uknowhatimsayin¿ — Home

Detroit rapper Danny Brown has returned with his newest album offering uknowhatimsayin¿, and he is as wonderfully funky and comedic as ever. While not nearly as inventive as Atrocity Exhibition was, this project spends some of the well-earned freedom Danny Brown has previously garnered through his prior projects and doesn’t disappoint. This isn’t his best album, but it’s certainly very enjoyable.

The highs are very high on this project. “Dirty Laundry”, “3 Tearz”, and Savage Nomad” are standout tracks that I can see myself listening to on a regular basis. The production, bars, and brevity of this album are all appreciated for their excellency, but there’s just something missing from this project that doesn’t push it to the level of amazingness that his earlier projects have provided for me.

I’m wondering if I was expecting a certain level of experimentation and novelty that just wasn’t bound to come from this project. Atrocity Exhibition was so fresh and outlandish that it immediately stood out and set itself apart, and this album just doesn’t do that in the same way to me. Danny Brown is one of the more consistently solid rappers in the field right now, but part of me wishes he would continue pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable and expected in the genre right now. This album is conventionally very good, when I was looking for something unconventionally great.

Brown’s return to a sort of classicism is surely to be appreciated by those who aren’t impressed sheerly by experimentation. Instead of standing out from the well-produced instrumentals behind him as he previous has, Brown melts right into their grooves and finds a comfortable place to flex his ingenious lyrical abilities. This album is more heartfelt and playful than it is guttural, and that is okay because it’s such an easy and enjoyable listen. Danny Brown has earned his right to make whatever kind of music he wants, and this album is further proof of how that is a good thing. Excited to see what comes next from such an eccentric presence in hip-hop.

Favorite Tracks: “Dirty Laundry”, “3 Tearz”, “Savage Nomad”

Least Favorite Track: Change Up

SCORE: 8/10