Dan the Underdog is an award winning Northern Territory based MC/producer. He has been pivotal in establishing the Northern Territory Hip Hop scene. Since his humble beginnings with Teknikal Onslaught in Darwin to taking the nation by storm with Catch The Fly, to starting Bring It ON NT Battle league with Northern Versifiers Firm, he has always been about dope beats and a live stage show.
Dan the Underdog was born in Adelaide, SA and raised in Buffalo, NY. He started making beats from an early age, and by the time he finished High School, had already started gigging at pubs & parties and releasing albums, he used to burn them and sell them everywhere he went. Many of his friends and family fell victim to vicious cycles of drugs, violence, unemployment and the criminal justice system, much of which runs rampant in Buffalo, America’s 3rd poorest city. He decided to take another route and branch out on his own, using his dual citizenship to return to his country of origin, Australia.
Dan the Underdog has always spread his production talent across the board, working with bands, crews, solo artists and workshop participants to help them get that sound they want. His production work on TASK’s Out of the Darkness got him notoriety in 2006 when TASK won NT’s emerging artist award at the Indigenous Music Awards. His production has also been featured on releases from Hugh Winterflood (Skank MC), Kaotik, Bellee, Ben Iota, Eskatology, NTSA, just to name a few. He produced and co-wrote Off The Brackets, The NT Song Of The Year 2012 in the Urban category. In 2013, his production skills shone through again, taking out the Urban & People’s choice Categories with Skank MC’s Northern Terror Story.
His day job is working with youth in indigenous communities, schools, and drop-in centres to develop tracks for various workshops & projects, helping countless numbers of youth organisations win competitions and get funding, but more importantly, build up the self-esteem of the young people involved.
Dan is currently working as a mentoring artist with the stArts with D Perfromance Ensemble.