Danny Brown and Rico Nasty faced off in Red Bull’s SoundClash event on December 15 in Chicago. The two rappers went head-to-head in a battle that involved performing a cover of a song. According to Stereogum, Rico Nasty chose a classic Chicago anthem that never fails to get the crowd going, “Faneto” by Chief Keef. Danny Brown chose the path less travelled. He covered Korn’s 1999 metal anthem, “Freak On A Leash,” in a rap battle. 

Backed up by a live Korn tribute band from Chicago, Danny Brown sang “Freak On A Leash” in his iconic nasally voice. Stereogum thought “he was going out of his way to make it as unpleasant as possible,” and many Youtube commenters pointed out that he sounds like characters from Family Guy when he’s singing the song. Yet the performance in all its oddity actually works. It provided energy and surprised the crowd of mostly rap fans. The Youtube video above is fan-shot footage live from Red Bull SoundClash in Chicago. 

Danny Brown recently performed at the 2021 Gathering of the Juggalos, a Ohio music festival from August 19-21. Brown also teamed up with rap group Brockhampton earlier this year for their lead single, “Buzzcut,” off of their latest album, Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine.

Photo Credit: Richard Saethang