Danny Brown

Daniel Dewan Sewell, born March 16, 1981, and better known as Danny Brown, is a rapper from the Dexter-Linwood area of Detroit, Michigan.

Danny is quite an unconventional rapper, utilizing varied flows and cadences, earning him the nickname "The Hybrid." His style ranges from his usual rapping voice to low-pitched gravelly tones and a manic, high-pitched squawk. He began to develop this "high-pitched squawk" and integrate it into his style around the time he released XXX, his third mixtape. Danny is currently signed to Warp and Fool's Gold Records, the former being the label he released his 2016 album, Atrocity Exhibition, and his 2019 album, uknowhatimsayin¿ on. He has also worked with other Detroit artists like Black Milk, notably their 2011 collaborative EP Black and Brown.

After many self-released mixtapes (the Detroit State of Mind series from 2007 to 2010, and Hot Soup in 2008), Danny released his full-length album The Hybrid in 2010, featuring notable producers like Frank Dukes, Quelle, and Chuck English. While XXX marked his identification with the "high-pitched squawk," The Hybrid was when he first recognized and evolved into the Danny Brown we know today, incorporating various unique styles into his rapping.

His love for rhyming began in childhood, as his mother read Dr. Seuss books to him. When he started speaking, he would talk in rhyme patterns. His father was a house DJ who introduced Brown to a broad range of rap music and other genres, including Roy Ayers, LL Cool J, Esham, and A Tribe Called Quest.

Brown always aspired to be a rapper due to the musical exposure he had from an early age:

"In kindergarten, I’d say I wanted to be a rapper, and people would just laugh at me. 'That’s a pretty funny job,' they’d say."

He became a drug dealer at eighteen, embracing a new lifestyle but not surprising as he had reached the age of independence. Despite intending to stop illegal activities after his first arrest, he continued:

"I always told myself once I got my first case I was gonna stop. Then I got my first case, but I didn’t stop.