Paybackis the seventh studio album of American rapper/producer Danny Swain, released under the nameDanny!.The album was recorded primarily during the summer of 2011 shortly afterWhere Is Danny?'s re-release viaInterscope Records.[1]After leaving Interscope, Swain subsequently signed toOkayplayer Records,and the album was released in late September 2012.[2]
| Payback | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio albumby | ||||
| Released | September 25, 2012 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 81:23 | |||
| Label | Okayplayer Records | |||
| Producer | Danny! | |||
| Danny!chronology | ||||
| ||||
Paybackwas promoted by an appearance by Swain onLate Night With Jimmy Fallonalongsidethe Rootsone week prior to the record's release.[3]The album includes featured performances by various recording artists, and one by actressAmber Tamblyn.[4]
Overview
editBackground
editShortly after Swain's previous albumWhere Is Danny?was re-released in 2011, Swain began to compose a satirical project to expose how listeners were more interested in music by high-profile names than in music of substance. Swain spent the remainder of 2011 assembling tracks intended for a digital download album to be released through Interscope.[5]Swain left Interscope's digital label in late 2011 and was later picked up byQuestlove's relaunchedOkayplayer Records.Paybackwas largely ready by January 2012.[6]
Release
editPayback,narrated byJoi Gilliam,was revamped for release on September 25, 2012. All tracks were produced by Swain.
One week prior to the album's release, Swain performed "Evil" onLate Night with Jimmy Fallonwith the Roots as his backing band.
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [7] |
| Consequence of Sound |  [8] |
| DJ Booth | [9] |
| HipHopDX | [10] |
| No Ripcord |   [11] |
| Popmatters | [12] |
| RapReviews | [13] |
| Rolling Stone | [14] |
| Slant Magazine | [15] |
| SPIN | [16] |
Paybackinitially received mostly favorable reviews after being delivered to the press at the top of 2012, ultimately earning a 76% rating from review aggregatorMetacritic[17]leading up to its eventual fall release. Noting the album's scarcity and constant delays at the time,Popmatterspraised Swain's candor as well as the cultural references scattered throughout the album, wondering "how much of the album’s more subversive elements could slip between the cracks at a time when the market behaves as though there’s simply no time or need for inspective ears".[18]
The production on the album was unanimously acclaimed by critics;Slant Magazinedeemed the beats "undeniably savvy".[19]Sites such as AllMusic and DJ Booth lauded Swain's emotional purging throughout the record, with both likeningPaybackto an on-wax "catharsis", while others such asRolling Stoneand No Ripcord chided him for the very same thing, calling Swain "angry"[20]on an album "[full] of gripes".[21]Swain would later debunk the latter sentiments on hisTumblrblog track by track, dismissing the presentation of such notions as "lazy".[22]Swain recanted this stance on his subsequent album,The Book Of Daniel,acknowledging thatPaybackwas "cartoonishly entitled" and conceived during a "very, very dark time in [his] life".
