Danny Brown.
That may seem like some generic name you’d find on the average fake ID. It sounds like the alias some superstar would use while cooped up in their hotel to avoid prank calls and unwanted attention. Danny Brown is about as generic of a name you could create, but Danny Brown is far from being a generic individual.
I won’t front, I’d never heard of Danny Brown. Not a single freestyle, feature, rhyme, sentence, syllable word nor inhalation. However, it’s very apparent, after playing, and replaying, all the tracks off his completely original mixtape, XXX, and a brief Google search, that I’ve been sleeping on what could be the most unique underground artists in the game today.
He’s unheard in comparison to major label artists, which is a travesty and a farce when considering the amount of heart, genuine skill, realness and true love for his art that Danny Brown puts into his songs. The traits are far more apparent and actual in his work then these mainstream “artists.” Although he isn’t getting major radio run, he isn’t completely unheard, as Danny Brown has created quite a buzz this summer. After listening to this mixtape, as the admittedly arrogant hip hop purist that I am, this man deserves all the attention and applause he receives.
To continue the honesty, I’m listening to his tape trying to make comparisons to other artists. Initially, I want to describe him as a BoB/ODB hybrid, with the drug habit of Eminem, psychosis of Andre Nickatina and an appearance similar to Tech N9ne, when he drops the most ridiculous line I’ve heard spit in a while.
This line I’m referencing takes imagery in rap lyrics to a sadistically satirical level, that if I had to compare to someone, with gun to head, I’d say reminds me of Eminem in his Slim Shady heyday. It’s in the song “30”, track 19, on XXX and around 30 seconds. For print’s sake I can’t write it here, but it’s definitely worth your attention.
Those who take offense to his dark humor shouldn’t be turned off though; Let the song play and follow the darkly deep and revealing story Danny Brown paints on a fittingly psychotic beat. Danny Brown’s voice and flow match perfectly the passionate prose he leaves in the following two minutes and thirty seconds of poetry. I’d like to mention that this track also is the last track on the mixtape, not as a terribly cliché insult but rather to relay that it is merely doing it’s part in staying on par with the preceding 18 tracks.
I recommend listening to Danny Brown’s project front to back. What else are you going to do? Hear the same regurgitated radio rapper? It’s funny that we happen to be on the subject of the radio cause, in my continuation of honesty, the fourth track entitled “Radio Song” has come on as I type this. In this track Danny Brown drops his opinion, and in my opinion a very true one, on those same radio rappers. He even takes the time out of the song to mockingly outdo these rappers at their own “art” with a jab of a jingle for a chorus and a verse that flips from imitating, to indicting the industry.
This track is conveniently found after the song “Pac Blood” where Danny Brown, in his own style, relays what he feels his music, and hip-hop in general, is and should be. Brown posits that it’s awfully hard to believe people flying on G4’s and whipping Rolls Royce’s would publicly admit to participating in felonious activities with firearms in their automobiles… if they were actually doing it. That means you correctional officer, Ross. He also uses an arsenal of intelligent references and witty story telling that makes it apparent that his signature bark is backed with a bite. That bark also, once again, blends with the beat and the feel of the song, as it does throughout the whole tape.
But I can hear the murmurs in your minds, and apparently so can Danny Brown because he also demonstrates he understands the masses thirst for swagger and braggadocio in their rap songs. As the tape continues to be played I have arrived upon the chest-banging ode to Danny Brown’s emcee ego named “Monopoly”.
But what Danny Brown drops is incomparable to most of his “peers” in hip-hop. He shows us the depth of his knowledge as he uses witty word play to weave and jump between ideas to leave convincing evidence of his superiority. The manipulation of his vocal chords is energizing and infectious on the whole tape and always has the right tone to deliver the feel he’s going for. His flows catch the beat and run with it on every song. Even on the songs where he switches up his delivery to a more mellow style stay on par with the rest of his product.
For example, now I’m playing “Party All the Time” which is a story about a girl who gets sucked into the world of excessive drugs and sex. The smooth beat is accompanied with an equally suave voice on behalf of Danny Brown. This also allows Danny Brown’s to show off a sense of depth. In the full scope of what an Emcee is, Danny Brown possesses the artistry of a poet well learned and practiced in his field.
Then there’s the track “Fields”. This song serves as an autobiographic hymn to his youth and home on the streets of Detroit. Danny Brown uses his personal experiences to speak on social issues that often go ignored in major public media. Again, he’s a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to lyrical substance. From swagger, to society, to his own soul and essence, Danny Brown touches on these subjects with a very personal style that creates a window into who he is, where he came from, and where he wants to go.
I guess this introduction became a review, but in reality the truest introduction you can get to an artist is by actually listening to the artist. You wouldn’t expect me to explain Picasso, Mozart, Banksy or Eminem completely in words. If you want to get to know Danny Brown you should cop his mixtape XXX, cause I doubt he put his essence and art into his music and into the public domain for people not to listen to it. Plus do you really want to be that guy who jumps on the bandwagon after he’s blown up and get clowned on when you can’t recall a single song from this incredibly dope mixtape? I’m trying to help you out; because, if this dude’s momentum continues and he gets the recognition and attention he deserves, he will doubtlessly shake the game up.
But before we leave Danny Brown for the moment, let’s go back to that song “30” and let’s talk about hip-hop a little. Hip-hop is an art, so whilst you may not agree with the life and stories Danny Brown relays, you must remember the following: All art, or
worthwhile art at the least, is a personal expression and introspection of the individual creating it. I am reminded of the quote accredited to Ernst Fischer
“In a decaying society, art, if it is truthful, must also reflect decay.”
Very few live the life of a saint. Danny Brown is merely keeping it real to who is by allowing you to take glimpses into his less than ideal lifestyle. He has experienced the dark side of a decaying society and possibly by recognizing and respecting this, we as the listeners, can gain some perspective and understanding of Danny Brown and each other. And, in my opinion, the first rule of hip-hop is being true to who you are. Danny Brown may break a lot of rules and conventions, but he doesn’t break this one.
So you may not agree or want to participate in his lifestyle, but it’s incredibly respectable that he has the courage to bring inconvenient truths to light and put, what others would consider, his flaws down in permanence. And he’s loved his art through all the ups and downs. Take his song “30”, specifically the following bars
“Never learned to rap always knew how / Ever since a n*gga 8 knew what I would do now / when I turned 28 they’re like what you gon’ do now/ and now a n*gga 30 so I don’t think you heard me.”
I hear you Danny Brown. An artist who hold their art form so dearly that they will let nothing get in the way of being heard and doing it right. So give the man the dues he deserves.
What should really matter is he’s real and dope. So much so that you can get a FREE download of his XXX mixtape at his official Soundcloud page here.
I insist you get it cause it’s worth your while to listen to... as long as you love real Hip-Hop.
If I had to grade it I’d give it an A: It’s real, passionate, dope, diverse and all the other things you could ever possibly look for in a Hip Hop project.
Danny Brown will be opening for Das Racist on October 6th at The State Theatre in St. Petersburg. Come out and support what could quite possibly be the next guy to shake the game up.
