Dan Bull

Dan Bull

A picture of Dan Bull in Parliament Square, holding a handheld megaphone, standing on a raised platform and addressing protesters

Dan Bull at the Digital Economy Bill demonstrations in London, 24 March 2010
Background information
Birth name Daniel G. L. Bull
Also known as Douglby, Dan Bull
Born 27 March 1986
Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England
Origin Bromsgrove, Worcestershire,
England
Genres Hip hop
Occupation(s) Rapper, songwriter, Gamer
Years active 2006–present
Labels Unsigned
Website itsdanbull.com

Daniel G. L. "Dan" Bull (born 27 March 1986 in Bromsgrove, England) is an English rapper and songwriter known for his politically oriented lyrics and specific addressing of high profile figures in his music. His music has been featured in the British press as part of attempts to save BBC Radio 6,[1][2] campaign against the Digital Economy Bill,[3] and protest in favour of filesharing.[4] He also has Asperger's syndrome and has discussed it in some of his raps, one of them being "A Portrait of The Autist".

Bull is also known for his video game-based raps, and has recently rebooted his "Dan Bull Gaming" channel as DBGames, playing various games with fellow artist Dave Brown and various YouTube personalities such as Michelle 'The RPG Minx', Mark Fischbach, Adam Montoya, and many others.

Musical career

2006 – Present: Other Work (YouTube)

Dan Bull has released songs on subjects such as digital rights, the music industry, and gaming.[5][6][7] Bull's actions have gained attention, specifically from the TalkTalk Group who requested to team up with him against the Digital Economy Bill.[8]

Gaming Raps

Dan has acquired many of his fans through the creation of gaming raps. He has created songs about The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Grand Theft Auto V, Minecraft, BioShock Infinite, Tomb Raider, Dishonored, Assassin's Creed, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Modern Warfare, Mass Effect, League of Legends, Skyrim, Diablo, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Borderlands 2. The Epic Skyrim Rap is his most popular video, with over 11 million views. He was briefly partnered with Machinima, however due to a dispute[9] he now uploads videos independently. He also recorded the theme song for popular YouTuber Nerd³, as well as making a recent appearance with British gaming group, The Yogscast, with the song "Kicky Kicky Flow" (a rap about Simon Lane and Lewis Brindley), and InTheLittleWood rap (a rap about Martyn Littlewood, another Yogscast member).

2009: Safe

Safe tells the story of a man, who undergoes problems in his life, such as love and loss, as demonstrated in the song "Cut" and changing of society in the song "Thistopia". The man then has more problems, and tries committing suicide. The album generally follows the path of the man's story, yet it contains some less related songs, such as "Afterlife", about Dan's lack of faith in God and just commenting on the physiological aspect of death.[10]

2011: Face

Bull announced via his blog that the upcoming album would be available in early 2011. Stating that: "It’s going to be a continuation of the narrative of my first album, but will have a very different feel and mood overall."[11] The album focuses on topics such as medical recovery, war, love, Asperger's syndrome, alcoholism, and pride. Face was released in December 2011. The 12-track album includes ten brand new songs as well as the 2010 tracks America and John Lennon.

2012 – Present: Sharing is caring and "The Garden"

Dan Bull announced via his website that he was aiming to get into the UK and Global charts with his new track "Sharing is caring." He offered it on iTunes, Play.com, Amazon and on torrent via The Pirate Bay. To people who bought all 10 versions of his track, they would be thanked in a music video of his, given that they notify him with sufficient proof. The lyrical content in the different versions of his track were targeted at popular social networking sites, Facebook, Twitter. and Google+. He also offered the instrumental by itself, an A Capella, and remixes of each track.[12] The Animal Circus remix reached the top of the Reggae charts on Amazon UK, and second place in the World category.[13]

In January 2013, Dan announced that he was at work on his third studio album, and that it would be a slight departure from the sound and themes of his previous LPs. The title was announced to be "The Garden" and was released on 31 August 2014.

On March 27th 2015, he released his 4th album, "Bullmatic". It is Bull's re-imagining of Nas' classic 1994 album Illmatic: for example, Nas' "N.Y. State of Mind" is re-imagined as "U.K. State of Mind".[14]

Discography

Studio albums

Videos

References

  1. ↑ Taylor, Matthew (3 March 2010). "BBC 6 Music: fans and stars join growing protest". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  2. ↑ "Dan Bull adds a musical touch to the Save 6Music & the Asian Network campaign". The Metro (London). Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  3. ↑ Garlick, Hattie (26 November 2009). "Peter Mandelson and the Digital Economy Bill: the musical". The Times. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  4. ↑ Phillips, Tom (28 September 2009). "A letter to Lily". The Ridiculant. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  5. ↑ "Dan Bull pens letter to Lily Allen". Excite UK. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  6. ↑ Ivan, Tom (8 November 2010). "News: Want a new Elder Scrolls? So does this UK rapper". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  7. ↑ Gonzalez, Annette (4 July 2010). "The[Crafty]Gamer: Dan Bull (Generation Gaming Rap)". Gameinformer. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  8. ↑ "TalkTalk gets musical with digital economy bill opposition". 15 March 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  9. ↑ Bull, Daniel. "About Dan Bull". itsdanbull.com. Daniel Bull. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  10. ↑ "Dan Bull – Safe (2009)". Change The Record. 4 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  11. ↑ "FAQ". itsdanbull.com. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  12. ↑ "Sharing is Caring". Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  13. ↑ "Sharing Is Caring (feat. Animal Circus, Adam the Rapper) [Animal Circus Remix] [Explicit]". Retrieved 30 April 2012. #1 in MP3 Downloads > MP3 Songs > Reggae
  14. ↑ http://itsdanbull.com/discography/bullmatic-2015/

External links