Album Review: Danny Brown - Old

Danny Brown
Old
Rating: Woof Daddy

Danny Brown's mixtape XXX was a messy record about drug-fueled desperation, and he warned that its follow up Old would only get deeper and more introspective. Split into two parts, Old is basically Brown's mind laid open bare, focusing on his past, present, and future selves, warts and all. Ruminations on his past drug use, dealing, and time in jail share space with more party-fueled, festival ready tracks. Brown shows that he is trying to distance himself from his past yet finds it clouds and colors everything he does. Sometimes he's able to get beyond it and sometimes not, all the while showing he is simply human and doing his best to not make the same mistakes. While this sounds dry on paper, Brown matches his lyrical ruminations with some of the most modern and edgy beats and backing you will hear today. Self-confessed to being influenced by records as diverse as Radiohead's Kid A, Joy Division's Closer, and Love's Forever Changes, Old is a rich, sonic tapestry that unfolds like a kaleidoscope, fractured against itself.

Side A is the more past leaning side of the album, and is the more darker and bleaker side of the record. On the harrowing track "Torture," Brown watches his uncle smoke crack and almost burn his face off,



on the brilliant track "Lonely" he gets more resigned to what seems to be the predestined life of an addict, rapping "So I'm smoking by my lonely/By my goddamn self/I don't need your help homie/Cause don't nobody really know me,"



while Brown hits the bottom on "Clean Up" where he misses texts from his daughter while getting high.



On this half of the record, Brown is his lyrical best, "Wonderbread" turns a trip to the grocery store into a harrowing look at poverty and drug use,



"Gremlins" has Brown being the street savvy wise talker,



and on the Purity Ring assisted track "25 Bucks" Brown's raps about growing up in his drug infested neighborhood merge well with Megan James' more surreal and earthy ruminations.



These tracks lead into the more party-oriented tracks on Side B, showcasing Brown's more extroverted side, with the more haunting tracks from Side A coloring each and every corner. While these tracks seemingly glorify drug use and partying, the fact that you have seen the darkside of what can happen with them tends to shade things a little darker. Of course, these tracks also feature some of the most club and party ready beats on the record, drawing from UK bass, grime, trap, and EDM, utilizing producers as diverse as SKYWLKR, Rustie, and A-Trak. Some of the most frenetic tracks are the skittering and bass heavy "Dip,"



the blistering "Smokin & Drinkin."



and the druggy collaboration with A$AP Rocky, "Kush Coma."



It all comes to a meditative close with the haunting collaboration with Charli XCX, "Float On," with Brown languidly rapping over trill beats.



Old almost feels like Danny Brown doing a career retrospective, as it touches on his many different personalities and styles. In lesser hands, this could be an unholy, unstructured mess, however, Brown is in complete control and expertly guides you through this journey through his mind. It is a relevatory release that demands your attention. It is the best hip-hop record of the year so far.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.