Danny!

Daniel Swain, better known by his mononymous stage name Danny!, is an American recording artist and record producer from Columbia, South Carolina.

In 2012 Danny! rose to prominence shortly following the proclamation by The Roots drummer Questlove that there was strong interest from Jay-Z; he was subsequently signed as the flagship artist to Questlove's re-launched Okayplayer Records after years of being loosely affiliated with the company. In support of the new venture Danny! made his television debut on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" in September 2012, premiering his song "Evil" alongside The Roots.

Prior to this Danny! was most notable for his efficacious DIY approach to his music career, producing virtually every aspect of his albums—from the production to the cover art and even promotion—by himself to varying degrees of acclaim. He would field praise for his self-released concept records "Charm" and "And I Love H.E.R.", the latter named by ABC News as one of the best 50 albums of 2008, before releasing the "anti-album" "Where Is Danny?" in early 2011. After signing to Okayplayer Records the following year Danny! completed his trilogy of conceptual albums with "Payback", cited by Allmusic as one of the best hip-hop releases of 2012. In 2013 EBONY listed Danny! among other rising artists in their "Leaders of the New School" piece, predicting that Danny! would have a "breakout year".

The title track for "Where Is Danny?" was featured in a commercial for SONOS starring Questlove in late 2012. Long fascinated with music licensing, Danny! subsequently signed on as a composer for MTV's music production library, Hype Music, the following year.