L.E.P. - Ozone Magazine

Danny! is not your average rapper. You
can’t box him in or classify him. Although
several comparisons to Kanye and Little
Brother have been made, after one listen to
Danny’s music, it’s obvious he’s a one-of-akind
musician.
What’s your background as an artist and
producer
I started making beats and writing lyrics
when I was a kid. When I turned 19 I
decided to go full force with it. I put out my
first album in 2004. A lot of people were
feeling it. People were trying to compare
me to Kanye West too much so I got a lot
of flack for that. I kept working at it, trying
to get people to take me seriously. After
a while people said, “Okay, this guy has
something.” I put out my third CD and that’s
when things fell into place. Everybody was
saying it was the best album they heard in a
while. A couple of the tracks were selected
for the Grammy Short List in 2007. I got
an invitation to go to the show. That was a
testament as to how far you can go in music
if you keep working at it.
What happened after that
A month before I went to the Grammys I
got a record deal with a label in Manhattan
called Def Jux. I’m working on my album for
them right now. Before that, I’m going to put
out one last independent album on my own.
Are you doing a movie or something
That’s actually the album I’m working on
called And I Love Her, the original motion
picture soundtrack. It’s not really a
soundtrack and there’s no movie at this
point. I was trying to pattern it after this
Beatles’ movie called A Hard Day’s Night.
The cover art and song titles were based
off of the Beatles. It’s really a movie on
wax. From start to finish it’s like watching
a movie but you’re listening to it. Halfway
through it I thought it wouldn’t hurt to do a
movie, so we’re talking to a few people right
now about shooting something for it to go
along with the album release.
You’re music definitely falls in a class of its
own. If you had to title your sound, what
would you call it
(long pause) I don’t know. If people aren’t
saying Kanye, they’re saying old-school.
But I wouldn’t say that at all; I’d say
new-school, something fresh, an updated
version of what we’re all familiar with. It’s
not just one sound. I have songs that have
cymbals you’d hear on a Rick Ross song,
but I’m still doing me. I sound international. I
can’t even classify myself. The only reason
why I understand people comparing me
to Kanye is because I titled my first album
The College Kicked-Out. I did it in a joking
way, not because I wanted to be like Kanye.
At the time I got kicked out of school for
something stupid.
After that you went to the Savannah College
of Art & Design, right
Yeah, I’m still there now. I got kicked out
and moved here a year later in 2005. I lost
a lot of credits but that’s not gonna keep me
out of school. We’ll see how far the music is
gonna take me but I want to have something
to fall back on. I’m studying sequential
art, storyboarding, TV shows, movies and
things like that.
You have the right look to star in movies.
Have you thought about that
Me and my friend were joking about going
into movies if this rap stuff doesn’t work out.
We do talk about it. We could make up a
sitcom or movie and people would laugh at
it. I’ve never acted professionally but I have
thought about doing it after everything else
has been accomplished in music.
What would be the perfect character for you
to play
Some neurotic character, somebody’s who’s
wildin’ out for no reason, someone crazy.
That’s not completely me but I’d definitely
play someone funny that makes somebody
laugh, unintentionally or otherwise.
What are some other things people should
be looking out for
Check for this album. We’re working some
things out as far as distribution. Look out for
updates on Myspace. Shout out to Charlamagne
and Randy Exclusive. Randy’s kicking
around a mixtape idea with Sam King
and Charlamagne’s got me on the South
Kak album. Play my music and you won’t
be disappointed.
Website: Myspace.com/Mcdanny
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