Danny Brown has never been one to shy away from a bold creative choice. He’s reinvented himself time and again, and on his latest album, Stardust, he does it once more. When he brought the Stardust tour to Chicago’s Vic Theatre on November 16, 2025, he proved he can still hang in today’s music landscape without losing an ounce of who he is.
Watching hyperpop evolve has been a genuinely bizarre pleasure. My first exposure came in 2019, watching 100 gecs open for Brockhampton (such an internet-core show!). Despite not being entirely behind the music, I remember being struck by the crowd’s ecstatic energy. Its bare-bones presentation combined with wild maximalism made for a fascinating set, no doubt. But it was the fan response that stuck with me. As the years passed, hyperpop kept growing. Now, seeing one of my favorite modern rappers step into that world, it’s clear the genre has become a playground for artists willing to take risks.
Despite being an artist not bound by trends, Danny Brown understands how hyperpop has fully infiltrated the mainstream.
Artists like Machine Girl are suddenly playing bigger venues, and with the breakout success of Charli XCX’s Brat, the genre isn’t going anywhere. I’m no hyperpop expert, nor have I ever sworn loyalty to any single scene, but I imagine this must be what it felt like to watch nu-metal or pop-punk form out of thin air. Some artists jump in just to ride the wave, but others dive in to make a genuine statement. Danny Brown’s Stardust is very much a statement album. I was curious to see how its chaos and color would translate live, but before I got there, I had to survive both of his openers.
Toronto artist femtanyl kicked off the night. Even from the sidewalk on that cold Chicago evening, their music blasted through the venue’s walls like every nightclub wishes its sound system could. The tracks hit like gunfire, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Crowd-surfers flew over the barricade, and the pit swelled with excitement. Things somehow got even louder when San Francisco singer underscores took the stage. At one point, I wondered if some fans were more excited about the openers than they were about Danny himself. The lighting during both sets was so blinding that it was almost impossible to see the stage.
All of that chaos shifted the moment Danny Brown walked out on the stage.
As the venue went dark, the beat for “Starburst” kicked in, and with zero hesitation, the show exploded to life. No easing in, just instant Danny Brown. Standing inside an LED cube, he tore through the first verse with untouchable swagger. His singular flow sounded just as wild and charming live as it does on record. Rolling straight into “Flowers,” “Lift You Up,” and “Green Light,” it became obvious how well Brown adapted to hyperpop’s zaniness. He honors the genre while staying rooted firmly in hip-hop. Danny Brown can rap over anything, and those first four tracks proved it beyond doubt.
After flexing the power of Stardust, Brown shifted into his back catalog. The XXX cuts “Lie4” and “I Will” still hit with the same braggadocious fire. The Old bangers “Dip” and “Smokin & Drinkin” had the crowd losing it all over again. Fans jumped even harder for the Atrocity Exhibition staples “When It Rain” and “Ain’t It Funny,” and erupted when he tore into the thematically perfect “SCARING THE HOES.”
Once the career-spanning detour was done, Brown cranked the hyperpop energy even higher.
I was lucky enough to see him in 2019 when his discography was leaner, but this time the focus was clearly on making the new material hit. And there’s nothing wrong with that. He was locked in. Openers femtanyl and underscores returned to perform their respective Stardust tracks, and then Brown surprised the crowd by bringing out Jane Remover, sending the audience into a full-blown roar. Before closing with “All4u,” he thanked everyone for supporting him and shared that Stardust helped him rediscover his love for music, crediting his recent sobriety as a major source of inspiration.
Danny Brown ended the night on an undeniably inspiring note. His genre crossover was teased years ago with Frost Children’s “Shake It Like A,” but now we’re seeing that spark fully realized. While genre-hopping can often feel like a cop-out or a cash-grab, Brown made it clear through both the album and the performance that he’s inspired by every corner of music and willing to push himself to perfect his craft. Stardust is another daring leap in a discography full of them. No one knows where hyperpop goes from here, but one thing is certain: Danny Brown seized the moment, uplifted its younger artists, and created something special in the process.
All photography by Oscar De Leon
