Columbia, South Carolina rapper Danny! first drew widespread attention (at least by underground/online standards) when he won a talent contest sponsored by Definitive Jux and MTVu in January 2007. The prize was a recording contract with Def Jux. The surprise is that he’s actually very good.
Talent competitions are a hoary tradition, meant to give meager motivation to the hundreds of thousands of fledging musicians trying to establish themselves. The artists who win these contests are kings for a day, rewarded with promises of studio time and national exposure, before quickly disappearing into the ether.
Danny Swain has a goofy name (yes, he puts an exclamation point next to it) and a seemingly anonymous personality. He isn’t one of the freestyle MCs or trap stars who often monopolize rap battles. But his catalog of four albums, including 2006’s The Charm, reveals an easy wit and grace that belies his 25 years.
On The Charm he often joked how people compared him to Kanye West, but he really sounds nothing like the College Dropout. Although, like West, he’s more of a conceptualist than an MC per se, and both produce their own beats; Danny! sounds more natural than West when he raps, and his flow is inimitable. On The Charm, Danny! creates an autobiographical fiction of his life, imagining himself as an underground MC (with a baby mama, natch) who somehow becomes famous, embarking on world tours and smashing groupies galore. Several of his tracks, particularly “Cafe Surreal,” bustle with catchy hooks and an inventive imagination.
Danny! first reached out to me in July 2007, just after he released an EP called Danny Is Dead. When we spoke on the phone, he talked a mile a minute, so fast that I found it difficult to transcribe afterwards. I’m not making excuses, but…the interview was never posted. Instead, I asked him for a do-over, which took place in January. Fast forward ten months…and here you go.
Some things have changed for Danny!. He’s now recognized among online heads as an established artist. His fourth and most recent album, And I Love H.E.R., received positive reviews in several outlets, including Okayplayer.com and Pitchforkmedia.com.
Unfortunately, as of this writing, Definitive Jux still hasn’t released his project. When I spoke with Danny! in January, he sounded frustrated by the delays Def Jux seemingly imposed:
“I almost like to think that, by doing The Charm, I talked the whole thing into existence. I like to think that by me hoping for it so much it actually happened. But actually, now I realize that [the deal] wasn’t necessarily the best thing.
“I’ve got nothing but love for Def Jux. It’s just that we don’t talk on a regular basis, where it’s like, ‘Oh, Danny, your album is coming out,’ or, ‘Danny, you need to go to the studio.’ We talk so sporadically that it’s not even funny.
“But, as far as working on the project, I just spoke with the general manager last week, and we talked a little bit about the beats I submitted months ago. And out of ten I submitted, only a few got approved, because they had samples in them, and they’re basically trying to get me not to use any samples at all. So that’s all well and good. I have to go back to the drawing board. But then I said, “Well, I have some more to submit to you.†And he said he was going to be out of town for a week and a half. Oh great, I have to wait a week and a half.
“So that’s been the whole song and dance ever since I got signed. Maybe I’ll hear from them now and then…it’s been really taxing on me.”
I decided to excise most of our discussion on the Def Jux topic because it was nearly a year ago, and posting it now may invite people to take his words out of context. I hope to catch up with Danny! soon and get an update for you.
In the meantime, here’s part one of the interview, which mostly concerns The Charm. Part two of the interview, which covers his new album, will be posted next week.
Selected discography:
The College Kicked-Out (2004)
F.O.O.D. (2005)
The Charm (2006)
Danny Is Dead EP (2007)
And I Love H.E.R. (2008)
Websites:
www.dannyswain.com
www.myspace.com/mcdanny
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