User:FuriousFreddy/Danny!

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Danny!
Danny! performing live at Island Breeze, March 2007.
Background information
Born	August 18, 1983 (1983-08-18) (age 24)
Origin	Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Genre(s)	Hip-Hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper, Record producer
Years active	2004 - present
Label(s)	1911 Music/Badenov Records (2004 - 2006) Definitive Jux (2007 - )
Website	DannySwain.com DefinitiveJux.net

Danny!, also known as D. Swain (born Daniel Keith Swain, August 18, 1983 in Killeen, Texas), is an American hip-hop performer and record producer from Columbia, South Carolina, a former student of the Savannah College of Art & Design and, most recently, a recording artist for Definitive Jux Records. Garnering praise -- and fielding minor criticism -- for being an atypical rapper relying heavily on sampled tracks, Danny released four self-produced studio albums, two instrumental albums and even a greatest hits compilation prior to his affiliation with Def Jux. He is often seen wearing his trademark oxford shirt and pinstriped necktie, a fashion style he adopted during high school.

Danny is most notable for his critically-acclaimed 2006 album Charm, which is widely considered his best work to date. Charm would eventually go on to be listed in seven different categories on the 49th Annual Grammy Award short list^[1], helping Danny to become South Carolina's most heralded hip-hop artist.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early Career (1999 - 2001)

Danny began producing at an early age, but by the time he was 16 years old he had developed a style all his own courtesy of the keyboards and sequencers his mother would buy for him. A hobby he had only intended to pursue "for fun", Danny began to take producing music seriously when he sold his first beat at age 17. Following his initial reluctance to rap, he started penning his own lyrics and eventually recorded makeshift songs first on his boombox (via cassette tape), then later on his personal computer. Early Danny songs mimicked rapper Eminem's multi-syllabic shock lyrics; Danny has openly admitted to copying Eminem's flow early on. [[Image:TCKO2.jpg|thumb|left|Though The College Kicked-Out, Danny's debut album, received fierce criticism for its derivative title, it succeeded in establishing Danny as a unique talent and served as a refreshing departure from the South's crunk movement of the time.]]

[edit] College Life (2001 - 2003)

After high school Danny matriculated at Claflin University, a liberal arts college 50 miles from his hometown of Columbia, and enrolled in the college's fledgling "Call Me Mister" program. While at Claflin Danny began to stray from the keyboard-crafted beats he was known for and started experimenting with sampling. Influenced greatly by rapper and producer RZA, Danny used a sampler to loop up soul records and started creating songs that he felt had more structure to them. The success of Ghostface Killah's Supreme Clientele and Jay-Z's The Blueprint further validated the relevance of such a style of production for Danny and inspired him to work on an album of his own; Danny has stated that hearing a demo version of Freeway's "What We Do (Is Wrong)" for the very first time was the definitive point in which he decided to incorporate samples into his production.

A campus-wide grade-changing scandal^[2] forced Danny to leave Claflin University in November 2003, just as he was putting the finishing touches on his debut album, then titled The Danny Swain LP. Though no proof or evidence was ever presented, Danny was accused of orchestrating a scheme in which 300+ students' grades had been altered in exchange for money, and was expelled from the university.

[edit] Post-Claflin (2003 - 2006)

After spending nearly a year rebuilding his reputation and networking with local rappers back home, Danny released his debut album, now renamed The College Kicked-Out, in late 2004. Much to his chagrin, the CD's otherwise feel-good vibe would become overshadowed not by Danny's dubious past, but by those who panned the effort as a carbon-copy of Kanye West's own debut album, The College Dropout. Critics felt Danny's style of production at the time, which heavily utilized pitch-altered vocal samples, was far too similar to West's. MC's in the Columbia area ridiculed Danny and refused to continue to work with him, which Danny would allude to in much of his later work.

Danny was later accepted to the Savannah College of Art & Design and relocated to Savannah, Georgia accordingly; it was here that he began to work on his second project, F.O.O.D. Visibly bothered by the reception to his debut album, the Daisy Age-influenced MC spent much of F.O.O.D. verbally attacking his detractors; otherwise decent songs on the LP were overlooked by the out-of-place, retaliatory tracks. Nevertheless, Danny began to develop a moderate following -- albeit primarily on the internet -- and fans began to know him for his rich production, usage of satire and, at times, humor that ranged from quirky to self-deprecating.

[edit] Breakthrough (2006 - 2007)

[[Image:Grammyslogo49.jpg|thumb|right|Danny shocked many when he announced his 2006 album Charm had been included on the Grammy short list for that year, garnering a total of seven "pre-nominations". Since Danny did not have a manager or, at the time, a record deal, this was seen by many as an astonishing feat.]] In March 2006 Danny officially released his third and allegedly final LP Charm, a concept album in which he has credited The Miracles' City of Angels as his inspiration. The album was notable for featuring an underlying theme of escapism, narrating the story of a musician who wants to achieve success through music and be reprieved of the day-to-day routine in his hometown. The protagonist, which is believed to be Danny himself, dreams that he actually becomes famous and wealthy, only to realize towards the album's closing that perhaps fame wasn't meant for everybody, particularly him. The album ends with the musician awakening from his dream, only to be approached by a label executive shortly afterwards. Lauded by a variety of music aficionados and online magazines, Charm went on to become Danny's biggest success and, ironically, help make the entire premise of the album come true in real life.

