Daryl Brown knows a thing or two about being a Gators fan.
Brown, a 34-year-old Gainesville rapper known as Deal’a, released his newest single, “It’s a Swamp Thang,” on iTunes and Google Play Oct. 2. Brown recorded a remix of the song with Gators defensive tackle Leon Orr Tuesday night.
Brown said he bonded with Orr when he cut the Florida player’s hair before football games.
Orr loved Brown’s song and pushed for it to play in the Swamp on gamedays, Brown said.
Sophia Bou-Ghannam, a 19-year-old biomedical engineering sophomore, said she’s heard the track a few times during football games.
She said hearing it in the stadium pumps up students and gets the Swamp rowdy.
“It’s an accurate portrayal of how crazy we get about Florida football,” she said. “The funniest line of the song is ‘Gators eat haters.’”
A music video to boost the song’s hype and bring out the pride in Gators fans is in the works, Brown said.
Orr asked Florida head coach Will Muschamp if the two could shoot the music video in the Swamp and include the team, Brown said.
He said Muschamp agreed.
Brown planned to shoot the music video last week, but he postponed it because Orr was sick with the flu.
He said he wants to complete the video by spring.
Brown recorded the original song to pay tribute to his Gainesville family roots and unite Gators fans.
“My heart lies with the Gator Nation,” he said.
Brown was born a Gators fan in 1978 at Shands at UF.
“My dad was a UF student,” he said. “I grew up always watching Gators games.”
Brown combined his love for Gators sports and music as an adult, when he opened his music production company, Big Profit$ Entertainment, last year and wrote “It’s a Swamp Thang.”
He said he got a lot of great feedback for the song from the Gainesville community after promoting it downtown upon its release.
With the remix recorded, Brown said he has big plans for the song and plans to make it an anthem for Gators fans.
Merchandise will come soon, he said.
He plans to make T-shirts, hats and other apparel boasting the song’s lyrics, he said.
Business aside, Brown said he knew he wanted to make an anthem to unite Gators fans and support the team he loves.
“When we unite, we’re a force to be reckoned with,” Brown said.
Daryl Brown, known as Deal’a, recites a verse from his new song, “It’s a Swamp Thang,” in the booth at Crescendo Sound Studios, 2106 Northwest 67th Place No. 6.
