Danny Is Dead
Encyclopedia
Danny Is Dead, the first EP
and sixth release from American
rapper/producer
Danny!
, is a half-hour long EP
that was released July 17, 2007 (see 2007 in music
) on Danny!'s 1911 Music/Badenov Records vanity label. The eight-song record is the extended play follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2006 album Charm
and composed primarily of reduxes from Charms standout tracks (namely, "Now You're Gone", "Cafe Surreal" and "Fly").
Like all of the titles in Danny!'s catalogue (except Charm and And I Love H.E.R.
), production on Danny Is Dead was helmed solely by Danny! himself. There are also no guest appearances or features on the album, making Danny Is Dead the first record since Danny!'s debut, The College Kicked-Out
, to be a completely solo effort.
Overall Danny Is Dead was hailed as an enjoyable album, short enough to not overwhelm listeners and long enough to keep them interested in future material. Presumably playing up his claims of being "A Tribe Called Quest
on acid", Danny!'s first single from Danny Is Dead, entitled "Check It Out", is, for all intents and purposes, an energetic remake of their 1998 single "Find A Way". This song was the most well-received track from Danny Is Dead (followed closely by "Fly, Pt. 2"), and was briefly featured by sites such as Pitchfork Media, URB Magazine and Okayplayer
.
, Barnes & Noble
and FYE
. More copies were pre-ordered and subsequently sold than anticipated, and a second short run of discs were pressed up not even a month after Danny Is Deads July 17 release date. As a result, the album was listed as "out of stock" or "back-ordered" for several weeks, much to the dismay of fans attempting to track down the EP.
Three different versions of Danny Is Dead were manufactured and shipped to various outlets in different regions of the world. HMV
's UK and Japanese stores have since stocked the item; on the Japanese retail version sold on HMV Japan, the bonus track "Just Friends (Live)
" is included at the end of an instrumental reprise of "Now You're Back". In England, the never-before-released "Fullaschidt, Pt. 2" (also known as "Fullaschidt (remix)") is preceded by "Outro (Dead...?)", just as "Ebony Flower" is on the North American retail version. As of August 2007, only the Japanese retail version has been made available for sale on iTunes
.
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
and sixth release from American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rapper/producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Danny!
Danny!
Danny!, also known as D. Swain , is an American rap performer and record producer from Columbia, South Carolina, a former student of the Savannah College of Art & Design and, previously, a recording artist for Definitive Jux Records. L.A. Weekly has called Danny! "the best new artist that Def Jux...
, is a half-hour long EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
that was released July 17, 2007 (see 2007 in music
2007 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2007.-January:*January 1 - George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame...
) on Danny!'s 1911 Music/Badenov Records vanity label. The eight-song record is the extended play follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2006 album Charm
Charm (album)
Charm is the critically acclaimed third studio album from American rapper/record producer Danny! and the first of his records to be released commercially...
and composed primarily of reduxes from Charms standout tracks (namely, "Now You're Gone", "Cafe Surreal" and "Fly").
Like all of the titles in Danny!'s catalogue (except Charm and And I Love H.E.R.
And I Love H.E.R.: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
And I Love H.E.R.: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, also referred to as simply And I Love H.E.R., is MC/producer Danny!'s full-length follow-up to 2006's Charm. The record was released to universal acclaim, cited by ABC News and L.A. Weekly as one of the best releases of 2008...
), production on Danny Is Dead was helmed solely by Danny! himself. There are also no guest appearances or features on the album, making Danny Is Dead the first record since Danny!'s debut, The College Kicked-Out
The College Kicked-Out
The College Kicked-Out is the debut album from American rapper/producer Danny! . Originally slated for an October 12 release date, The College Kicked-Out finally saw the light of day on November 2 after being delayed by bootlegging....
, to be a completely solo effort.
Reception
The record was well-received and touted by critics as a sign of great music to come from Danny!. PopMatters optimistically stated that while Danny! certainly "has a brilliant album in him", Danny Is Dead ultimately "lacks the amazingness of both what he’s done and what he’s likely to do". RapReviews.com gave the album an 8.5 out of 10—the same score given to Charm -- and offered that Danny! "continues to impress...this rapper's career [is] definitely on the rise".Overall Danny Is Dead was hailed as an enjoyable album, short enough to not overwhelm listeners and long enough to keep them interested in future material. Presumably playing up his claims of being "A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
on acid", Danny!'s first single from Danny Is Dead, entitled "Check It Out", is, for all intents and purposes, an energetic remake of their 1998 single "Find A Way". This song was the most well-received track from Danny Is Dead (followed closely by "Fly, Pt. 2"), and was briefly featured by sites such as Pitchfork Media, URB Magazine and Okayplayer
Okayplayer
Okayplayer.com is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by Rolling Stone as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The group was co-founded by The Roots' drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson as a loose musical...
.
Availability
Danny Is Dead was, like Charm before it, released worldwide through retail chains such as Best BuyBest Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
, Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
and FYE
Fyé
Fyé is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays-de-la-Loire in north-western France.-References:*...
. More copies were pre-ordered and subsequently sold than anticipated, and a second short run of discs were pressed up not even a month after Danny Is Deads July 17 release date. As a result, the album was listed as "out of stock" or "back-ordered" for several weeks, much to the dismay of fans attempting to track down the EP.
Three different versions of Danny Is Dead were manufactured and shipped to various outlets in different regions of the world. HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
's UK and Japanese stores have since stocked the item; on the Japanese retail version sold on HMV Japan, the bonus track "Just Friends (Live)
Just Friends (2009 song)
"Just Friends" is a song written, produced and performed by American rapper/producer Danny!. Originally a hidden track on the Japanese version of his 2007 Danny Is Dead EP, Definitive Jux Records released the live version of "Just Friends" as a single domestically on March 10, 2009 in anticipation...
" is included at the end of an instrumental reprise of "Now You're Back". In England, the never-before-released "Fullaschidt, Pt. 2" (also known as "Fullaschidt (remix)") is preceded by "Outro (Dead...?)", just as "Ebony Flower" is on the North American retail version. As of August 2007, only the Japanese retail version has been made available for sale on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
Track listing
Release history
| Country | Date |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
July 16, 2007 |
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
July 17, 2007 |
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
August 6, 2007 |
External links
- "Danny Is Dead" audio snippets courtesy of Barnes & Noble
- "Danny Is Dead" lyrics courtesy of the Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive (OHHLA.com)
- "Fly, Pt. 2" video courtesy of YouTube