Where Is Danny?

Where Is Danny?
Studio album by
Danny!
ReleasedApril 19, 2011
RecordedJune 2009 – September 2010
GenreAlternative hip-hop
Length69:08
LabelInterscope
ProducerDanny!
Danny! chronology
And I Love H.E.R.: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(2008) 		Where Is Danny?
(2011) 		Payback
(2012)

Where Is Danny? is the sixth studio album by American rapper and producer Danny!. It follow the rapper's 2008 album And I Love H.E.R.: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Where Is Danny? was originally titled Project X, but the name was changed shortly before its release.[1] The record—marketed primarily as a lo-fi "anti-album"—is a milestone in Danny!'s career, as it is his twelfth release (amidst a vast catalog that also includes instrumental albums,[2] compilations and an EP) yet only his first for Interscope Records after being signed to the label for a little more than half a year.[3]

Where Is Danny? is the first album in Danny!'s discography to not feature an image of him, his likeness (à la Danny Is Dead) or even his name on the record's cover art. Instead, the album uses the artwork "Pistol" by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. According to Swain, this was an effort to not only assert his status as an artist, but to emphasize the album's brash, "in-your-face" content.[4] The 2011 official release used an alternate "smoking gun" variant that was previously commissioned by TIME for their 1968 cover story on the prevalence of guns in America.[5]

Where Is Danny? would go on to receive critical acclaim, ultimately winding up—much like his previous three studio albums—on the shortlist for the following year's Grammy Awards nominees.[6] Following a strong interest from Jay-Z in Danny![7] (and Questlove's inclusion of a modified version of the title track in his 2012 ad campaign for Sonos[8]), the album enjoyed a surge of attention in late 2012 a year after its release (see 2011 in music); Danny! subsequently offered Where Is Danny? as a free download temporarily despite presence in retail.

  1. ^ Glazer, Joshua (April 6, 2009). "Mystery Danny! Project Finally Sees Light Of Day". URB. Archived from the original on August 25, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
  2. ^ "Daniel Swain: Discography". Allmusic. 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
  3. ^ Taylor, Otis (2011-01-26). "Danny! May Be On Verge Of Breakout Success". The State. Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  4. ^ Kreps, Daniel (2009-07-13). "Poker Face: Danny! Continues To Transcend Hip-Hop". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2009-08-01.[dead link]
  5. ^ "The Gun Under Fire". Time. 1968-06-21. Archived from the original on April 23, 2008. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  6. ^ Swain, Danny (2011-10-12). "Them Grammy Ballots Is Out, Gawd". Tumblr. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
  7. ^ STATS, Eddie (2012-03-21). "Questlove Speaks On Jay-Z & Danny!". Okayplayer. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
  8. ^ Meyer, Thomas (2012-05-31). "Questlove: 'Listening Is Back'". Sonos. Retrieved 2012-06-01.