Album review: Danny Brown delivered reflective Warp Records solo record Quaranta
Danny Brown is…. well, a lot of things these days. He’s a podcaster, activist, and comedian. Given Brown’s hustles, the guy has been busy. That said, Brown is always a rapper first, and he’s had one hell of a 2023. With a blockbuster collaboration and tour with experimental Hip Hop powerhouse JPEGMAFIA under the Detroit-turned-Austin artist’s belt, the modern rap icon has ceremoniously unveiled his most personal album to date, Quaranta. For those who aren’t fluent in Italian, the record’s title means 40, showing Brown’s vulnerability as he ages into a seasoned rhyme sculptor who still feels like he has lots to prove despite his glowing resume. On Quaranta, he treats like Hip Hop has been a double-edged sword, and he is finally seeing destiny as he has painted it over his long, fabled career.
On opening number “Quaranta,” we are welcomed into Danny Brown’s dojo. Let’s get this straight: Brown welcomes us as guests into his psyche. We are meditating with him, allowing us to be right there as he goes into a mode of reflection. “This rap shit done saved my life…And fucked it up at the same time.” is a tone-setting opening bar for the record.
This new release has been a long time coming, with numerous delays and tweaks in the album’s development resulting in several pushbacks for the record’s release date. Despite the setbacks, the timing of this new batch of tracks feels right. Brown tells the audience that while the glamor of being a famous rap artist seems like a ride over the stars, fame has its perils. From this point forward, we’re locked in and hanging on Danny’s every recorded psalm.
Danny switches into maximum overdrive for Quaranta’s lead single, “Tantor.” For this cut, Danny takes on the role of a Hip Hop warrior, delivering a massive barrage of frantically bellowed signature bars from the Detroit native. The robotic, angled music video makes sense for this one, with Brown in a cyborg-style suit running parallel with his passion for video games. Danny compared his new record with the advanced dimensions of the recently released Elden Ring in a recently taped Austin interview in front of a public studio audience.
A boom-bap Hip Hop cut comes as “Ain’t My Concern,” and Danny’s flow comes through in a relaxed, confident style. While Quaranta doesn’t have the experimental front-to-back chaos as records like XXX and Atrocity Exhibition, Brown’s rap ability comes in many forms, showing growth while still maintaining the explosive bits of Brown’s personality. Lyrically, he is as great as ever. If anything, this record feels like a new direction for the emcee that will cement him as a worthy candidate for Hip Hop royalty.
A one-two punch of old-school Danny Brown style comes with “Y.B.P.,” and “Jenn’s Terrific Vacation,” and on the first of the pair, Danny recounts his roots. We hear stories of Danny’s old stomping grounds, backed by fellow Detroit rapper, Bruiser Brigade Records alum, Bruiser Wolf. The two compliment each other like no friendship can, serving as an anthem recounting the duo’s upbringing in the Motor City. Brown continues this theme on “Jenn’s Terrific Vacation” by sharing his criticism of over-gentrification or what Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock would call “Mall-Fucked.” Taking a tell-all path about the crackdown of landlords and other large entities in the neighborhoods, bringing local businesses to their knees at the hands of rising rents, property taxes, and the “Whole Foods-ifying” of what once was a sacred area for people to chase their dreams of Mom-and-Pop owned businesses. Since Danny relocated from Detroit to Austin, we can imagine that these words of criticism still reign true to the shuttering and rapid rise of non-affordable housing that throw working people out to the edge of existence, far away from the place they used to call home.
The prolific New York City experimental Hip Hop underground crusader MIKE appears on “Celibate” with a subdued, ballad, with the East Coast experimentalist taking a passenger seat for this cut. A more mellow version of Danny appears here, using a talked-through delivery that makes us bask in the words of both artists. As one of the record’s longer cuts, the listener has the opportunity to sit down and take a breather with the pair for a series of stanzas that include stories of moving away from a life of crime and substance abuse that they both experienced in their formative years of bumpy roads and trauma. We learn from this record that Brown has put that tumultuous lifestyle behind him; he recounts his past with acknowledgment and not regret. The past is what it is, and Danny is envisioning a brighter future.
The last leg of this record is filled with R&B ambiance. Tying the whole Quaranta narrative together, Brown focuses on moving on. Since this is the end of Brown’s deal with Warp Records, this feels like a creative turning point. On “Hanami,” Brown describes how, while not a Grammy-winning, mainstream giant, he’s here to do what he’s going to do. He’s an underground legend, and that’s an accolade that has benefited from word-of-mouth stardom. Through the album’s final tracks, Brown serenades us until the end. This new album isn’t goodbye, but it is the end of a chapter. What’s next is ambiguous, but a new beginning is promised.
Stream the new record below and grab the new vinyl or CD before they’re all gone.
Featured photo courtesy of Danny Brown