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Music | Sample(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Overture" (featuring Chell) (Swain,Piccioni,Tanaka) | Produced by Danny! | 3:57 | |
| 2. | "Myintrotoletuknow" (Swain) | Produced by Danny! | * "Amanda" byDionne Warwick * "Are You That Somebody" byAaliyah. | 6:08 |
| 3. | "Little Black Boy" (featuringRes) (Swain, Bankhead, Barnes, Johnson) | Produced by Danny! | 3:55 | |
| 4. | "Get Up" (Swain,Larrieux,Tatham) | Produced by Danny! | "Get Up" byAmel Larrieux. | 5:21 |
| 5. | "Evil" (featuringGavin CastletonandAmber Tamblyn) (Swain,Castleton,Tamblyn,Gudmundsdottir,Sigurðsson) | Produced by Danny! | * "Don't Know What to Tell Ya" byAaliyah. | 6:21 |
| 6. | "Even Louder" (featuringTanya MorganandSwizz Beatz) (Swain, Callender, Freeman) | Produced by Danny! | * "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" byBob James. | 3:36 |
| 7. | "Phonte" (featuringPhonte) (Swain, Coleman) | Contains elements from "Paul",byEminem. | 1:18 | |
| 8. | "Shit Starters" (featuringAgallahandEl-P) (Swain, Aguilar, Bush, Grayson, Meline, Minto, Prichard, Vera) | Produced by Danny! | * "Isolation" byArmored Saint * "Sibling Rivalry" byThe Simpsons. | 4:21 |
| 9. | "Overture Reprise" (featuring Chell) (Swain, Piccioni) | Produced by Danny! | 4:43 | |
| 10. | "Speed" (Swain) | Produced by Danny! | 3:56 | |
| 11. | "Go That-A-Way" (Swain) | Produced by Danny! | 3:16 | |
| 12. | "Misunderstood" (featuringLil BandBlu) (Swain, Gray, Barnes, McCartney, Mosely) | Produced by Danny! | * "Get On the Bus" byDestiny's Child | 5:15 |
| 13. | "I Don't Wanna Hear That Shit (remix)" (featuring 'Sup Boo (Swain,Dudley,Göttsching,Horn,Rimbert) | Produced by Danny! | 4:34 | |
| 14. | "Do It All Over Again" (featuringQuestlove) (Swain) | Produced by Danny! | * "Border Line" byThe Soul City Orchestra * "C.R.E.A.M." byWu-Tang Clan. | 10:36 |
| 15. | "Keep Your Head To The Sky" (featuring Collette) (Swain, Hines,Harris, Lewis) | Produced by Danny! | * "Optimistic"bySounds of Blackness. | 6:20 |
| 16. | "Far Away" (featuring Collette) (Swain,Jones,Lins, Peranzzetta) | Produced by Danny! | * "Setembro (Brazilian Wedding Song)" byTake 6. | 3:42 |
| 17. | "Payback" (featuring iLLmont) (Swain, Jones) | Produced by Danny! | * "It's a Terrible Thing to Waste Your Love" byThe Masqueraders. | 4:04 |
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18. | "Been Away Too Long" (Swain) | Produced by Danny! | 6:04 |
References
edit- ^"Where Is Danny? - Danny!".iTunes.2011-01-13.Retrieved2011-01-17.
- ^Sanchez, Erika (2012-08-28)."Exclusive:?uestlove Announces Okayplayer Records Re-Launch, New Albums By Danny!, Young Guru".Billboard.Retrieved2012-09-01.
- ^Blotnick, Emmy (2012-09-20)."Exclusive: Danny! Performs" Evil "".NBC.Archived fromthe originalon November 27, 2012.Retrieved2012-11-01.
- ^"Audio: Danny!" Evil "feat. Gavin Castleton & Amber Rose Tamblyn".19 September 2012.
- ^Loss-Eaton, Nicholas (2010-11-12)."Discovering New Music Artists in the Digital Age: Interscope Digital Distribution Reaches Beyond DIY".PR Newswire.Retrieved2012-02-07.
- ^"Interview: Danny Swain, Jay-Z's New Favorite Rapper, Speaks on" Payback "".Complex Networks.
- ^Allmusic review
- ^Consequence of Sound review
- ^"DJ Booth review".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-09-30.Retrieved2012-10-23.
- ^HipHopDX review (content retracted, score retained)
- ^No Ripcord review
- ^Popmatters review
- ^RapReviews review
- ^Rolling Stone review
- ^Slant review
- ^SPIN review
- ^"Danny!: Payback".Metacritic.2012-10-10.Retrieved2012-10-11.
- ^Amidon, David (2012-03-16)."Danny!: Payback (review)".Popmatters.Retrieved2012-10-06.
- ^Scheinman, Ted (2012-11-15)."Danny!: Payback (Review)".Slant.Retrieved2012-11-14.
- ^McKenna, James (2012-10-19)."Danny!: Payback (review)".No Ripcord.Retrieved2012-10-22.
- ^Dolan, Jon (2012-11-22)."Danny!: Payback Album Review".Rolling Stone.Retrieved2012-11-22.
- ^Swain, Danny (2012-10-19)."To SayPaybackIs Angry Rap Man Music... "Tumblr.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-12-25.Retrieved2012-10-22.