Dana Dane

Origins

Dana Dane was born Dana McCleese on September 6, 1965, and raised in the Walt Whitman Houses in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. As a student at Manhattan's High School of Music & Art he befriended a classmate named Ricky Walters, later known as Slick Rick. The two formed the Kangol Crew, working out routines at school contests, in parks and in small clubs, and both went on to become known for character-driven story rhymes.

Breakthrough and "Cinderfella Dana Dane"

After finishing high school, Dana signed with Profile Records in 1985 and teamed with producer Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor. His first single, "Nightmares," was a humorous story rap that reached No. 21 on Billboard's R&B singles chart and set up his debut album, Dana Dane with Fame, released in May 1987. The record's centerpiece was "Cinderfella Dana Dane," a gender-flipped retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale with Dana cast as the hard-luck hero of the story. The song became his biggest hit, peaking at No. 11 on the R&B chart, and its narrative style made it a staple of mid-1980s storytelling rap. The album went to No. 2 on Billboard's R&B albums chart, No. 46 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold, with "Delancey Street" and "This Be the Def Beat" also charting.

Later Career

Dana's second album, Dana Dane 4 Ever, arrived in 1990 and reached No. 23 on the R&B albums chart. He later returned with Rollin' wit Dana Dane in 1995, which included "Record Jock," a 1994 single that made Billboard's Bubbling Under chart. Between records he ran a clothing boutique in New York, made a cameo in the 2002 film Brown Sugar, published a novel titled Numbers in 2009, and spent about six years as an on-air host on LL Cool J's Rock the Bells channel on SiriusXM. Over his career he recorded for Profile, Arista, Maverick and Warner Bros.

Legacy

Dana Dane is remembered as one of rap's great storytellers and as a key figure in the Hurby Luv Bug circle that also launched Salt-N-Pepa and Kid 'n Play. His influence shows up in later work: Snoop Dogg modeled his 1999 track "Snoopafella" directly on "Cinderfella Dana Dane," and AZ name-checked "Nightmares" on a 2005 album. Critics at the time were mixed on his debut, but the Kangol Crew partnership with Slick Rick and his own fairy-tale hits helped establish narrative rhyming as a lasting lane in hip hop.