| Danny! | |
| Birth Name: | Daniel Keith Swain |
| Birth Date: | 18 August 1983[1] |
| Birth Place: | Killeen, Texas, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 2004–present |
| Label: | Interscope, Definitive Jux |
Daniel Keith Swain (born August 18, 1983), known mononymously as Danny!, is an American rapper, record producer, singer, and composer.[2]
Swain rose to prominence after his debut performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,[3] where he premiered his song "Evil". After joining Okayplayer Records, Danny! released his album Payback,[4] cited by AllMusic as one of the best hip-hop releases of the year.[5] In 2013, Ebony magazine listed Swain among other rising artists in its "Leaders of the New School" piece, calling Swain one of a handful of "innovators".[6]
Swain has composed background music that has since been placed in numerous motion pictures and television programs, most notably FOX's animated series Bob's Burgers for which Swain was awarded an Emmy plaque for his contributions to an episode that won in the Outstanding Animated Program category at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2017.[7]
Swain, the only son of military parents,[8] was born in Killeen, Texas and moved to Columbia, South Carolina, as a teenager. He attended Richland Northeast High School and began pursuing music as a hobby during his second year. Swain started penning his own lyrics and recorded songs as a showcase for his production.[9]
See main article: The College Kicked-Out, F.O.O.D. (album) and Charm (Danny! album).
After spending nearly a year networking with local artists, Swain released his debut mixtape The College Kicked-Out.[10] The record received mixed to unfavorable reviews—an up-and-coming Charlamagne tha God was among Kicked-Outs critics, panning the mixtape on air while working as a local radio station personality—which Swain would allude to in much of his later work.
Shortly after Kicked-Outs release Swain was accepted to the Savannah College of Art & Design and accordingly relocated to Savannah, Georgia. It was here that he began to work on his second project, F.O.O.D. The following year Swain officially released his third mixtape Charm, which was notable for featuring an underlying theme of escapism in its narrative of a musician who wants success in music to take him away from his day-to-day routine.
During this time Swain compiled an instrumental album, Dream, Interrupted, in an effort to promote his production; within two years the sequels Dream, Fulfilled and Dream, Extinguished would also be released.
See also: Danny Is Dead, And I Love H.E.R.: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Where Is Danny?. After Charm, Swain received his first big break when MTV played a role in securing him a recording contract with Definitive Jux, an independent music label, at the time helmed by El-P of Run the Jewels fame.[11] [12] The record deal allowed Swain to release an album through the label, promoting it with a 12" single and accompanying music video slated for an exclusive premiere on mtvU. Though the label's involvement would not amount to a released album—only the single "Just Friends", which charted on the Billboard Hot 100[13] —the deal did establish an ongoing relationship between Swain and MTV, which began using his music extensively in various programs.
Swain self-released his debut album, the faux-soundtrack And I Love H.E.R. The album was cited at the time by publications such as Pitchfork,[14] LA Weekly[15] and ABC News[16] as one of the best releases of the year. And I Love H.E.R. was also notable for introducing another musical direction for Swain, who was experimenting with hip house, downtempo and lounge/electronica to produce a sort of "lounge-hop" hybrid.
Following And I Love H.E.R.s success, Swain completed the Where Is Danny? album. Interscope Records, through its short-lived digital distribution program,[17] distributed a revamped version of the album on iTunes.[18]
See also: Payback (album) and The Book of Daniel (album). After the release of his third studio LP Payback, the title track of Swain's previous album was featured in a commercial for Sonos wireless speakers. Swain signed on as a composer for MTV's internal Hype Music label[19] (later absorbed into Sony/ATV's Extreme Music production music library) and slowly transitioned into a producer role, landing instrumental placements with various Viacom television programming as well as commercials for Nordstrom, McDonald's, and incidental music for Bob's Burgers and its soundtrack, The Bob's Burgers Music Album.
