Daniel Payne known professionally as Daniel Payne, is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, gained popularity among the underground scene as a result of releasing 14 original mixtapes and albums independently since 2007. He is a pioneer of hip-hop for Birmingham, Alabama in the digital era.
Early life
Daniel Payne spent his youth in and represents the Birmingham, Alabama neighborhoods of Ensley, Forestdale, and West End. He grew up middle-class, he stated in an interview with DJ Smallz, but Birmingham was plagued by violence in the 1990s and 2000s. He revealed that he had been shot at before but never hit, the first time being at 16 years-old. He moved to Atlanta at age 18 and played football at Clark-Atlanta University before moving back to Alabama after a year. He hustled in various ways and worked jobs at McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and Target before pursuing music.
Musical career
2007–2010
The first song that he recorded, was discovered by DJ Burn One on MySpace in 2007, right after he had just finished with Gucci Mane. was featured on several mixtapes around the South and eventually led to KD releasing his 2007 mixtape . He was offered record deals after the release of , but declined every deal due to the fact he wanted to stay independent. He then, went on a run releasing the in 2008, and in 2009, and the best of in 2010. After the release of these mixtapes he was able to go on the Trunk Muzik tour with Yelawolf. "KD is yet another underrated Alabama artist in the music industry. This time he's hitting you with his second street album titled "The Playa Prezident" presented by DJ Burn One. The production on this album is what the south been missin!", wrote Whitefolksgetcrunk.com about 2008's The Playa Prezident. featured the song , of which The Fader wrote, "As the latest stars of Alabama's Got Talent, Birmingham's KD and H.A.M. try on flows like fancy clothes over a B-Phlat spaceship rattler, each verse outclassing the last. The chorus is as formidable as it is inspirational." featured a guest appearance by Pill, and was released November 2009. described, "We sang the praises of Untouchable earlier this year, and Soul Inn continues in the tradition of excellent beat selection and smooth rhyming. Mick Vegas, B-Phlat and B Kirk crush the production here. This is big." In 2010, he and DJ Burn One released, , a compilation of KD's best songs to date. London, United Kingdom based hip-hop website wrote, "Birmingham, Alabama’s consistently soul warming KD teams up with one of the world’s foremost country rap music connoisseur’s for his ‘Best Of’ collection."
2011–16
In 2011, he released what many consider his magnum opus, . G-Fluid was critically acclaimed by hip-hop purists and featured the underground classic with Freddie Gibbs, . Justin Ivey, Editor-In-Chief, described the album as "vintage country rap tunes". French blogger Abcdrduson wrote the following, "The combination fits perfectly in the revival of the genre "Country Rap Tunes", bathed by the classics of UGK, the Dungeon Family or 8ball & MJG. The pace is hopping, the bass ready to lift the chest, the hat accelerates to infinity and the soul invades us gently, a little more each snare. Burn One is a goldsmith in the field, drawing from this rich culture of the South American to bring out its essence between the bagpipe of Pimp C, the originality of Outkast and the charisma of Scarface.....by making this life-saving album, they are a worthy successor to these great legends of Alabama. Nate King Cole, Percy Sledge, Pickett Wilson, Eddie Kendricks, these names resonate like immutable figures, untouchable that KD and his team brush with the fingertip. Returning in the wake of their elders". This album also helped land him in SPIN magazine's November 2011 issue as a rising star of raps new underground. The following year, he partnered with Dirty Glove Bastard, DJ 5150, DJ Burn One and mixtape website LiveMixtapes to release , a free album. In 2013, he released his first digital retail album on Hollow Entertainment. The Smoking Section wrote, "Alabama’s own KD brings his own version of street knowledge mixed with a little spirituality", to describe Diary of a Trill Nigga. He released in 2015 and in 2016.
2019-Present: Daniel Payne
He formally announced the stage name change from KD to Daniel Payne with the release of the album. When asked about the name change he stated that "with time comes change and with change comes growth and I've been growing and kind of changing my outlook on things and I thought Daniel Payne would be a good transition into this next phase". His first release as Daniel Payne was an EP on April 19, 2019 entitled . "I've been living in Houston the last few years so I've been taking in those vibes and that sound and that culture, so I think that this kind of the first project where I've been in Houston for so long that I've recorded this and put it out and its kind of like an ode to what I've been on the last few years. And then, with Daniel Payne, people have always like how I've been singing so I've been trying to make it more 50/50", is how he described 3rd Coastin' On Purple Waves. On May 8, 2020 he released , his first LP under the Daniel Payne moniker. The Source magazine wrote, "Track 2, his self titled track “Daniel Payne” is a story of his upbringing and how the things he faced growing up in the south help mold him into the man he is today. When asked about what inspired this album, Payne had this to say,” I like to make music that reflects my thoughts and experiences at the time. This album reflects what’s been going on with me in the last 4-5 years.”
