Danny Brown 'Old'

I first heard Danny Brown during my junior year of high school on Black Milk’s “Black & Brown!” EP. My first reaction was “Wow, this guy is good, and he sounds so refined.” Why had I never heard of him?

The truth is that in 2010 nobody had heard of the Detroit native. Although Brown had been rapping for seven years, he wasn’t successful.

This all changed in 2012 when his second studio album, “XXX,” gained popularity instantly. Along with a great verse on A$AP Rocky’s “1-Train” and a great music video for “Grown Up,” 2012 was Brown’s year.

Brown’s success would land him a spot in XXL magazine’s highly coveted “Freshman Class.” At 31, Brown was the oldest member of the “Freshman Class” of 2012, but it was well-deserved and long overdue.

What some don’t know about Danny Brown is that his career could have had a very different path. He was very close to signing with rap group G-Unit two years prior, but 50 Cent put the kibosh on the signing because of his dislike of Brown’s style.

To many hip-hop fans, this isn’t much of a surprise. Brown is weird. His free-spirit identity is on display at all of his performances.

“Old” is a one-of-a-kind album that delivers for his fans. An hour long and split into two sides, it has all of Brown’s ridiculous oddities that fans expect.

If ugly is the new beautiful and orange is the new black, Brown’s weirdness may be on to something.

For the album, Brown enlisted fellow “Freshman Class” members in Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q, along with other outlier rap artists.

There are some dud tracks on the album, but for the most part, all the songs that feature other rap artists are excellent. Often, rap artists are better when their songs feature guests.  

Brown is known for his fast flow and high, nasal voice. However, for three tracks he slows down and eliminates the nasal sound. On “Lonely,” it seems a completely different rapper is rapping on the track. But Brown is just as good slow as he is at his normal speed.

If you aren’t used to Brown’s style, the album is hard to swallow at first. But listen to it a few times and it grows on you. It’s not as good as “XXX,” but “Old” meets the expectations for a third album.