This is going to be the first in a series of reviews where I talk about an older album that I not only think is great, but also happens to define my personal taste in music very well, exemplifying precisely what I want to hear when listening to a new record. The first album I'll be covering, I'm excited to present, is Danny Brown's breakout LP, XXX (pronounced "triple-x"), released back in 2011.

Danny Brown is a new-age Detroit rapper who has been making a lot of noise in the music industry within a very small amount of time, with his debut, The Hybrid, having only come out in 2010—and though a lot of people may not have heard of him in the mainstream, he has been collaborating with a wide variety of other popular artists, and is featured in songs such as Rustie's "Attak" as well as A$AP Ferg's "Reynolds"—and, most recently, he's put out an Adult Swim single called "Worth It" with Clams Casino on production. And you know, I really pity all of these people who have been sleeping on Danny's shit for so long, because even though The Hybrid may not have been the greatest hip hop album of that year, I think XXX is easily the greatest hip hop followup record of the decade so far—I really do.

True to its title, XXX is just a raw, unadulterated exhibition of absolute debauchery: Sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll—or in this case, hardcore hip hop. Anyone who doesn't already enjoy rap music to some degree will likely hate this album, because it sort of takes every stereotype of modern hip hop and amplifies it almost to the point of ludicrousness, but if you're able to bear the sheer gratuity of this album, however, you're going to be treated to what is actually a highly well-crafted, smart, and introspective look on the sort of sex-craved, druggie-type lifestyle that it documents—especially during the second half (or, rather, the final third) of the record's loosely-connected narrative.


The album kicks off with the title track—a determined manifesto with this really amped-up, anthemic beat, as Danny essentially introduces us not only to himself, but also his unique, off-kilter flow and higher-pitched delivery that almost sounds cartoonish—but not to the point where it's off-putting. After growing accustomed to his voice and mapping out his personality (and this song drips with personality), Danny begins rapping about what it took for him to create this record—and the stakes that were at hand if it ended up flopping—talking about his drug & alcohol abuse to derive inspiration, as well as the amount of time he spent recording his songs in utter seclusion, never partaking in any sort of social interaction while he records. Basically, he's saying he put all of his time, effort, and energy into this thing, so "if this shit don't work, nigga, I failed at life!/Turning to these drugs, now these drugs turned my life!" It's the perfect opener, grabbing both our attention and our sympathy as we begin to delve further into his crazed existence.


The next track, "Die Like a Rockstar", represents the first trial in Danny's sort of drugged-up hell gauntlet that will, from my perspective, essentially determine if you're willing to listen to the rest of the record or not—and it's not just because he makes two blatant references to ejaculating on women within the first verse. The song is altogether about Danny's total infatuation with getting fucked up on drugs—to the extent that he idolizes celebrities, or "rockstars," whose deaths involved heavy drug use in some way—saying he wants to "party like Chris Farley", and invoking the names of Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Heath Ledger, River Phoenix, and even Keith Moon, among others, culminating in the chorus's deranged mantra, "IMMA DIE LIKE A ROCKSTAR!" The quirky delivery of this repetitive chorus could be seen as off-putting to some, as well as its bizarre, sycophantic, and almost suicidal atmosphere and subject matter, which is why I sort of consider this song the album's first "rite of passage", if you will.

"Pac Blood" is the album's third track, and it's my personal favorite off of the entire record. Taking a moment to cool down from the drug-induced rants for a moment, it's a standard brag track—Danny raps about how great of a writer he is, and, honestly, if you read into the lyrics of this song, it's hard to disagree. The title, of course, invokes the name of none other than Tupac—as Danny claims that his rhymes are "so real, thought I wrote it in Pac blood." Really, though, what sells the track for me is just the infectious "Doodoodooo... Doodoodoo..." beat. It was produced by BrandUn DeShay, who samples the Bob James track "Nautilus" to an amazing effect. The distorted flutes(?) that drive the beat sound fantastic. It really pumps me up.

It was at this point in the album, for me, that I knew this was going to be an excellent record. In fact, I often go back to just these first three songs, because that's how perfect of a trifecta they are—the rest of the songs are good, and I'll get into them, but man—I can't get enough of the first three tracks.


After the beauty that was "Pac Blood", we're treated with "Radio Song"—an intentionally annoying song that is meant to lampoon the idea of having squeaky clean singles designed strictly for radio airplay, and for a castrated, mainstream audience bereft of any soul or creativity. A sentiment I can agree wholeheartedly with—however, this idea of making intentionally bad songs has never really worked out for me well. If a song is intentionally bad, then it's a bad song—and I don't really wanna listen to it. As a result, I have a hard time not skipping this song whenever it plays, because of the excruciatingly stripped-down production and irritating chorus is often too much for me to bear. It's a decent bit of satire, but these songs only get so far for me. Thankfully, the song is only two-and-a-half minutes, though it feels more like five.

