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 television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,

'', where he premiered his song "Evil". After joining Okayplayer Records, Danny! released his album '' Payback'', cited by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

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 ("brush"). Twelve species ...

's animated series ''

Bob's Burgers ''Bob's Burgers'' is an American animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is centered on the Belcher family—parents Bob Belcher, Bob and Linda Belcher, Linda and their three children, Tina Belcher, Tina, G ...

'' 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 television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

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 US 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 the U.S. state of Texas, located in Bell County. 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 ...

and moved to

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

, 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. ...

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 record received mixed to unfavorable reviews—an up-and-coming Charlamagne tha God 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 school, private art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, Vaucluse, Lacoste, France. It was founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not ...

and accordingly relocated to

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and 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 Brita ...

. 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 or Charms may refer to: Arts and entertainment * The Charms, an American garage rock band * Otis Williams and the Charms, an American doo-wop group * The Charm (Bubba Sparxxx album), ''The Charm'' (Bubba Sparxxx album), 2006 * Charm (Danny! ...

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

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

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.

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

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

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

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 Stuart 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 ...

Run the Jewels Run the Jewels, also known by the initials RTJ, is an American hip-hop Supergroup (music), superduo, composed of Brooklyn-based rapper and producer El-P and Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike. They released their critically acclaimed Run the Jewe ...

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 surface, compar ...

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. MTVU programming initially served 750 college and univ ...

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

Just Friends ''Just Friends'' is a 2005 Christmas romantic black 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 ...

", 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 or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

, ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

'' and

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

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, which originated in both London and Chicago in the mid-to-late 1980s. A British collaboration between the electronic group Beatm ...

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 came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

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

Sonos Sonos, Inc. is an American audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. The company was founded in 2002 by John MacFarlane, Craig Shelburne, Tom Cullen, and Trung Mai. Sonos has partnered with over 100 companies th ...

wireless speakers. Swain signed on as a composer for

's internal Hype Music label (later absorbed into Sony/ATV's Extreme Music 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 (1952–2005), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Pa ...

television programming as well as commercials for

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

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

, and

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...

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. It is ostensibly a narrative detailing the experiences and prophetic visions of Daniel, a Jewish exile in Babylon. The text features prophecy ro ...

'' 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 "The Wheels on the Bus" is an American folk song written by Verna Hills (1898–1990). The earliest known publishing of the lyrics is the December 1937 issue of '' American Childhood'', originally called "The Bus", with the lyrics being "The whe ...

" 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 in the United States, television industry in the United S ...

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. Despite a halt in studio releases, Swain continues to contribute to ''Bob's Burgers'' while composing

library music Production music (also known as stock music or library music) is recorded music that can be licensed to customers for use in film, television, radio and other media. Often, the music is produced and owned by production music libraries. Backgrou ...

and incidental cues under various aliases for Extreme Music.

Discography

Studio albums

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

Instrumental albums

* '' Dream, Interrupted'' * '' Dream, Fulfilled'' * '' Dream, Extinguished''

Production credits

Film and television placements/credits

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Danny 1983 births Actors from Columbia, South Carolina African-American record producers African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers American bloggers Record producers from Texas American television composers Interscope Records artists Living people Male actors from Atlanta Musicians from Atlanta Musicians from Columbia, South Carolina People from Richland County, South Carolina Musicians from Savannah, Georgia Primetime Emmy Award winners Savannah College of Art and Design alumni Sony Music Publishing artists People from Killeen, Texas 21st-century American rappers 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers Rappers from South Carolina Rappers from Georgia (U.S. state) Rappers from Texas Definitive Jux artists