Danny!
Bigger Than Buzz: Creating Your Own Mania
By Amena Brown
Photos by Jen Ray

“If hip-hop continues to go this way it’s not going to be very pretty.
I’m not gonna scream
`hip-hop is dead.´
It’s all about balance.
Without balance,
hip-hop will crumble.”
- Danny Swain

Columbia, S.C. MC/producer Danny Swain hearts hip-hop. His new album, And I Love H.E.R., is a Beatles’ inspired ode to his beloved hip-hop, complete with ‘60s Euro-pop beats. Swain stands at an interesting crossroads in time, in an undercurrent tug of war hip-hop between fans, critics and artists. Hip-hop purists say that real hip-hop is resting in peace unless you find it some on forgotten internet radio station or at your local hip-hop spot. New school kids say Lil’ Wayne is the best rapper alive. Swain hopes he and hip-hop find a way to make it in the middle.­­

“If hip-hop were a woman she’d be very confused,” he says. “She’d have all these guys trying to get at her: thugs, gangsters, good guys, everybody. Now she’s trying to make sense of her life, where she’s going to,” muses Swain. “If hip-hop continues to go this way, it’s not going to be very pretty. I’m not gonna scream hip-hop is dead. It’s all about balance. Without balance, hip-hop will crumble.”

At only 24 years old, Swain’s music making is consistent. Since his 2004 debut, The College Kicked-Out, the self-described preppy MC has released three CDs, an EP and two instrumental albums. A military kid, Swain captured snapshots of experience and shards of inspiration from every kind of place he lived including both U.S. and European soil.

“Every place we lived I had a different hobby. In St. Louis and Germany it was drawing. In Illinois, it was video games. I came to South Carolina and I really wanted to do music,” recalls Swain. “I didn’t have to worry about meeting people, settling down, and moving again. I tried to make the most of it, networking, letting people know what I do. Being in one spot prepared me for the music I would do down here.”

Columbia, S.C. became the town where he built the foundation of his music career. Swain has been dedicated to marketing himself and his music since the release of The College Kicked-Out, frequenting Columbia hip-hop spots like the Brookland Tavern.

“I did a lot of promoting,” says Swain. “Sometimes I would give the album out for free so people could have it. That was pretty much the only avenue I knew: word of mouth and in people’s faces.”

Although College Kicked-Out never transcended Kanye West College Dropout comparisons, Swain moved to Savannah to attend Savannah College of Art and Design and completed his second and third albums F.O.O.D. and Charm in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

“People are more proactive in Savannah than in Columbia,” says Swain. “Not just people who do music but people who are fans of it. In Savannah, people are making things happen. In Columbia, they are trying to stop people from being proactive. When I got to Savannah, I found that support and it kept me continuing to do music the way I am.”

The move to Savannah pushed Swain to expand his marketing tactics. He kept his face-to-face contact with fans by proving himself on stage in a new city, and established an internet presence through MySpace and SoundClick, the latter of which is an artist music community with unlimited song uploads where artists can share music and news.

“At the time, most musicians were using SoundClick. I wanted to stand out and not just be another SoundClick artist,” recalls Swain. “My friend was telling me about MySpace. It was 2005 and it wasn’t as cluttered as it is now. I didn’t get a lot of good criticism for my first album, but when people outside of Savannah, from places like Idaho and Utah, could appreciate my music, I knew I was on to something.”

Charm, Swain’s first concept album, inspired by The Miracles’ “Poor Charlotte,” garnered the praise of critics with its cohesive sound and creative perspective. Songs like “Give Me A Chance” and “You Owe Me” echo the thoughts of many an independent artist begging to be heard and making tunes in his basement.

Swain’s production typically hinges on disparate soul record samples, dreamy atmospherics, spoken word collages and ultra self-conscious asides (“Yo it’s still recording,” an imaginary producer tells Danny over the talk-back when the beat drops in the middle of “Lip Flappin’”). The beats run the spectrum from stark underground utility with harsh, cutting high hats to smooth, rich accents that wouldn’t be out of place on an old Digable Planets record. With each album, his recording space is much like a lab — as his career has progressed, his hyperactive production has approached Prince Paul levels of self-reference and far-flung allusions.

“Every album I try something new. And I Love H.E.R. is a departure from my earlier stuff,” says Swain. “I don’t want to do the same thing everybody else is doing. I have to stand out. I make the music I would want to hear as a consumer.”

In 2007, Swain started to receive the dividends of his underground grind investment. Charm was nominated for the 2007 Grammy’s shortlist including two tickets to attend the awards show and Swain won Definitive Jux Records’ Best Music on Campus Contest.

The contest winnings included a recording contract with Def Jux with the release of a digital EP and a music video with Mr. Lif, who hosted the contest. Swain didn’t stop there. In the summer of 2007, he released EP Danny is Dead, garnering acclaim from critics, magazines and fans. The EP carried on in the style of Charm, following the story of a fictional MC who garners huge fame and possibly meets an untimely end. Talking as much about fame as his art with tracks like “Press Conference” and “The World Is Yours,” Swain paints a vivid picture of what it’s like to live life as a hip-hop star, even if its not his own life.

In 2008, along with And I Love H.E.R. Swain will release an instrumental album and his Def Jux digital EP release. He remains accessible, blogging back with his fans and keeping them posted on how his career is accelerating. If Danny! news is going to break, you’ll hear it first from the man himself.

“I write my blog posts and I put almost everything out there,” says Swain. “I would want Common or Jay-Z to do the same to me. That’s what’s important as an independent artist. I don’t want fans off pretense. It’s easier to keep a fan than it is to gain one. They’re in your world, they get to know you, and you don’t have to put any B.S. on.”

Not afraid to be vulnerable, Swain would rather not spend his time painting himself as invincible, especially when it comes to his image and the constant barrage of Kanye West comparisons.

“Because a major label doesn’t manufacture my image for me, I’m in a good position,” explains Swain. “I wish I had the major label support, but I’m glad people have the opportunity to get to know me and see what I’m about. I’ve been doing this for years: button up shirt, tie, pair of jeans. I’m preppy, so I have the challenge to separate myself from him. I have to work extra hard to do that, so people can see for themselves who I am.”

And they do. Danny! fans range from high school Soulja Boy listeners to hip-hop purists in their late 20s and early 30s. Four years into his career, Swain is still getting used to the idea of having fans.

“It sounds weird for me to say I have fans. The kids are into me and that says a lot. I was born right in the middle of hip-hop, but I know my history,” exclaims Swain. “I can throw on a Tribe Called Quest record any day, but it’s not 1994 anymore. You have to go on with the new. I’m not old school. I’m not new school. I’m now school. I want to keep the culture going.”

Like most indie artists, Swain has to depend on his own ingenuity. With no manager, agent, street team or publicist, he experienced the reward and sacrifice of watching his career gain traction because of a not-so strategic plan.
“As far as a strategy, I wish I had one,” Swain confesses. “I had to be proactive instead of waiting around for someone to do it for me. People see that I’m personable, just a regular guy, and they’re drawn to the music I make. People want to support a person they can relate to.”

By the time you read this, Swain will be on his way back from the Grammys for the second time, nominated for Danny is Dead singles “Check it Out” and “Fly Part 2.” He’ll be blogging it to you like it is, accepting your friend requests, and encouraging you to keep your ear to the underground and eyes open for the latest installment of Danny!-mania.

www.dannyswain.com