local youth that critics say can glorify and escalate street rivalries. Hamiel also expanded into film at age 12, releasing the youth comedy Zay Friday in March 2025, co-starring his older brother Trevon and featuring local Philadelphia youth actors, according to Shadow Trax Media Arts.
In August 2026, Hamiel organized Carnival in the Hood at Cumberland Square Park, selecting vendors and securing sponsorships for the free event, which drew more than 600 people. By Hamiel's own account, the carnival saw no fighting or shootings. The event grew out of the same family nonprofit, Shadow Trax Media Arts, founded by his parents, Joanne and Rodney Hamiel, in 2007 and based at 3527 N. Ninth St. in North Philadelphia. The center supports aspiring creators in podcasting, modeling, graphic design, dancing, and t-shirt making, giving Hamiel and his 10 siblings — including Treyvon and Tamaj — a built-in creative home base.
A Citywide Backdrop of Falling Homicides, Lingering Danger
Hamiel's rise has coincided with a notable shift in Philadelphia's violence numbers. Citywide homicides fell 24.8% year-to-date through October 12, 2026 compared with the same stretch in 2025, dropping from 177 to 133, according to Hoodline's analysis of Philadelphia Police Department figures. Still, nonfatal shootings remain a persistent problem: the Philadelphia City Controller's Office recorded 426 nonfatal shooting victims through late September 2026, with nonfatal injuries accounting for roughly 79% of all gun violence casualties citywide that year, per a separate Hoodline report.
That mix of progress and persistent risk is the landscape Hamiel's parents have worked in for years. This month, Joanne and Rodney Hamiel were awarded the Fighter for the Fifth community award by Philadelphia 5th District civic leaders at Chalmers Park, recognizing their sustained youth leadership and anti-violence work, according to a post from the Philadelphia 5th District Council Office. For a family that turned a personal tragedy into a studio, a nonprofit, and now a national platform, the recognition lands as one more marker of a mission that started with the loss of one teenager and has grown into a citywide call for safer youth spaces.
