| Daniel Adams-Ray | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Daniel David John Adams-Ray |
| Also known as | Big-Danne |
| Born | 18 August 1983 Nairobi, Kenya |
| Genres | Hip hop, pop |
| Occupations | Designer, singer |
| Associated acts | Snook |
| Website | http://www.danieladamsray.com/ |
Daniel David John Adams-Ray (born 18 August 1983 in Nairobi, Kenya) is a Swedish rapper, singer, and fashion designer.[1]
Contents |
Daniel Adams-Ray was born in Kenya to an Indonesian mother and a father of Swedish/Scottish heritage. His mother was a school administrator and his father a medical surgeon. In 1996 the family left Africa for Europe and lived in Netherlands for a year before settling in Sweden. (In Holland he played football with a very young Arjen Robben.)[1] The family settled in Lidingö,[2] an affluent suburb to Stockholm, where his parents own and operate a plastic-surgery clinic.[3] Daniel Adams-Ray says he felt very much like an outsider and says he was bullied and called racist slurs. After switching high schools he found a school that fitted him better and met Oskar Linnros. The two started the alternative hip hop group Snook.[1]
Snook released two albums and received both praise and heavy criticism. The band's unorthodox hip hop was met by comments that the band wasn't "keeping it real" and the fact that Adams-Ray spent his teenage years in Lidingö caused critics to label them "upper class rappers".[4][5] Despite some critics, the band had many hits, received awards from radio station P3,[6] The 2003 Swedish Hip-hop Awards 2003, and best Swedish band at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2006. Daniel Adams-Ray won the Swedish freestyle-rap championship in 2004 and was awarded the prize for best Swedish rapper in 2005.[2]
Adams-Ray and Oskar Linnros drifted apart. Adams-Ray attended the design school Berghs School of Communication[7] and started the fashion label Lagom. During a fashion show in 2009 he produced some music and this led to new songs (with him singing, not rapping). He says his music might be called Kenyan pop-disco-indie-punk.[1] Influenced range from Motown-disco, afro beat, hip-hop and early 60's surf pop.[8]