Album Review: Danny Brown- Old
Step into the mind of rap’s most polarizing figure yet, with raunchy, unapologetic rhymes, with a drug filled manifesto, Danny Brown seems to have gone back the “Old” Danny Brown. If you are familiar with the MC you would know he’s from Detroit, he keeps his hair unkempt, has a high sense of fashion in the higher degree, and he has two missing front teeth and he’s on drugs most of the time, and he likes to talk about eating pussy and fucking, but that doesn't stop the homie from what he does best and that’s rap. If you are familiar with his beginnings before “XXX”, like “Hot Soup”, “The Detroit State of Mind” Mixtape Series and even “The Hybrid”, Brown had less about him doing the drugs he talked more about dealing the drugs, and this is what “Old” is supposed to convey to you its giving fans the first aspect of Danny Brown and also giving a new aspect as the transcends in the genre of rap.
The album opens with “Side A (Old)” which is a side that pays homage to the old style of Danny Brown where he talks about growing up in Detroit, dealing drugs, dope fiends, violence, and by the end of the second verse he pretty much says that now that he raps, he’s serving a new type of fiends, alluding the saying “The rap game, is like the crack game.” Next track which is assisted by Indiana’s own Freddie Gibbs “The Return” nice soulful sample with a gritty presence and this track is about living the struggle and the effects that it leads to violence, because regardless of what people gonna get whatever by any means.
Wanna pull me in that fire when I’m tryna feed my daughter
wanna snatch my momma’s plate, and tell her she can’t eat
and we gonna have us some discrepancies right here in this street
Because the weak don’t speak, get left in silence
And when you don’t listen, gotta speak with violence
The song is completely a play off of Outkast’s “Return of the Gangster”, especially with the hook which brought back nostalgia, and Freddie Gibbs is a great addition to the track as he killed his verse too.
One of my standout tracks from the album is “25 Bucks” featuring the Electronic duo Purity Ring and this is an ode to how he was brought up and how his mother had charged parents 25 Bucks to braid their children’s hair and it was a source of income on the side that helped his family live. “Wonderbread” is pretty much a story of a young Danny Brown being given some food stamps from his mother to get wonder bread, and when he goes out of the house he describes what he sees on his way to the store, which seems like a compilation of different trips to the store, of course he talk about dope fiends doing dope on the front porch of crack house staring directly at him… a block later you hear gun shots, and he sees a drugged out prostitute crying but he laughs at her, because living in Detroit people even children have grown numb to the nature of streets.
“Gremlins” is really when I realized Danny is trying to really spit some real shit and I saw a lapse of maturity in his music even as dark as this track is and is telling you how shit is in the D pretty much its no holds barred by these bars got me at it was at the end which was a masterful way to end the track
And all his OGs is either dead or in prison
Scared to talk to him like, fuck it they won’t listen
Unnecessary shit, thinkin’ that he has to
A pair of True Religions dog, my lil nigga blast you
Listenin to 2Chainz, aint thinkin about college
I wonder if he knew 2Chainz went to college
I wonder if he knew that would that change his mind?
Guess that’s something we’ll find in due time
After it cuts right into one of my favorite tracks “Dope Fiend Rental” with TDE’s next up ScHoolBoy Q, to me they were just having fun and talking shit, Danny was more talking about selling drugs and getting ass, as Schoolboy Q just had me laughing with his verse and to school you on what a “Dope Fiend Rental” is its when a dope fiend gives their car to a dealer in order to transport more drugs with…. So to these un-street smart motherfuckers better not be out here thinking you can rent dope fiends, no you can’t.
“Torture” is one of the most fucked up tracks which delves you into the mind of a “tortured” Danny Brown which paints the scenario of hell on earth and what lead him to being desensitized to the evil being done in his city, but he has seen it all a dope fiend that owed a boss and he lathered her vagina with peanut butter, and had a pack a vicious pits lick it off (which you should picture how fucked up that would end up), a fiend beating another with a hammer when he was 7, and seeing a crack head burn his top lip off with a crack pipe.. It is said by Danny Brown that this song is about how he can’t sleep because of all that he has seen and regardless of where he is in life now, when he closes his eyes he still sees the horrific images of base heads and it really made me connect the dots to how he is now and now he’s more of a drug experimenting individual these days in order to cope with certain things.
At first I didn’t like “Lonely” because the beat was too airy and still talking about violence in Detroit and certain struggles and the hook explains a lot about why he does drugs and it’s because it’s out of depression and he’d rather be by himself because no one knows him enough to understand his troubles. My only discrepancy is the bar when he say “ I’m stacking for abortion” who the fuck says that? Then again did I say he’s a raw and apologetic rapper that seems to not be too ashamed of his past. Then it goes into “Clean Up” where he really talks about him wanting to clean up his drugging ways because he’s running away from reality and he barely sees his daughter because he’s dealing with his addiction to drugs in order to combat his depression and he’d rather be distant than let his daughter see him the way he is now these bars jumped out to me.
