# Dana Dane

Dana McCleese (born September 6, 1965), better known by his stage name Dana Dane, is an American rapper known for performance of humorous lyrics and for his fashion sense.

## Early life

Dana was born in the Walt Whitman housing project in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York City, New York.

## Career
### Recording artist

Dana Dane's career began as part of the Kangol Crew with fellow rapper Slick Rick, to whom he sounded markedly similar, although Slick Rick's English lilt was actually genuine, while Dana Dane's was an affectation. Dana Dane appeared in the video for Slick Rick's 1988 single "Teenage Love". After graduating from high school, he signed with Profile Records in 1985.
Dana Dane's debut album, Dana Dane with Fame, peaked at #46 on the Billboard album chart and was certified gold. His debut single was "Nightmares". His biggest hit in the United States was "Cinderfella Dana Dane", which peaked at #11 on Billboard magazine's R&B charts in 1987. Cheryl Green from Queens, NY sang backup. He was among Profile Records's core artists, then recorded briefly for Rap-A-Lot Records but did not release anything on that label. He released his last album, Rollin' Wit Dana Dane, in 1995 on Maverick Records.

### Other activities

Dane operated a clothing boutique in New York City in the late 1980s and early 1990s. For six years, he was an on-air host for Sirius/XM Satellite Radio on its classic hip-hop channel LL Cool J's Rock the Bells radio (formerly BackSpin).
He makes a cameo appearance as himself in the 2002 film Brown Sugar.
In 2009, he released his first novel, Numbers (One World/Ballantine/Random House).

## Discography
### Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| Title | Album details | US | US R&B /HH | Certifications |
| Dana Dane with Fame | Released: May 22, 1987 Label: Profile Formats: CD, LP, cassette | 46 | 2 | RIAA: Gold |
| Dana Dane 4 Ever | Released: October 11, 1990 Label: Profile Formats: CD, LP, cassette | 150 | 23 | |
| Rollin' wit Dana Dane | Released: March 28, 1995 Label: Maverick/Warner Bros. Records Formats: CD, LP, cassette | — | 42 | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |||||

### Compilation albums

List of compilation albums :
| Title | Album details |
| Best of Dana Dane | Released: March 26, 2002 Label: BMG Special Products Formats: CD |
| Profile Singles | Released: July 31, 2020 Label: RCA Formats: Digital download, streaming |

### Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | US Bub. | US R&B | US Rap | Album |
| "Nightmares" | 1985 | — | 21 | — | Dana Dane with Fame |
| "Delancey Street" | 1986 | — | 44 | — | Dana Dane with Fame |
| "This be the Def Beat" | 1987 | — | 30 | — | Dana Dane with Fame |
| "Cinderfella Dana Dane" | 1987 | — | 11 | — | Dana Dane with Fame |
| "Dana Dane with Fame" | 1987 | — | — | — | Dana Dane with Fame |
| "Love at First Sight" | 1988 | — | — | — | Dana Dane with Fame |
| "Little Bit of Dane Tonight" | 1990 | — | 53 | 17 | Dana Dane 4 Ever |
| "Tales from the Dane Side" | 1991 | — | — | — | Dana Dane 4 Ever |
| "Record Jock" | 1994 | 15 | 61 | 11 | Rollin' wit Dana Dane |
| "Rollin' wit Dana Dane" | 1995 | 18 | 77 | 25 | Rollin' wit Dana Dane |
| "Chester" | 1995 | — | — | — | Rollin' wit Dana Dane |
| "Think Twice" | 1997 | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "What Up Love?" | 1999 | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||||