Hailing from the mean streets of the motor city, Detroit, Michigan comes an interesting rapper who has introduced me to something called shock rap. A type of rap, which involves quite explicit descriptions of images that can be graphic not to mention gross i.e., vomiting. These taboo raps can spark a wildly shocking response from the listener hence the wacky sub-genre. A fantastic purveyor of this rap style is none other than Danny Brown. I had not heard of this manifesto of awesomeness previously but it really feeds the ear drums some awkwardly memorable rhymes. Similar to a favorite movie line or punchline from a great stand up comedian, I find myself repeating Danny’s word spits(quietly to myself as they are usually controversial) as if they were my own. A fantastic example of a great beat meeting some wicked rhymes is his 2012 single I found via i-tunes “Grown Up”.
This track sounds like it is flavoring the ears with some of Lou Reed’s classic “Walk On The Wild Side” in the background. A song that when it was released back in 1972 was noted for its raunchy subject matter. The ode on one songs iconic beat to another mixed with Danny’s uncanny ability to string together a two minute and twenty second vocal narrative about the hardships of growing up and the struggles on the way to making it to the big time. He describes dinners where he “ate captain crunch, now he blows big blunts on the way to brunch”, nice! A defiant and definitely not the straight out of the box, mainstream approach to describing hardships but wickedly inventive nonetheless. The subject matter and the almost annoying qualities of Danny’s voice do something magical on this track. His vocal range is at least an octave or two above the average rappers, in a way, calling attention onto his lyrics and message. This combined with the kick-ass production, mixing and engineering on the track plus his inventive appearance add to the mystique of his rap persona. I believe in him and his ability, definitely someone whom much like Eminem, D12 and the Odd Future gang, can build off his uniqueness. He could have a huge impact on the rap game.
Truth be told, I first heard of Danny on a song entitled “1Train”, which includes 7 of the best young rappers in the game today but to me, Mr. Brown stole the show. His verse so memorable, I said to myself who the hell was that, man that verse was crazy. Crazy to think that a rock icon talking about fellatio and prostitution could have influenced a young product of Detroit whom much like Lou’s classic is controversial and magnetizing.
Some info courtesy of Wikipedia.
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