The third song's chorus (sung by Petite Noir) off of Atrocity Exhibition perfectly describes Danny Brown's thought process, as he splits listeners with the street credibility of Hubert Selby, and the Ian Curtis-niche for self-destruction: "Know I'm living like a rolling stone / But don't feel for me / You know I'm in my zone / So don't speak to me."
He is looking for no sympathy, doesn't want you to bother him; for, he's taking the bullet for you.
"Really Doe" arguably features the best posse cut of 2016, with Ab-Soul, Kendrick Lamar and Earl Sweatshirt joining Brown over producer Black Milk's mixture of twinkling pianos, a warped bass and bombastic drums, culminating in a few record scratches after Kendrick's stellar, in-your-face chorus.
Good luck arguing over who rapped the best on this track; even if one doesn't appreciate the eccentricity of Danny Brown, lovers of lyricism will be hypnotized by this.
"Lost" sounds like a RZA-produced beat that the late Old Dirty Bastard could've rapped over, as a small section of horns join a killer sample (that seems nearly impossible to identify). I once thought that Death Grips was the edgiest alternative hip-hop act to ever grace the Earth - it's Danny Brown.
My favorite track, "Ain't It Funny?," has Danny mercilessly displaying his tip-top flow, and lyrics such as: "I can sell honey to a bee/ In the fall time, make trees take back they leaves/ Octopus in a straight jacket/ Savage with bad habits." A fat synthesizer meets a head-pounding bass drum, enough to make you want to say: "F*** it, I'm dancing to the Sun."
I couldn't help notice, as I listened to "Golddust," the comparisons between the opening riff on the distorted guitars, with those that appeared on (psychedelic rock band) Temple's 2014 song "Sand Dance." (That was really pointless, I know, but at this point of "Atrocity Exhibition," you're far away from the land of hip-hop.)
Throughout the tracklist, Brown pickpockets the beats, while his outer-space phraseology syncopates with post-punk (the title of the album was an ode, primarily to Joy Division's opening track off of "Closer") production, mostly courtesy of British producer Paul White, who has worked with Danny since "XXX."
Tracks like "White Lines" and "Get Hi" (featuring B-Real) don't need to be thoroughly explained, but the former will knock your speakers and the latter will put you in an atmospheric haze. Philosophically, the album's subject matter makes you feel like Danny is purposefully numbing the idea of vicariousness and that you could, or want to, be in his shoes.
Don't act like celebrities!
Let Danny kill himself by way of drug overdose or cirrhosis, one may think; eventually, however, you want to make sure he's alive, checking his pulse from track-to-track.
"Pneumonia" supplies a track beat that is composed of a cowbell flirting with other metallic percussion, while "Dance in the Water" catches Danny at his most basic, lyrically. These two tracks provide the usually-easily-deterred listener make Danny appear more presentable.
Distorted guitars and enervating synths lace a majority of this album, as do live drums (ah, an album where drum machines don't fully stuff the content). "Today" is a sentimental reflection about our nation's accelerated political climate, as the Detroit-born emcee engenders Andre 3000, whose poetic subject matter on Outkast's hit "B.O.B." from 2001 eerily aligns itself into today's outlook.
Welcome to the palate of Danny Brown, where synthesizers mimic schizophrenia, voice syncopation coincides with honesty, while self-destruction is heard and carefully envisioned. "Everything is deserved" seems to be Danny's mantra, but one thing is certain: your ears deserve this.
