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. Events 293 BC - The oldest known Roman temple to Venus is founded starting the institution of Vinalia Rustica. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the US state of South Carolina. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Hip hop is a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latinos. Rapping (also known as emceeing, MCing, spitting, or just rhyming) is the Rhythmic spoken delivery of Rhymes wordplay and In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Definitive Jux is an independent Record label based in New York City, United States. 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. Events 293 BC - The oldest known Roman temple to Venus is founded starting the institution of Vinalia Rustica. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Killeen is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. The population was 112434 at the 2000 census. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Hip hop is a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latinos. The performing arts are those forms of Art which differ from the Plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own Body, Face and presence In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the US state of South Carolina. The Savannah College of Art and Design ( SCAD) is a private college with campuses located in Savannah and Atlanta, GA A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a Definitive Jux is an independent Record label based in New York City, United States. 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. Rapping (also known as emceeing, MCing, spitting, or just rhyming) is the Rhythmic spoken delivery of Rhymes wordplay and Hip hop production is the creation of Hip hop music. Modern hip hop production utilizes samplers, sequencers, Drum machines, Synthesizers A greatest hits album (sometimes referred to as a " best of " album is a Compilation album of successful previously released Songs by a particular He is often seen wearing his trademark oxford shirt and pinstriped necktie, a fashion style he adopted during high school. In American English, a dress shirt is a predominantly men's Shirt with a collar, a full-length opening at the front from the collar to the hem and full The necktie (or tie) is a long piece of cloth worn around the neck resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat

Danny is most notable for his critically-acclaimed 2006 album Charm, which is widely considered his best work to date. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Charm is the critically-acclaimed third studio album from American Rapper / Record producer Danny! (see 2006 in music) 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. The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys —are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences A short list is a list of candidates for a job prize award political position etc South Carolina ( is a state in the southern region ( Deep South) of the United States of America. Hip hop is a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latinos.

Biography

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. Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17 1972 known as Slim Shady and his primary Stage name Eminem, is an Academy Award -winning

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. The College Kicked-Out is the debut album from American Rapper / producer Danny! (see 2004 in music) Crunk is a type of music which originated from Southern hip-hop and EDM in the late 1980s early 1990s.

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. Claflin University is located in Orangeburg South Carolina. Claflin University was founded in 1869 and is the oldest Historically black college or university 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. Lesley Pridgen, better known as Freeway is an American rapper signed to Jay-Z 's Roc-A-Fella imprint under Def Jam Recordings

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. Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts.

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. The College Kicked-Out is the debut album from American Rapper / producer Danny! (see 2004 in music) "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " 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. Kanye Omari West (ˈkɑnjɛj born June 8 1977 is a ten-time Grammy Award -winning American Rapper, Record producer and Singer. The College Dropout is the debut album by Rapper and producer Kanye West, released February 10 2004 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. The Savannah College of Art and Design ( SCAD) is a private college with campuses located in Savannah and Atlanta, GA Savannah is a city located in the state of Georgia, United States. FOOD, released under Danny! 's 1911 Music/Badenov Records Imprint in 2005 (see 2005 in music) is the second full-length studio album De La Soul is a Grammy Award-winning hip hop group They are best known for their eclectic sampling and quirky surreal lyrics and their contributions to the evolution O. O. D. verbally attacking his detractors; otherwise decent songs on the LP were overshadowed 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. The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks

Breakthrough (2006 - 2007)

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". Charm is the critically-acclaimed third studio album from American Rapper / Record producer Danny! (see 2006 in music) The 49th Annual Grammy Awards is a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning September 15, 2005 and ending September 14, 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. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Charm is the critically-acclaimed third studio album from American Rapper / Record producer Danny! (see 2006 in music) The Miracles (known from 1965 to 1972 as Smokey Robinson & the Miracles) is an American Rhythm and blues group from Detroit Michigan, notable 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. Escapism is mental diversion by means of Entertainment or Recreation, as an "escape" from the perceived unpleasant aspects of daily stress. 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. The 49th Annual Grammy Awards is a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning September 15, 2005 and ending September 14, The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences Inc is known variously as The Recording Academy or NARAS. 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"). The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys —are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Nonetheless, Danny chronicled his album's recognition by the Recording Academy on his Myspace page in a four-part blog series. A blog (a contraction of the term " Web log " is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary descriptions of

Shortly before the Grammy announcement was made, Danny quietly released an instrumental album, Dream, Interrupted, abroad. Dream Interrupted is an Instrumental hip hop album by American Rapper / producer Danny!, and the fourth release under A sequel, Dream, Fulfilled, was also released overseas in April of the following year. Danny! 's second Instrumental hip hop album Dream Fulfilled, was released on April 23, 2007 (see 2007 in music) under 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. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 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. And I Love HER Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, also referred to as simply And I Love H However, Dream, Extinguished was abruptly withdrawn the day before its release.

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. Education encompasses both the Teaching and Learning of Knowledge, proper conduct, and technical competency 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]. mtvU (formerly College Television Network or CTN) is a division of MTV Networks which broadcasts a 24-hour television channel that is available on more Definitive Jux is an independent Record label based in New York City, United States. 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. An extended play ( EP) is a Vinyl record, CD, or Music download which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify A music video is a Short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music most commonly a Song with lyrics For other uses see LIF. Mr Lif (born Jeffrey Haynes, 1977 is an American hip hop artist from Boston

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. Danny Is Dead, the fourth studio album and sixth release from American Rapper / producer Danny!, is a half-hour long 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. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. 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]. Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork, is a Chicago -based daily Internet publication devoted to music criticism and commentary 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. The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10 2008 starting at 8PM EST.

In late 2007 Danny revealed the name of his upcoming fifth album, And I Love H.E.R.. And I Love HER Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, also referred to as simply And I Love H 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. A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British Comedy film written by Alun Owen starring The Beatles — John Lennon, Paul McCartney The British Invasion was the term applied by the news media — and subsequently by consumers — to the influx of Rock and roll, beat and pop performers

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. iTunes is a proprietary digital media player application introduced by Apple Inc Napster was an online music file sharing service created by Shawn Fanning while he was attending Northeastern University in Boston and operating eMusic is an Online music store that operates by Subscription. 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. 21st Century Masters - The Millennium Collection The Best of Danny! is a 2007 compilation album by American Rapper / producer Danny! 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. And I Love HER Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, also referred to as simply And I Love H

Discography

Main article: Danny! discography

Studio albums

Instrumental albums

Compilations

EPs

See also

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

References

External links

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