A whole week done went past, I don’t go nowhere
Hotel rooms crushing pills and menus
Daughter sending me messages saying “Daddy I miss you”
But in this condition I don’t think she need to see me
Aint slept in 4 days, and I’m smelling like seaweed
Problems in my past haunt my future and the present
Escaping from reality got me missing my blessings
Next track is “Red 2 Go” now if you aren’t living under a rock you’d know the first verse is from the Sway in the Morning freestyle. This one is more upbeat as compared to the last beginning tracks he’s preparing you for side B which will feature less serious content and more turn up. Signifying he’s ready to go when it comes to the music and he going to give you some bangers.
I feel this side needs another introduction, Danny Brown is sonically the best versatile rapper there is out there right now. From using production from J Dilla, Blu, Apollo Brown, Frank Dukes, and the legendary DJ Houseshoes he is known to use the production of grime producers Darq E. Freaker, and Rustie, house producer and Fools Gold CEO A-Trak, and his frequent collaborating producer SKYWLKR, all those who bring this next dimension that Brown is known for. Which is the more EDM, trap, and trippy influenced sound and when he raps he put more emphasis on the higher pitched-squeaky voice and flow. Now throughout Side A the bulk of it was produced by Paul White, 3 tracks are produced by Madlib’s younger brother Oh No and Skywlkr produced “Dope Fiend Rental”. Side B is TURN UP time.
First track starts off with “Dope Song” which pays a visit back to his dope dealing ways but on the end of track he says
I’m sick of all these niggas with their 10 year old stories
you aint doing that shit no more, nigga you lying to the jury
so take this as a diss song, cause this is my last song
Not my last dope song, but my last dope song
Signifying that he is parting ways with his past style and content about dealing drugs, and focusing on the new Danny Brown. Then it transitions into “Dubstep” which is a play on the music dubstep, but with the chorus “ I had those dubs on a step” talking about when he used sell dubs (20 dollar weed) on the porch and UK MC Scrufizzer came through with the rapid fire delivery and I usually can keep up with the double time flow but I actually had to go to rap genius to see if I was hearing shit right.
Then it goes into the first single "Dip" which is a song about an experience on being on molly. And being with how radio is with all the detrimental music that's out i'm surprised this isn't on a few playlists. The A-Trak produced "Smoking and Drinking" a straight up turn-up joint that the subject matter explains itself with the title that's one of my favorite tracks. "Break it [Go]" is probably one of my least favorite tracks but my only one.
I fucks with "Handstand" because I just seem to like Darq E Freaker's style of Grime production and it seems like Danny Brown is the only rapper made for that type of production and Danny doesn't hold back on his sexually charged rhymes. Another stand out is " Way Up Here" featuring the Black Lip Bastard Ab-Soul, it has been since "Control System" on "Terrorist Threats" and I felt the way I contrast these two tracks is in Terrorist Threats" Brown was more in Ab-Soul world and his plane of thinking and he adapted well to it, actually Danny Brown surprised me with his verse, as opposed to "Way Up There" you see that Soul is more in Danny's forte with the trippy, electronic production and I don't think Soul belongs at all which as of late Soul's features have been lacking a bit and I'm a fan, I actually am the one who says he's better than Kendrick but that verse on " Smoke Again" of Chance the Rapper's "Acid Rap" and this track and I'm equally disappointed in both of those guest verses.
"Kush Coma" featuring ASAP Rocky, I really didnt like the song at first because maybe I was one of those people who wanted the "Old" Danny Brown and I am not a fan of EDM being fused with hip-hop, but I've slowly have became open to it and Danny Brown sound great on those beats, plus the hook was stuck in my head.... not as much as "Dip" but this is a dope single. Last but not least "Float On" ft. Charli XCX where he talks about his usage of drugs that helps him to cope with not being able to sleep, or deal with pain, and anxiety.
Danny Brown surprised me as I thought how could top XXX, and maintain a fan base that has grown rapidly and gain new fans? He mixed both aspects that make him who he is today. In the first side is more of a darker and mature Danny Brown, and opposed to side B where its alot of turn up tracks. When he said there would be less "dick sucking jokes" I wasn't skeptical I listened to every mixtape he had until this point knowing that Danny Brown gets busy on the mic I can't doubt him, but I was surprised how great this album was. The lyrics has too much meaning and if you're familiar with Brown's music you will get it, but he really went in depth of being a child growing up in Detroit and what causes certain people to go on drugs and why he's on it, he really masks the fact that he's really a tortured individual and that he has a lot of guilt from his past, opposed to the image that he is happy and having fun all the time but in fact he's running away from his past and, the fact that you get this from an album makes it very remarkable.
Lyrically this album is a gem, people will find Brown's style weird, but thats the original aspect of the album. The high pitched voice delivery was pioneered B-Real of Cypress Hill, and if you can fuck with him you can fuck with Danny Brown. If you can deal with grisly imagery and sexual imagery you should listen to this. This album is top 5 for sure I'm on my 50th listen and the album gets better everytime because you as a listener is trying to piece together his story and the word play. Do I feel Side B should have been Side A and vice versa, but check out Danny Brown's "Old" you will like it
5 out of 5 vinyls
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