The first of two nomination ballots for the Grammy Awards of 2007 was uploaded onto the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS) website in October 2006 and selected tracks from Charm were listed in various categories and fields, making Danny the first hip-hop artist from South Carolina to achieve such a feat. This was particularly noteworthy due to the fact that Danny was neither signed to a record label nor an artist management agency at the time. None of his selected songs, however, made it from the short list to the second nomination ballot, which is comprised of artists and songwriters who receive the top five votes in a category (and are from then on classified as "Grammy nominees"). Nonetheless, Danny chronicled his album's recognition by the Recording Academy on his Myspace page in a four-part blog series.

Shortly before the Grammy announcement was made, Danny quietly released an instrumental album, Dream, Interrupted, abroad. A sequel, Dream, Fulfilled, was also released overseas in April of the following year. Both albums, which Danny has jokingly referred to as "sensationalized beat tapes", are extremely rare; only a small number of copies exist stateside and are thus highly sought after in the US. Rumors of a third and final installment to complete the trilogy -- Dream, Extinguished -- swirled for months before Danny actually confirmed its release in the wake of his upcoming album, And I Love H.E.R.: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, being delayed. However, Dream, Extinguished was abruptly withdrawn the day before its release.

[edit] Present (2007 - )

Despite his success, Danny had long insisted that Charm will indeed be his final album as a solo artist. Citing such reasons as a desire to finish his education, an oversaturated market and a fickle audience, he had mentioned in various interviews that he had no plans to ever release another LP commercially. However, in January of 2007 Danny finally received his big break when he was declared the winner of the Best Music On Campus contest sponsored by MTVu and Definitive Jux Records^[3]. The record deal that resulted from the win forced him out of "retirement" to record an EP for the Def Jux label and release a 12" single -- to be accompanied by a music video slated for an exclusive premiere on MTVu -- with fellow Jukie Mr. Lif.

[[Image:Def jux banner.gif|thumb|left|The release of Charm resulted in unanimous acclaim, inclusion on the Grammy Award pre-nomination ballot and, eventually, a recording contract with Definitive Jux Records by proxy. Danny, however, has yet to actually release an album through the label.]] In an interesting twist, however, the unpredictable Danny announced plans of a self-released EP, Danny Is Dead, to serve as a prequel for his as-yet-untitled Definitive Jux debut EP. Initially, news of the project was met with confusion; though fans were undoubtedly eager for another studio album from Danny, most people erroneously believed that the EP was in lieu of some sort of defection from Definitive Jux. Danny quickly refuted the rumor; reaffirming his addition to Def Jux's roster, the characteristically-outspoken producer/rapper revealed his decision to release an independent project had stemmed solely from overwhelming pressure from fans for new material. Since contract negotiations with Def Jux had yet to be finalized at the time^[4], Danny was not yet legally bound by the label and was therefore free to give fans one final album as an unsigned artist.

As such, Danny Is Dead was released in July 2007 via his own Badenov Records/1911 Music vanity label to positive reviews. Anticipation was further fueled when its first single, "Check It Out", was featured exclusively both on URB Magazine's website as part of their year-long "Next 1000" campaign, and in Pitchfork Media's "Forkcast"^[5]. Danny Is Dead would later go on to be included on the 50th Annual Grammy Award short list^[6], giving Danny the honor of being recognized by the Recording Academy two years in a row.

[[Image:A_Hard_Days_night_movieposter.jpg|thumb|right|In late 2007 Danny revealed the name of his upcoming fifth album, And I Love H.E.R.. The album's cover is clearly homage to the Beatles' poster for their 1964 film A Hard Day's Night; it is rumored that the album's sound will also be reminiscent of what was popularized by bands associated with the "British Invasion" of the 1960s.]] Danny recently caved in to frequent requests from fans regarding the re-release of his albums prior to Charm and pressed up a small number of copies of his first two titles, The College Kicked-Out and F.O.O.D., for resale. He also revealed plans to offer his once-scarce catalogue, including Dream, Interrupted and its successors, for sale through digital outlets such as iTunes, Napster and eMusic. Meanwhile, a "best of" compilation titled 21st Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Danny! was released not even a month after Danny Is Dead appeared in stores. Intended to help those who were just hearing of Danny to "catch up"^[7], the tracks chosen for the disc were selected by fans via a private e-mail sent to recipients on Danny's mailing list.

To date, the recently-signed Danny remains reclusive, making sporadic appearances while finishing work on his fifth studio album -- later revealed to be a pseudo-soundtrack titled And I Love H.E.R. -- and continuing to receive features in various hip-hop related publications and websites as an artist on the rise.

[edit] Discography

Main article: Danny! discography

Studio albums

Instrumental albums

Compilations

EPs

[edit] See also

• Alternative hip-hop
• Hip hop production
• Conscious rap

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Danny!

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Danny!

• DannySwain.com
• CaféSurreàl.co.uk (unofficial fan site)
• Danny! on MySpace
• Danny! on AllMusic
• Danny! on AOL Music
• Danny! on ARTISTdirect
• Danny! on DefinitiveJux.net
• Danny! on MTV.com
• Danny! on Okayplayer
• Danny! on VH1.com