Dana McCleese (born September 6, 1965), better known by his stage name Dana Dane, is an American rapper known for performance of humorous lyrics and for his fashion sense.

Early life

Dana was born in the

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

housing project in

Fort Greene Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn to the wes ...

, Brooklyn, New York City, New York.

Career

Recording artist

Dana Dane's career began as part of the Kangol Crew with fellow rapper

Slick Rick Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs " The Show" and " ...

, to whom he sounded markedly similar, although Slick Rick's English lilt was actually genuine, while Dana Dane's was an affectation. Dana Dane appeared in the video for Slick Rick's 1988 single " Teenage Love". After graduating from high school, he signed with

Profile Records Profile Records was one of the earliest hip hop labels. As well as hip-hop they released disco, dance, and electro records. History In 1980, Cory Robbins, who was 23 at the time and had worked briefly for MCA, wanted to start a record label. ...

in 1985. Dana Dane's debut album, ''

Dana Dane with Fame Dana may refer to: People Given name * Dana (given name) Surname * Dana (surname) * Dana family of Cambridge, Massachusetts ** James Dwight Dana (1813–1895), scientist, zoological author abbreviation Dana Nickname or stage name * Dana ...

'', peaked at #46 on the ''Billboard'' album chart and was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

. His debut single was "Nightmares". His biggest hit in the United States was "Cinderfella Dana Dane", which peaked at #11 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine's R&B charts in 1987. Cheryl Green from Queens, NY sang backup. He was among Profile Records’s core artists, then recorded briefly for

Rap-A-Lot Records Rap-A-Lot is a hip hop record label co-founded by James Prince and Cliff Blodget in 1986. Smoke-a-Lot Records is a subsidiary. Rap-A-Lot was first distributed by A&M Records with the release of Raheem's 1988 debut ''The Vigilante''. The label w ...

but did not release anything on that label. He released his last album, '' Rollin' Wit Dana Dane'', in 1995 on

Maverick Records Maverick was an American entertainment company founded in 1992 by Madonna, Frederick DeMann, and Veronica "Ronnie" Dashev, and formerly owned and operated by Warner Music Group. It included a record label (Maverick Records), a film production ...

Other activities

Dane operated a clothing boutique in New York City in the late 1980s and early 1990s. For six years, he was an on-air host for

Sirius/XM Satellite Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

on its

classic hip-hop Classic hip hop is a music radio format focusing primarily on hip hop music from the 1980s, 1990s, and the early to mid-2000s. Although stations with such a format date back as far as 2004, the format was first popularized in October 2014, after ...

channel

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

's Rock the Bells radio (formerly BackSpin). He makes a cameo appearance as himself in the 2002 film ''

Brown Sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

''. In 2009, he released his first novel, ''Numbers'' (One World/Ballantine/

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

References

External links

Official Web Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dane, Dana Living people 1965 births Rappers from Brooklyn Maverick Records artists Profile Records artists Rap-A-Lot Records artists 21st-century American rappers People from Fort Greene, Brooklyn