Philly Swain

Darin “Philly” Swain[4] was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A prolific artist, producer and writer that has collaborated with multiple A-list artists, including Travis Scott on the 2020 single "Love Me Love Me Love Me,"[5] he was also featured on Christina Milian's E! television show "Turned Up.[6]"

As CEO of The Parade record label,[7] Philly also has a passion for filmmaking, design and mentoring aspiring artists.

At a young age, Swain quickly demanded the attention of the label Takedown Records. After signing with Takedown, things were promising until a wrong move saw him serve three years in jail and his album was duly shelved, as documented in "The Hustle Diaries."[8]

The short film “Hustle Diaries” documented Philly Swain's career with Take Down Records. It was filmed by Viacom and directed by Barry Michael Cooper, writer of New Jack City, Sugar Hill, and Above the Rim.[9] Swain was featured in two songs ("Me"[10] and "Salute"[10]) on Jamie Knights Album The Secrets Out Released in the summer of 2007.

After winning Freestyle Fridays,[11] he went 31-0 on MTV’s Fight Club[12] and when his Grind Time battle premiered on Worldstarhiphop.com, it racked up a record-breaking 3.5 million total views.

In 2012, Swain's mixtape "Swain Storm[13]" was featured on Philly's Hot 107.9 with DJ Damage.

With a nomination for Philadelphia’s Hip Hop Artist of the Year under his belt, Philly starred in the network show The Swagger Family and released his debut album Mr. Philadelphia on Sony. In the MC battlefield, Philly won the Eminem Red Bull Tournament as Best MC.[9] However, competing across the world in multiple battle leagues was taking away from Philly’s time in the studio and so, at the top of his game, Philly decided to retire, but not before another documentary was made, called The Last Battle.[14]