As we get into the deeper cuts on the record, we're met with a bunch of skanky-ass subjects that Danny tackles like a dealer would tackle one his deadbeat junkie clients. It's also at this point that we reach the most gratuitous song on the album: "I Will", which is a song all about, to put it bluntly, eatin' pussy. And boy, does Danny really get into describing precisely how he goes about that act, going on about how he "don't give a fuck if it's shaved or its nappy," and "even if it's sour, might lick it in the shower". It's like watching a hardcore porn—I think he uses the word "clitoris" at least three or four times in the entire song. Really, it gets so bad, that I almost want to skip this song whenever it comes on, too—and I never do that based off of a song's content. But I mean, it's just that shamelessly prurient, but at the same time, I really have to admire Danny's capacity to write not only such a colosally off-putting song, but his capacity to write with such candor, as well. It's kind of a guilty pleasure—just don't bump the track with any kids around.

Another great thing about these deeper cuts is that they all tend to exemplify just how funny Danny is. The guy is a fucking riot, if you're paying attention to his lyrics. Apart from his comically hyperbolic descriptions of his prowess in bed, how often he gets smashed, and of course, how big his nuts are, there can be found some legitimately clever bars here and there, like the entire first verse of the interlude track, "Detroit 187"—which... Man, just read it:


The last line of which is delivered with such over-the-top gusto that it cracks me up every time I listen to it. There's also the track "Monopoly," another braggadocios track in which he declares that he's "ready to hit the studio and shit all on your mixtape"—and then stops mid-verse to say, "no, literally shit all on your mixtape," just in case you weren't clear on that. It's because of Danny's wit that I'm able to sort of look past all of the crazy off-the-wall shit that he raps about in his verses, and because of his rapid-fire delivery and off-kilter flow ("off-kilter" is probably the term I'd use to describe this entire album), it makes this Danny Brown character extremely likable.

However, everything sort of "comes down", so to speak, after the song "Adderall Admiral", in which Danny raps about abusing his favorite drug. At the end of this song, Danny spits the line, "rewind this and just smoke to it"—a fair warning, because if the first two thirds of this record could be considered his "high" persona, the final third (which I'll henceforth refer to as "Part 2") represents Danny's come-down to reality. So if all you want is a bunch of crazy, off-the-wall bangers, rewind the album and start over, because here, the songs are a lot more chilled out, and Danny himself drops his trademark eccentric tone in favor of a more mature-sounding, no-bullshit kind of flow. Make no mistake, however—though the subject matter in Part 2 does approach more dark and realistic subjects from here on out, like addiction, poverty, and irresponsible behavior, Danny maintains his lucidity throughout, making for an all-around full-circle type experience.

Part 2 kicks off with the track "DNA." Danny discusses that his affinity for substance abuse may very well be because his parents "liked to get fucked up the same way." The Frank Dukes production on this track is superb, introducing a worn-out, just-woke-up-from-a-hangover type atmosphere, and Danny's flow is low-key and musky. His ability to take a step back and view his actions from an adult perspective is admirable—and it only helps build more depth into his life that we can actually see.


My second favorite song on the album, the dismal "Party All the Time," is about a girl who is just as debaucherous, if not more so, than Danny himself—and is ruining her life as a result of it. This song is wonderful, and it speaks to me in particular, because it shows that, despite Danny's partaking in such a lifestyle, he doesn't really advocate it to anyone else. And in some ways, he regrets walking down the path himself, in spite of how fun it can be. As he watches people like this girl allow drugs and sex to take over their lives, it puts his own life into perspective—if he can't even help the people he cares for, how can he help himself? It's a chilling message, and one of the more powerful moments on the record.

Overall, XXX is not for the faint of heart. I think it's a brilliant record all the way through, but I can understand at times where it can kinda drag on, or become too gratuitous to take seriously or want anything to do with. I've had a wide variety of people listen to this record, and they all gave me mixed responses—but what they all had in common was that they made it clear they'd never listen to the record again, which makes me pretty sad. I think if you can appreciate satire for satire, and serious moments for their seriousness, you're really going to enjoy this record, and I do implore you to listen to it all the way through, if not give it multiple listens.

8/10

Favorite tracks:
XXX, Die Like a Rockstar, Pac Blood, Lie4, DNA, Nosebleeds, Party All the Time

Least favorite tracks:
Radio Song, Outer Space

Now I aint sayin' she's a gold digga /
but she aint dealin' with no broke nigga

Just noticed how very riddled with typos this review was, especially towards the end. My bad.

also, shameless bump