The NorVa

Daniel Dewan Sewell, known by his stage name Danny Brown, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and podcaster. Born on March 16, 1981, in Detroit, Michigan, he began rapping at a young age and was influenced by his father, a DJ who introduced him to hip-hop and house music. Brown started his music career in 2003, performing with local hip-hop groups while supporting himself by selling drugs. In 2007, he served eight months in jail after violating his probation for a drug-related case. After his release, he continued releasing music independently, including mixtapes such as Hot Soup (2008) and Hawaiian Snow (2010) with Tony Yayo. His debut studio album, The Hybrid, was released in 2010. In 2011, Brown signed with Fool's Gold Records and gained wider recognition with the mixtape XXX, which received critical acclaim and attention from online music outlets. The single Grown Up was released in 2012. His second studio album, Old, came out in 2013 and was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, reaching number 18 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.