Daniel Keith Swain (born August 18, 1983), known mononymously as Danny!, is an American rapper, record producer, singer, and composer. Swain rose to prominence after his debut performance on ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...

'', where he premiered his song "Evil". After joining

Okayplayer Records Okayplayer is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by ''Rolling Stone'' as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The community was founded by The Roots' drummer ...

, Danny! released his album ''

Payback Payback may refer to: * Revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance Payback may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Payback, a member of the fictional comics superhero team Shadow ...

'', cited by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

as one of the best hip-hop releases of the year. 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". Swain has composed

background music Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behav ...

that has since been placed in numerous motion pictures and television programs, most notably

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

's animated series ''

Bob's Burgers ''Bob's Burgers'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard that premiered on Fox on January 9, 2011. The show centers on the Belcher family—parents Bob and Linda and their three children, Tina, Gene, and Louise—who r ...

'' for which Swain was awarded an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

plaque for his contributions to an episode that won in the Outstanding Animated Program category at the

69th Primetime Emmy Awards The 69th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2016 until May 31, 2017, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Sunday, September 17, 2017 at the Mi ...

in 2017.

Early life

Swain, the only son of military parents, was born in

Killeen, Texas Killeen is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 153,095, making it the 19th-most populous city in Texas and the largest of the three principal cities of Bell County. It is the principal city ...

and moved to

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

, as a teenager. He attended

Richland Northeast High School Richland Northeast High School is a public high school in Columbia, South Carolina. Richland Northeast, often abbreviated as RNE, RNH, or RNHS, was founded in 1978 to handle the excessive population of students at Spring Valley High School. Sp ...

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.

Career

2004–2006: Early beginnings, ''Charm'' and instrumental albums

After spending nearly a year networking with local artists, Swain released his debut mixtape ''

The College Kicked-Out ''The College Kicked-Out'' is the debut album from American rapper/producer Danny! Originally slated for an October 12 release date, ''The College Kicked-Out'' finally saw the light of day on November 2 after being delayed by bootlegging. Ove ...

''. The record received mixed to unfavorable reviews—an up-and-coming

Charlamagne tha God Lenard Larry McKelvey (born June 29, 1978), known professionally as Charlamagne tha God or simply Charlamagne, is an American radio host and television personality. He is a co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show ''The Breakfast Club' ...

was among ''Kicked-Out''s 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-Out''s release Swain was accepted to the

Savannah College of Art & Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private nonprofit art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. Founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the Unit ...

and accordingly relocated to

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

. 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 Charm may refer to: Social science * Charisma, a person or thing's pronounced ability to attract others * Superficial charm, flattery, telling people what they want to hear Science and technology * Charm quark, a type of elementary particle * Ch ...

'', which was notable for featuring an underlying theme of

escapism Escapism is mental diversion from unpleasant or boring aspects of daily life, typically through activities involving imagination or entertainment. Escapism may be used to occupy one's self away from persistent feelings of depression or genera ...

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 ''Dream, Interrupted'' is an instrumental hip hop album by American rapper/producer Danny!, and the fourth release under Danny's personal 1911 Music/Badenov Records imprint. ''Dream, Interrupted'' was released exclusively in the United Kingdom ( ...

'', in an effort to promote his production; within two years the sequels ''

Dream, Fulfilled Danny!'s second instrumental hip hop album, ''Dream, Fulfilled'', was released on April 23, 2007 (see 2007 in music) under the American rapper/producer's 1911 Music/Badenov Records imprint. The record is a sequel to Danny's 2006 instrumental albu ...

'' and ''

Dream, Extinguished ''Dream, Extinguished'' is an instrumental hip hop album by American producer/rapper Danny! It is the third and allegedly final installment in Danny's famed ''Dream...'' instrumental series and, like its predecessors, bears Danny's anthroponym ...

'' would also be released.

2007–2011: MTV, ''And I Love H.E.R.'' and Interscope era

After ''Charm'', Swain received his first big break when

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

played a role in securing him a recording contract with

Definitive Jux Definitive Jux was a record label based in New York City. It was co-founded in 1999 by El-P and Amaechi Uzoigwe. History Definitive Jux was initially known as Def Jux. However, popular hip hop label Def Jam Recordings sued Def Jux over the name ...

, an independent music label, at the time helmed by

El-P Jaime Meline (born March 2, 1975), better known by the stage name El-P (shortened from his previous stage name El Producto), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Starting his career as a member of Company Flow, he has been a ...

Run the Jewels Run the Jewels, also known by the initials RTJ, is an American hip hop super-duo composed of Brooklyn-based rapper and producer El-P and Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike. They released their critically acclaimed self-titled debut studio album ...

fame. The record deal allowed Swain to release an album through the label, promoting it with a

12" single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

and accompanying music video slated for an exclusive premiere on

mtvU MTVU (formerly stylized as MtvU and mtvU) is an American digital cable TV channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group, a unit of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel was first known as VH1 Uno from 2000 to ...

. Though the label's involvement would not amount to a released album—only the single "

Just Friends ''Just Friends'' is a 2005 American Christmas comedy film directed by Roger Kumble, written by Adam 'Tex' Davis and starring Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris, Chris Klein and Christopher Marquette. The plot focuses on a formerly obese high ...

", which charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100—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 A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

, ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'' and

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

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 Hip house, also known as rap house or house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip hop, that originated in both London, United Kingdom and Chicago, United States in the mid to late 1980s. British group the Beatmaste ...

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...

and

lounge Lounge may refer to: Architecture * Lounge, the living room of a dwelling * Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby * Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar * Airport lounge, or train lounge (e.g., AMTRAK's Acela Lounge), a premium ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

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, distributed a revamped version of the album on iTunes.

2012–present: Breakthrough, music licensing and ''The Book of Daniel''

After the release of his third studio LP ''

'', the title track of Swain's previous album was featured in a commercial for

Sonos SONOS, short for "silicon–oxide–nitride–oxide–silicon", more precisely, " polycrystalline silicon"—"silicon dioxide"—"silicon nitride"—"silicon dioxide"—"silicon", is a cross sectional structure of MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconduc ...

wireless speakers. Swain signed on as a composer for

's internal Hype Music label (later absorbed into

Sony/ATV Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is itself owned ...

Extreme Music Extreme Music is a production music arm of Sony Music Publishing. The company creates and licenses music for use in television, film, advertising, and online media. Their library includes music from artists and composers such as Quincy Jones, H ...

production music library) and slowly transitioned into a producer role, landing instrumental placements with various

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...

television programming as well as commercials for

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and ...

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

, and incidental music for ''

'' 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 The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology (a ...

'' after the book in the Bible. During the album's development Swain appeared in ''Sesame Street''s "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 The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

for his musical contributions to the ''Bob's Burgers'' episode "Bob Actually" ( Outstanding Animated Program, 2017), composing music for three scenes. In 2015, a tracklist for ''The Book of Daniel'' was revealed at Swain's website. The album debut was announced for February 29, 2016, but it was not released. Another scheduled date, October 31, 2018, passed without the album release.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' And I Love H.E.R.: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' * '' Where Is Danny?'' * ''

'' * ''

Instrumental albums

* ''