Jesse Dangerously

Jesse Dangerously
Jesse in Ottawa, November 2008
Background information
Birth name	Jesse McDonald
Also known as	Jesse D., J.D., Little Girl Toast, Bad DJ Budget Cuts
Born	1979 (age 44–45)
Origin	Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Genres	Alternative hip hop
Instrument(s)	Vocals, Sampling and programming, Drums, Ukulele, Theremin
Years active	1996-present
Labels	None
Website	http://dangerously.ca/

Jesse McDonald, better known by his stage name Jesse Dangerously, is an alternative hip hop artist from Halifax, Nova Scotia and operating out of Ottawa, Ontario. Dangerously has released solo projects, provided guest vocals for other local artists, hosted a weekly radio show, written a weekly column, and produced beats for other musicians. He is a member of the Backburner crew.

Career

Dangerously is a fan of 1988 to 1994-era hip hop, and claims a wide range of influences and favourites, including such artists as Public Enemy, Das EFX, early LL Cool J, early Masta Ace, Black Sheep, Casual, Breeze Brewin, Aesop Rock, Psalm One, Saafir, Jadakiss, Knowself, Bonshah, and the Fresh Prince, among others.

Kicking off his career in the late 1990s with the album B.R.E.A.K., Dangerously has since released five solo projects, as well as a group album with his Backburner crewmate Ambition under the name The Library Steps. Dangerously’s most recent solo album is Humble & Brilliant (2011), but in 2018 The Library Steps released the project Rap Dad, Real Dad as a Gang Starr or Pete Rock & CL Smooth-style rapper/producer duo album.

Want, For Nothing, Dangerously’s duo album with producer Eli Grove under the crew name DangerGrove, is slated for release in autumn of 2018.

Rapper mc chris has referred to Dangerously as a nerdcore hip hop artist, saying the following:

"The truth is I’m kicking every other rapper like me’s ass up and down the boardwalk. I only like one and will say his name quite happily. Jesse Dangerously. He’s good. The rest suck. That’s hard to say and i haven't said it before because some of these people are my fans, some are my friends."

Dangerously has provided guest vocals on MC Frontalot's albums Nerdcore Rising and Final Boss, performed at the Halifax Pop Explosion, and was a top-6 finalist in a Napster-sponsored writing/rapping competition judged by Chuck D in 1999. He appeared on the MuchMusic program Going Coastal on March 19, 2006, was used by MTV Canada's MTV Live as a rapping correspondent to describe the history of nerdcore and has been featured on the CBC Radio program Atlantic Airwaves as well as many programmes on CBC Radio 3.

From June 2004 until May 2007, Dangerously hosted The Pavement, a weekly hip hop show on CKDU 88.1 FM that was handed down to him from Buck 65 and Skratch Bastid, and has guest lectured at Saint Mary's University on the topic of gender issues in rap music and popular culture. From January 2006 until October 2007, he also penned a weekly column on regional hip-hop for The Daily News of Halifax.

Dangerously’s fifth solo album, Humble & Brilliant, was released to the Internet as a chapbook and download on March 10, 2011.

Discography

Solo

• B.R.E.A.K. (1996)
• Eastern Canadian World Tour 2002 (2002)
• How to Express Your Dissenting Political Viewpoint Through Origami (2004)
• Inter Alia (2005)
• Verba Volant (2007)
• Humble & Brilliant (2011)

Collaborations

• The Sentinels - The Lying City, EP (1998)
• Imaginary Friends - The ImF Ride b/w Even Exist (As In, "We Don't..."), 7" (2004)
• The Mighty Rhino - “Basically Jesus” (also featuring More Or Les, I Am Joseph & Cam James), from We Will No Longer Retreat Into Darkness (2018)

External links

• Jesse Dangerously's site
• Jesse Dangerously's Blog
• Halifax Daily News column
• Electronic Press Kit
• Nerdcore Compilation CD Project