Blending genres like no other.
Danny Brown has been a force to be reckoned with in the hip-hop scene for close to 20 years now. Albums he has released during this time period such as XXX and Atrocity Exhibition are underground classics, being hailed as some of the greatest hip-hop records of all time. His newest LP Stardust continues to build upon this legacy in a fantastic fashion. His style of conscious, abstract and experimental hip-hop is now dominated by a hyperpop/rap fusion, with plenty of nods to other musical forms. All of this leads to an ambitious and impressive record that cements Brown as a legend.
The first two songs on the album show how Brown is able to pull off drastically different styles of music while keeping his same flows and cadence. “Book of Daniel” is a cinematic audioscape filled with smooth chords, almost leaning into the world of folktronica. Quadeca really kills it on the feature, and his influence on this song is apparent as it sounds similar to his latest record Vanisher, Horizon Scraper. After such a calming song, one might expect the following track “Starburst” to follow suit. Those listeners are then met with a loud, noisy and jarring instrumental as Brown dives into using electronic instrumentals underneath his typical flows. It is loud and punchy, and not only works as a big contrast against the opening track, but just sounds wonderful overall.
This excellence continues for the rest of the tracklist, but there are some standouts in both quality and the notion of blending genres. “1999” sounds uses a typical electronic instrumental, but with screamo and gangster rap vocals on top, it is not your everyday hyperpop track. “Lift You Up” dives into the realm of house music, with the drum loops, chords and instruments all being exactly what fits the label. “1L0v3myL1f3!” has a breakcore essence with harsh layers that match the craziness of the title.
Interestingly enough, this change in style that Brown has taken has allowed for more typical structure to be seen in his music. Earlier songs in his discography would often contain one long continuous verse that enveloped the whole track. Now, he is a lot better at building more full tracks, complete with choruses, bridges and even key changes. Lyrically, however, Brown has grown even further. His past writing consisted of negative bars pretty solely focused on sex, mental illness and drugs, but he has developed a new persona on this album that is introspective and really dives deep into life in a positive light. On “The End,” we can look at one bar to see just how much Brown has grown as he states, “When the road got rough, I kept it up and made it to my goal.” Definitely different than some of his past bars! In the end, Stardust is an outstanding project, and full of ambition. All of Brown’s attempts at trying something new land, and the outcome of these experiments is chaotic bliss.
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