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Daniel Stephenson's global success has seen him work with the likes of Ed Sheeran and Drake - it's a far cry from childhood growing up on a council estate and watching his grandad's skiffle band, writes Liane Castle.
As a young boy who grew up on a council estate in Maidstone, Daniel Stephenson never could have imagined that one day he would go on to achieve global success as a music producer working on Grammy nominated hits.
Having spent his teenage years in Park Wood and Shepway, the now 37-year-old, who went to North Borough Junior and Maplesden Noakes schools, said opportunities back then came few and far between.
But now, after years of hard work, the music mogul, widely known as Dani, is a global success and is using his platform to inspire young people to follow their ambitions no matter where they come from.
Mr Stephenson said: "Growing up on the estate, it wasn't the best upbringing but it was a way of building character.
"When I finished school, my thing was always music but I had no idea how to get into it.
"In Maidstone back then music was not a big thing and everything was in London. It's kind of the same now but it's important for people to know there is other stuff out there you can do no matter where you come from."
His first inspiration came from his grandfather who worked at the Kreemy Works factory on the riverbank in the town centre.
He was the lead singer in Sharp’s Creamy Toffee Skiffle Group and Mr Stephenson would often go and see him perform.
Then at the age of 17 he started the journey as a songwriter and aspiring producer-DJ and enrolled to study music production at the Kent Institute of Art and Design in Canterbury, now a part of University for the Creative Arts.
On his days off he immersed himself in the Camden music scene and spent time collaborating with upcoming artists like Devlin, Charlie Sezz, Ed Sheehan, 57th Dynasty and MC Turbo.
He took on various internships before starting his own company Straight Forward Music where he oversees such things as the signing, nurturing and marketing of talent, as well as guiding their creative and artistic direction and helping them define a sound.
One of his biggest successes came from a collaboration with Swedish DJ, Nevada, and R&B singer Mark Morrison on a remix of his 90s classic Return of the Mack.
The single, which is called The Mack, and also features American rapper Fetty Wap, was streamed more than 250million times on Spotify.
Since the company started in 2011, Mr Stephenson has worked on Grammy nominated singles including Ella Mai’s Good Bad.
Another came from his work with Canadian rapper Drake on his album Scorpion which led to success he says still excites him to this day.
He added: "I’m a huge fan of Michael Jackson and we worked on a record he featured in called ‘Don’t matter to me’ which was a global hit and had the Grammy nomination.
"It broke the Spotify and Apple Music streaming world records in the UK and the US which we still hold to this day and that for me, as someone from Maidstone, was special."
'I want to inspire people in Maidstone and show them that whatever it is they want to do, it can be done....'
As well as the Grammy's, he has won various Billboard and Mercury awards, alongside two Brit awards and a MOBO.
The company has grown so much over the years, he now also runs Straight Forward Giving, a branch of his company dedicated to funding charity projects.
The music executive said his mother, Amanda Stephenson, a single parent, was the flame that ignited his passion for community work.
She used to run the Hope Tovil Community House project which helped ex-offenders find education and work as well as offering young people a safe place to socialise.
After years of volunteering and helping out at the community centre, he hopes to one day work on an initiative that opens doors for the next generation of aspiring musicians in the county town.
He said: "In Maidstone in particular I really want to do more but it's quite hard to get people active.
"I’d one day love to launch a music initiative that will cover the whole of Kent to give back to the community I was raised in.
"I want to inspire people in Maidstone and show them that whatever it is they want to do, it can be done.
"There are a lot of people who come from Park Wood who are doing long stretches in jail all because of where they grew up.
"When I was growing up I never really had a place to get that information and mentorship so I'd like to change that for young people now."
More recently he has been working with NHS Charities Together to support workers though the Covid-19 pandemic.
The profits from one of his latest singles was donated to the charity.
He has also become an official mentor for the Prince's Trust and hopes to use his role to help people back into work.
