Danny Brown & Tony Yayo f/ Lil B - “Trap Ball” (G-Unit, 2010)

On first listen I unfairly wrote Danny Brown off as one of those rappers that people on the internet only talk about because other people on the internet are talking about him. This is the curse of the internet - it’s a data flood and too often your first impression is often your only impression. My bad. Fortunately I revisited his Hybrid tape recently and it has proven to be a grower. The guy is a beast, clearly a student of the Detroit school of hyper technical rapping but where many of his peers seem way too self serious* Brown is animated and hilarious. In terms of voice he has a Young Zee nasal vibe going on, or maybe Pharoahe Monch if he extended his occasional dramatic wheeze into a full time thing.  There’s also something comfortably out of time about his subject matter and in that sense I’d liken him to a Jay Electronica type. Not self consciously retro, but  in touch with the values of a bygone era. But instead of being about afrocentricity or spirituality Brown is the type of old soul for whom selling dope while also being into nerdy stuff like comic books doesn’t necessarily constitute a conflict of interest. It reminds me of the days where Wu dudes would still be like I WILL SLICE YOUR FACE IN WITH A BOXCUTTER RIGHT AFTER I FINISH THIS ISSUE OF ALPHA FLIGHT.

Anyway here is a track from Hawaiian Snow, Danny’s new Mixtape/Digital Album with  Tony Yayo that dropped today. Professionally it’s not clear what they hope to accomplish with this alliance. Yayo doesn’t exactly have enough clout right now to really put anybody on significantly and it’s not like Danny quite has a big enough following to change that perception. But musically it works. Yayo’s a better rapper than he’s ever gotten credit for, especially when he’s playing a backup position as he did with G-Unit and again does here. The production has a very mid 00ts G-Unit feel to it, all plodding and emotionless beats. I’m not sure if this is a nostalgic gesture on Danny’s part or if Yayo just never left the aesthetic behind. It gives the project an understated feel, it’s definitely not the smack you in the face music we’ve come to expect from Danny but, again, it does work. None other than The Based God turns up on this and another track, here continuing his New Orleans obsession with a Big Tymers “Roll On” flow. (Danny has outstanding taste in rappers - seriously it’s like he’s reading my mind or at least my blog).

You can buy the whole tape on Amazon but honestly it might not be the best place to start if you’re not already familiar with Brown. I am going to flood your timeline with more of his music shortly.

9:37 pm  •  14 September 2010  •  6 notes