Danny Brown wasn’t plucked out of obscurity by internet tastemakers. He barged onto the scene like a limo full of drunk strippers crashing a frat party. His monstrous 2011 mixtape, XXX, introduced the world to a truly unique artist, whose brash rhyming style and sly sense of humor sounded defiantly out of step with the rest of the hip hop world. The tape has only improved with age. Tracks like “Blunt After Blunt,” “Nosebleeds,” “Party All The Time” and “Monopoly” have practically attained modern classic status.
The feverish buzz surrounding Danny Brown, along with a few high profile cameos (see above), have garnered some very high expectations for his debut. Throughout Old, Brown seems acutely aware of the implicit promise he’s made and he delivers a decidedly lively album not just devoid of filler, but packed with ideas on the fringes of pop.
This time around, Danny Brown sounds even less interested in working within the confines of modern Hip Hop. This is a decidedly good thing. His skills as a lyricist are unrivaled. Weather he rhymes about getting his ass kicked on “Wonderbread” , sifting through the trash for food, for getting it on with a girl doing a handstand, his flow is on point like a motherfucker. It’s not that his rhymes are about subjects untouched by other rappers, it’s that he does it thoughtfully. Dude spins a good yarn. This is all the more remarkable when you consider he isn’t so much a rapper as he is three or maybe four great rappers rolled into one, each with a distinct style and personality. Any of which should make his contemporaries ashamed of themselves for doing another tired one-dimensional verse about fucking bitches or trapping.
If Old proves anything it’s that Hip hop has had a rough year. Sure, there’s been a few decent releases; A$AP Rocky’s LongLiveA$AP, Earl Sweatshirt’s delightful Doris and a couple choice mixtapes by Casey Veggies, Le1f, and Joey Bada$$. Other than these scant few though, it’s been a rather disappointing year for Hip Hop. Exemplified by the mediocrity of the some of the year’s biggest releases.
Therefore the climate in which Old arrives makes Danny Brown all the more inexplicable. His collaborations stand in bold contrast to the typical hip hop fare of the day. Too many releases have a 2nd tier Kanye or Pharrell beat randomly inserted, or an uninspired Kendrick Lamar verse in hopes it will maximize sales or add a little much needed cred to the release.
Instead, Danny Brown’s collaborators are a subtle nod to his good taste. The spectacular production is especially apparent. SKYWLKR, Paul White and Rustie hand over some excellent beats. By far the most exciting production on the album though, has to be ATrak‘s “Smokin‘ and Drinkin‘,” which I’d say is a great dance track if I could only imagine a dance move berserk enough to suit it. In fact the same could be said of the entirety of the record’s frantic, but awesome, second half.
That said, Old isn’t a perfect album, but it is a solidly refreshing one. Especially after the year hip hop has had. To say this is the best rap album of the year so far is so obvious it’s redundant. What is yet to be seen is whether the rest of the game will learn from it’s example.
Rating :4.4/5