Uniqueness and originality have been key components for all rappers. As far as their music and their character. There's certainly no denying that hip hop has seen it's fair share of stand out characters. From the humorous and comedic Redman, to the strange Ol' Dirty Bastard, to the over sexual Uncle Luke. Just to name a few. Well now...let's meet Danny Brown. He might possibly be the most strange and bizarre new comer to the hip hop scene. From the moment you hear his voice, you'll either laugh hysterically or shake your head in embarrassment. His outlandish persona, hilarious yet bizarre lyrics (mostly misogynistic) and his weird cartoon like voice makes him a huge stand out. Detroit has put out crazy hip hop characters like this before (D-12 for example) but none quite like Danny Brown. 2011 is when many people, including myself, started to take notice to him when he dropped his sophomore album XXX. One of my favorite albums that year. It was an album filled with humor and lyrical wittiness but at the same time was somewhat sentimental when talking about his drug addiction. It was an album that was so far left from everything that was out. So because of that, my expectations for this, his third album Old, were pretty high. Looks like my expectations were met...big time. I loved this album. Start to finish. I was very surprised what Danny did with this album. The concept he used for this album was interesting yet very smart. He splits the album into two parts. The first half of the album is where he gives you his old flow from when he first came in the game, as well as the things he rapped about then. The second half of the album he gives you current Danny Brown on tracks that sound more mainstream-ish. He titles the first half "Side A" and the second half "Side B". Kinda like the old cassette tapes from back in the day (playing into the "old" theme of the album). I believe he did this for the fans. You see, like many underground MC's, Danny's fan base right now is divided. There are the fans that been there since day one and know full well about his old flow and content. "Side A" is for them. Then there is the fans he's gaining now who caught on in 2011 after XXX dropped. The ones who are drawn to the more funny and witty Danny Brown. "Side B" is for them. Basically this was a way for Danny Brown to please both parties without dropping something that would have people calling him a sell out. Very smart and creative move. So for this review I'll do something different. I'm gonna break down both sides individually then talk about it as a whole. I'll start with my positives and negatives for the first half, "Side A". On this part of the album, Danny reflects back on his old self. As far as his lyrics, flow and content. He talks heavily on his drug abuse and how drugs destroyed his neighborhood and people he knew closely. The song that describes this the best is "Torture". Here he talks heavily about the terror he seen in his hood due to drugs. Everything from dope fiends killing one another, mothers and kids doing drugs and all kinds of terrible drug related situations. This was my favorite beat on this side of the album and really brought the full emotion out of the song. Majority of the songs on this side talked about this but none touched on it more deeply than this which is why it's my favorite. The second track "The Return" was another good track where Danny in a way warns you to not take his goofy side for granted. He's still hood and can get aggressive. Freddie Gibbs comes in and drops a pretty good guest verse. "Gremlins" is more dark hood tales where Danny speaks on the crooks he knew that stole and killed over the drug game. These are obviously situations that troubled Danny when he was living through it as you can hear it in his voice. Good song. On "Clean Up" he talks more about his own drug addiction. Talking about how it's messing with his mental which leads to him not remembering anything, how he can stop itching and grabbing himself and so on. Even mentioning receiving text messages from his daughter about how she misses him but he doesn't want her to see him like this. He really opened up and vented in a major way here. Very emotional song but a good one. My only issue with this side of the album is the track "Dope Fiend Rental". Now it was good song that featured a good guest verse from Schoolboy Q, the tempo and overall sound of this song sounds like it should have been on the second part of the album instead of this side which was supposed to be the more serious side. It kinda took away the mood from the other songs. Again a good song just bad placement. Now on to "Side B". On this side of the album, we get the Danny Brown of now or what he has now become. The one newer listeners are more familiar with. The tracks on this side shows the happier, sillier and goofy side of Danny on a lot of mainstream-ish almost trap sounding production. Fans who been here since day one might have to give this side some time to sink in but the new fans should like it. So now my positives and negatives for this side. The track "Kush Coma" may have been my favorite on this side. This was kinda the same song topic wise as "Clean Up" but told in a more happier way. Rapping about the weed and pills clouding his mind and causing him to lose train of thought. Being in a "coma". A$AP Rocky is on it and drops a okay verse minus that one horrible line ("so many numbers in my phone book, I could start a motherfucking phone book"). Still I liked the song. Not many songs on here sound like singles but if I had to pick one that sound close to it then it would be "Dip". It's by far the catchiest hook and has the most..."jumpiest" tempo and beat on the album. He raps more about alcohol on this track as apposed to the other drugs mentioned on the album. A similar song is "Handstand". As I mentioned before, Danny is a bit of a misogynist. He loves sexually degrading women in his lyrics and this song shows it. It basically about him being high and horny. It actually sounds like it would make a pretty good strip club and/or twerk song. It will have to grow on me honestly. I love the beat on "Break It (Go)". The sound effects sounded very techno/futuristic and really brought to life what would have been a boring beat. My only two issues with this side is first off, the track "Dubstep". I didn't quite like his flow on this. Sounded too much like these radio rappers now. That mainstream fast paced flow doesn't fit him. The other issue is the final track "Float On". Now again, just like with "Dope Fiend Rental", this song should have been on the first half of the album and not the second. It didn't fit at all with these happier songs. "Dope Fiend Rental" and "Float On" needs to switch spots. Overall, I loved this album from start to finish. The concept caught me by surprise. It was smart and one of the best this year. I give this a final grade of a A-. Due to his character and his content, for the average listener, Danny Brown takes some getting used to. Which is understandable because that was the case for me too. But there's no denying that his bizarre way of telling his stories of struggles through drug use and hood survival stand out and makes him very unique. A style like this should keep him in the game for a long time. My drug addiction are albums like this and rappers who can come up with unique concepts like this. Regardless of how "old" they are. End.
Final Grade: A-
CREDITS
Executive Producers
Nick Catchdubs
Alain Macklovitch
Lead Artist
Daniel Sewell
Production
Paul White
Corrin Roddick
Michael Jackson
Skylar Tait
Russell Whyte
Jeremy Coleman
Jeremiah Nteh
Adam Freeney
Matthew Tavares
Chester Hansen
Alexander Sowinski
Collaboration
Fredrick Tipton
Corrin Roddick
Megan James
Quincy Hanley
Romani Lorenzo
Herbert Stevens
Rakim Meyers
Charlotte Aitchison
Label
Fools Gold/ADA
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