Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known by his stage name Danny Brown, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. Widely admired for his eccentric delivery, honest lyricism, and unique personality, blending hardened street acumen with hipster sensibilities, Brown began his career in the early 2000s as part of the rap trio Reser’vor Dogs. The group found limited success, although they did put Brown on the radar of Roc-A-Fella Records. Despite never ultimately signing, a label representative flew Brown out to New York and helped him record a mixtape.
In 2010, Brown put out his debut album, The Hybrid, as a free download. The album proved to be Brown’s big break: after generating a fair amount of buzz online, the record caught the attention of Fool’s Gold Records, the label founded by renowned DJs A-Trak and Nick Catchdub. In 2011, at 30 years old, Brown signed to Fool’s Gold and released his second album XXX, which received widespread acclaim and really put his name on the map. The following year, Brown was named part of XXL’s coveted Freshman Class, signed a partnership deal with Adidas, and got the chance to work on The Avalanches’ much-anticipated second album.
Brown followed XXX with 2013’s Old, which received further acclaim and debuted at No. 17 on the Billboard 200. The album featured collaborators from a wide-range of musical backgrounds, including A$AP Rocky, Freddie Gibbs, Charli XCX, and Purity Ring. In 2016, Brown signed to Warp Records, where he has remained ever since. Via Warp, Brown has so far released Atrocity Exhibition (2016) and unknowwhatimsayin¿ (2019), both of which appeared on numerous year-end lists, further cementing Brown’s place as one of the most talented visionaries in modern rap.
