Kool Kid Of The Week Danny Swain – Early Retirement
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Daniel Swain is 24 years old, and is already thinking of retirement. Who does he think he is? Well, Swain, a South Carolina native who relocated to Savannah, Georgia, has put out several albums and EPs, three of them being instrumental efforts, and has gotten numerous reviews from a plethora of hip-hop magazines and web sites, and has been recognized by the Recording Academy with his past two albums, Danny Is Dead and Dream, Fulfilled, being mentioned in many categories on the Grammy’s Short List. Daniel, or Danny according to his MySpace music profile, is reminiscent of rap in the 90’s. The De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest type rap that made you feel good and you could listen to in front of younger siblings. Swain samples jazz and R&B songs, as well as makes his own beats, to support his clever and sometimes autobiographical lyrics. His musical style very much hints at one of his influences being Kanye West. It’s pretty safe to say that this guy is pretty much a big deal.
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Swain has been referred to as the Black Zach Morris (you Saved by the Bell fans should be giggling right now) because of his signature style of wearing Oxford shirts and ties with jeans and sneakers since he was a teenager in high school to dress more “grown”, despite being compared to a certain rapper. “I was still 17 so I wasn’t feelin’ the whole slacks and khakis so I’d rock it with jeans and sneakers and call it a day; it’s been my style ever since. I do like to switch it up from time to time but for the most part when you see Danny that’s what he’s rocking. The funny thing about that is people would always compare me to a certain artist whenever they’d see me wear it but, I’ve been rocking the same style since I was a teenager! And I’ve never seen this, uhh, certain artist ever wear a shirt and tie before. So it always cracks me up when I hear that,” says Danny who is obviously not in the business of naming names to start beefs in order to sell records.
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Speaking of sales, Swain has accomplished a lot in his still young life, yet he feels compelled, for whatever reason, to call it quits. As a matter of fact, this isn’t the first time that Swain has thrown his towel in the ring, after releasing his album Charm Daniel was set to retire. “Charm was my third CD, and as you can see I’ve definitely put out more material since then! I really didn’t have any intention of coming back though, but the reaction to my ‘retiring’ was overwhelming at the time,” says Danny of why he continued to make music. Danny goes on to further explain his reason for retiring this time around, “It was because of the supporters that I have that I learned that I had far more left in me, and I’ve been at it since then. But now I’m just at a point where minimal results from maximum efforts just can’t cut it anymore. I’ve got to start thinking about the future, and whether or not continuing to release music — what with all the money and time it costs — is logical at this point in my life.”
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It is understandable why Swain would feel this way. After all, Danny is not signed to a major (he was signed to an independent label), and does not have a major label budget to back him and his projects. And with record sales declining in the wake of internet downloading, it’s become a battle for major artists and independents alike to garner huge numbers when their albums drop. Even if they do make big numbers on the first week of sales, by the second and subsequent weeks the percentage of those primary sales will have fallen by about half or more.
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Danny speaks on how today’s media can make or break an artist, “I believe that the days of selling a million out of the gate are long gone, but I don’t think that it will really hurt artists whose intent is longevity and not sales. I also believe that with today’s ever-changing technology, you can ‘blow up’ without a label at all.”
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“Put out a catchy song, shoot a grassroots video for it and promote, promote, promote…I see indie artists bypassing the major label avenue everyday. Souljah Boy is a prime example of that. Now I do have a deal with a small indie label in Manhattan, [N.Y.], Definitive Jux Records, but today artists don’t even really need that either. I’ve done more and released more music since I’ve got my deal than before. There’s so much that artists can do these days by putting your career into your own hands, and I partly credit the Internet for that. Another part of the credit, of course, goes to hard work and determination,” says Danny on the ever growing trend of independent artists.
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Danny also knows what it feels like to be wronged by new technology.
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“There are opportunists out there that will see these beats and use them for their own personal gain, like for their album or whatever. I usually feel a little bad when I find out ’cause that wasn’t my original intention for them, but then I can’t really say much because it’s not something I can avoid, especially when people are anticipating. There’s a track from my upcoming album And I Love H.E.R. that made its way onto YouTube just because the person I sent it to to do a cameo must’ve inadvertently left it in his Limewire folder and someone searching for ‘Danny’ must’ve got a hold of it.” Danny says that he has learned his lesson, and tries not to release too much of his material.
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Speaking of And I love H.E.R., “a hip-hop spin on the Beatles’ A Hard Days’ Night”, Swain explains that his latest work is “gonna involve me and the new Fab Four vying for the attention of an attractive girl (hip-hop). We’re all trying to spit game at her but eventually she gives me the time of day, and we hit it off. But after we get to know each other we find out certain things about each other that we don’t like, and we wind up breaking up, which’ll be a metaphor for me retiring for real this time.” He’s also working on a motion picture for his upcoming album.
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In today’s music industry, the credit of “hard work and determination” may not go to as many of the little guys as much as they may go to mainstream artists, but the triumphs are much more appreciated from their efforts. Hopefully, Swain’s latest project will have him change his mind about retiring for a second time.
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Danny Swain – Where Were You
[audio:http://www.dannyswain.com/WhereWereYouRadioEdit.mp3]
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Be sure to Check Danny @ His Myspace Page or his website http://dannyswain.com
Words by: Nicole Brinson