In 2014, Swain started working on a new album, initially titled Deliverance, but later changed to The Book Of Daniel after the book in the Bible.[20] During the album's development Swain appeared in Sesame Streets "Party Bus" video, which featured an original remix of "The Wheels on the Bus" composed by Swain. He also began working as a voiceover artist, narrating a season of Hey Rookie, Welcome to the NFL in 2016 for ESPN. The following year Swain was awarded an Emmy plaque from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for his musical contributions to the Bob's Burgers episode "Bob Actually" (Outstanding Animated Program, 2017), composing music for three scenes.[21]
In 2015, a tracklist for The Book of Daniel was revealed at Swain's website. The album debut was announced for February 29, 2016,[22] but it was not released. Another scheduled date, October 31, 2018,[23] passed without the album release.
Despite a halt in studio releases, Swain continues to contribute to Bob's Burgers while composing library music and incidental cues under various aliases for Extreme Music.
See main article: Danny! discography.
| Artist | Song(s) | Album | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Exotic", "The Nana Song" | The Hybrid | 2010 | ||
| Danny Brown | "Counterfeit", "Hey!"* | Detroit State of Mind 4 | 2010 | |
| "The Game On Lock", "Illusions of G" | Illusions of Grandeur 2 | 2012 | ||
| "Never Never Freestyle" | Folarin | 2012 | ||
| "Scroll Call (Danny Swain Remix)" | Landing on a Hundred: B-Sides & Remixes | 2014 |
| Song(s) | Where Featured | Network | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Intermission (interlude)" | Jersey Shore After Hours | MTV | 2008 | |
| "Cafe Surreal" | aMTV promotional bumper | MTV | 2009 | |
| "Ebony Flower" | Wainy Days | My Damn Channel | 2009 | |
| "Check It Out" | Disaster Date | MTV | 2011 | |
| "The Groove" | Dina's Party | HGTV | 2011 | |
| "The Groove" | Love Lust | SundanceTV | 2011 | |
| "The Groove" | 2011 Comedy Awards | Comedy Central | 2011 | |
| "Cafe Surreal", "The Groove" | Red Bull Signature Series: Supernatural | NBC | 2012 | |
| "Cafe Surreal" | The Association | ESPN | 2012 | |
| "Crasy Sound" | Elbow Room | HGTV | 2012 | |
| "Evil" | live performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon | NBC | 2012 | |
| "God Bless The Child" | Breaking Amish | TLC | 2012 | |
| "Loser" | Breaking Amish Extended Episodes | TLC | 2012 | |
| "Misery" | Rockstar Presents: XDurance Series (with Rob Adelberg) | YouTube | 2012 | |
| "Pineapple Gumdrop" | LXTV 1st Look | NBC | 2012 | |
| "Still Standing" | Life After: Karyn White | TV One | 2012 | |
| "Where Is Danny", "I Ain't The Walrus" | Sonos television advert | cable | 2012 | |
| "Cafe Surreal" | Crown Royal Best Of promotional clip during 2013 NBA Playoffs | TNT | 2013 | |
| "Malice In Blunderland" | MTV | 2013 | ||
| "Man On The Moon" | Snooki & Jwoww | MTV | 2013 | |
| "One Day It'll All Make Cents" | The Show with Vinny | MTV | 2013 | |
| "Torture" | World of Jenks | MTV | 2013 | |
| "Gibraltar (Danny!'s Pride And Vanity Remix)" | Just Blaze interview[24] | Okayplayer | 2014 | |
| "Check It Out" | Nordstrom anniversary sale summer promo | cable and radio | 2014 | |
| "Take Me To The Muddy Grass" | "Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl" episode of Bob's Burgers | FOX | 2014 | |
| "The Wheels On The Bus" | "Party Bus" segment on Sesame Street | PBS, HBO, YouTube | 2016 | |
| "Gangsta's Pair o' Dice", "Breakdance Bugaloo", "Walk Like This, No No Like This" | "Bob Actually" episode of Bob's Burgers | FOX | 2017 |