Daniel Payne (musician)

Daniel Payne
Also known as	KD
Origin	Birmingham, AL
Genres	Hip hop southern hip hop R&B
Occupation(s)	Rapper, Singer
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Hollow Entertainment
Associated acts	Starlito DJ Burn One Scotty ATL Freddie Gibbs Big K.R.I.T.
Website	danielpayne.store

Daniel Payne known professionally as Daniel Payne (formerly KD), 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 .

Early life

Daniel Payne spent his youth in and represents the Birmingham, Alabama neighborhoods of Ensley and Forestdale. 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, "Polo & Nikes" was discovered by DJ Burn One on MySpace in 2007, right after he had just finished Chicken Talk with Gucci Mane. "Polo & Nikes" was featured on several mixtapes around the South and eventually led to KD releasing his 2007 mixtape Last Man Standing. He then went on to release Playa Prezident in 2008, Untouchable and Soul Inn in 2009, and the Best of KD in 2010. After the release of these mixtapes he was able to go on the Trunk Muzik tour with Yelawolf. Untouchable featured the song "Luv It", 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."

2011–16:

In 2011, he released the album G-Fluid. G-Fluid featured Freddie Gibbs on "Let Me Ride".. 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 "Crown Me", a free album. In 2013, he released his first digital retail album "Diary of a Trill Nigga" on Hollow Entertainment. He released Space Age Southern Playalistic Country Rap in 2015 and Green Acres in 2016.

2019–present: Daniel Payne

He formally announced the stage name change from KD to Daniel Payne with the release of the Tuxedo Junction 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 3rd Coastin' On Purple Waves. "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. He released his first LP as Daniel Payne, "Purple Onion", in May 2020. 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.”. On June 18, 2021 He released "5 Points", an EP with DJ Burn One that featured guest appearances from Big K.R.I.T., G Perico and Freddie Gibbs.

Discography

• Last Man Standing (as KD) (2007)
• Playa Prezident (as KD) (2008)
• Untouchable (as KD) (2009)
• Soul Inn (as KD) (2009)
• The Best of KD (as KD) (2010)
• G-Fluid (as KD) (2011)
• R.O.A (as KD) (2012)
• Crown Me (as KD) (2012)
• Playa and G (as KD) (2012)
• Diary of a Trill Nigga (as KD) (2013)
• Space Age Southern Playalistic Country Rap (as KD) (2015)
• Green Acres (as KD) (2016)
• Tuxedo Junction (as KD) (2019)
• 3rd Coastin On Purple Waves EP (2019)
• Purple Onion (2020)
• The 4Ep (2020)

References

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