Old - Danny Brown Album Review

Hey, it's James. I really, really wanted to review this album and I finally am now. I don’t know why it took me this long to do it. But here it is.

Old - Danny Brown

I’m a huge Danny Brown fan, which is why I was looking forward to this album for so long. It came out on October 8. This album is split into two parts: Side A and Side B.

Side A is introspective and emotional, whereas Side B is just made to rage too.

Side A (Old)

This song is crazy. It’s Danny talking about how people always say that they want the “Old Danny Brown”. The beat is good and it kinda does sound like the old Danny Brown.  One line that really struck me is the line:

“Won’t live for anything, but might die for nothin’ “

Basically saying that he doesn’t have anything in his life and that he might die for literally no reason.

The Return feat Freddie Gibbs

Danny Brown said that this song is a part two to an outkast song. The way Danny sounds in this is also like the old Danny Brown. I think it’s good that he has these songs on “Side A” of the album that are emotional and show his growth as a person.

Freddie Gibbs also goes in on this song.

25 Bucks feat Purity Ring

When i first saw who was featured on this song, I was like wtf. Danny Brown doesn’t seem like the type of person who would feature Purity Ring, but it works out great for this song. This is a super deep song about how his mom used to braid hair for 25 bucks and how they used to struggle a lot for money when he was younger. He also talks about how he started selling drugs to feed himself and his family. 

Wonderbread

This song is like a nursery rhyme/child’s tale if they had the setting of the hood. This is song is crazy. He talks about how he sees junkies and hookers and crime on the way to the store to get bread and then afterwards he gets jumped because they wanted said bread.

Gremlins

I don’t like this song that much. Not that it is bad, it’s just I don’t know, it doesn’t appeal to me as much. It’s alright. 

Dope Fiend Rental feat Schoolboy Q

This song is insane. It’s Danny Brown going in about his usual topics and then Schoolboy Q goes in with a dirty ass verse as well. This song reminds me of Danny’s “XXX” mixtape, because he gets super detailed with what he says. I also think it’s crazy how fast this song sounds. One of the best songs on the album, hands down. It doesn’t really fit on Side A of the album though.

Torture

This song is crazy. Danny Brown verbally paints vivid images that he himself has seen. He talked about the song, saying:

“ ‘Torture is about how I can’t sleep at the end of the day because of all the shit I’ve been through. No matter where I am, I can still close my eyes and see the baseheads.”

This isn’t a bad song, I just don’t like it because it is sad.

Lonely

I like the french in the beginning and I like the way this song sounds, although it is also another sad song, where Danny talks about how he used to be poor and hungry.

Clean up

The past 3 songs aren’t the usual Danny Brown that we are all used to. It’s a more introspective song where he gets deep. I didn’t know Danny Brown could make songs like the last 3 ones. This song is the complete opposite to his usual stuff.

Red 2 Go

This is the usual Danny Brown. The beat is nice and simple and Danny just goes in on it. This song is like the hype song for “Side B” of the album. It’s a great transition. After this song I had to plug in my Skullcandy headphones and crack open a 40.

Side B (Dope Song)

This song starts out so epic. It’s 27 seconds of anticipation building epicness, just waiting for Danny to go in on this song. He destroys the beat and the bass in this song is redic. This might be my favorite song off the album. It’s got that classic Danny Brown hype voice and craziness. It has a really simple hook, that reminds me of “Radio Head” by Danny Brown. 

Dubstep feat Scrufizzer

I like this song at first. When I first saw the title of this song, I thought it was gonna be about actual Dubstep. Turns out I was very wrong. It’s actually a song about how Danny Brown would sell “Dub bags” of weed on the steps. Although it isn’t as hype as the previous song, it is still really good. 

I never head of Scrufizzer before, but damn, he went in on this song. I’m impressed.

Dip

This is such a hype song. Only Danny Brown would make a song just about Molly. It works for him though, because he is the Molly Machine. The beat in this is redic and so is everything else about this song. The hook is super catchy though.

Smokin’ and Drinkin’

Damn yo, this song goes hard. It’s a song about smoking and drinking. It really reminds me of Germany because thats what so many of the people I know there do. This is a really hype and wild song. Danny Brown is insane.

Break it (Go)

This song has another one of those crazy build ups, although not as epic sounding as in “Side B (Dope Song)”. The build up is crazier though, because it just hypes you up as it gets louder and faster until the beat drops and Danny Brown just goes in. I’m really impressed by how hard Danny Brown is going in this album. I really, really like this song and the beat. One of my favorites off the album.

Handstand

This song is crazy. After listening to this song I wanna go out and rage super hard. It’s crazy. This song is just made to party too. So good.

Way Up Here feat Ab-Soul

These beats are just redic. Like the last 8 songs have just been straight up bangers. Danny goes in, but I’m more impressed with Ab-Soul. He goes so hard in this song. 

Kush Coma feat A$AP Rocky

This song is so good. Again, a song about weed. It works for Danny though. A$AP Rocky is in this song and he goes in just like Danny does. I don’t even know what to say about this song. Every single song on “Side B” so far is just outrageously good. It’s just a big orgy of Danny Brown and his features going in over crazy beats.

Float On feat Charli XCX

This is a great ending for the album. It goes back to the introspective ways that “Side A” is full of. Great ending for a great album.

Damn this album was dope. Now it’s 6:55 pm on a sunday night, but I want to go party and shit. I like the way this album begins, but for me all the party songs really shine through. Danny Brown might have made the best album of the year or the second best since Gambino’s album comes out on the 10th of December. We’ll see. I think this album is so much better than “Yeezus” or “Magna Carta…Holy Grail” but Danny Brown is underrated and Kanye and Jay-Z are overrated, so yea. Not trying to be disrespectful, but everyone knows that they were slacking on their new albums. Just saying.Anyways back to Danny Brown. I give this album a 9/10. Peace.