Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition ALBUM REVIEW

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Many artists in the game don’t have as unique of a voice as Danny Brown. Throughout his nearly decade long career, Danny has been a shapeshifter in the rap world. His first two albums, The Hybrid and XXX, are classics in the new wave of hip-hop. His third album, Old, brought him mainstream attention, but he lost that experimental and vulgar edge. His fourth studio album, Atrocity Exhibition, brought back that experimental sound, which was also even more vulgar but fewer features. With Atrocity Exhibition, Danny Brown has made one of the wildest and strangest rap records to date.

Atrocity Exhibition is an experimental hip-hop record at its core. I didn’t catch any concepts across the album, but this is such an addicting listen. It feels like every nightmare of drug abuse coming true, and I feel like I can enjoy it more because the content that Danny raps about on Atrocity Exhibition is about situations that I’m never gonna be in. Even if I wanted to, it’s just never gonna happen. Now, the music itself is truly haunting. Each and every instrumental has an eerie vibe to it. “Ain’t it Funny” has a blaring horn section, “Rolling Stone” with South African singer Petite Noir has a slinking bass-line, and “Really Doe” with Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, and Earl Sweatshirt has an Elder Scrolls spell-casting sample and a creepy xylophone loop. His features are employed very well. Above the mentioned features, the other features are great too! There are some problems I have with Atrocity Exhibition, though.

The sound and overall vibe of Atrocity Exhibition can be a little grating as the record winds down. The last three tracks of the record were definitely the weakest, in my opinion, and it ended the album on a low note for me. The last three tracks could have been cut off of the album, and this would have been a 9 easily, maybe even a 10 if I were being generous, but that isn’t the case here.

Overall, Atrocity Exhibition is a must-listen for experimental rap fans. It shows off Danny Brown’s versatile flows (“I’ll rap over any beat you give me!”), and is able to outshine his contemporaries while they can still be as great as they are. Atrocity Exhibition is by far Danny’s best album and is destined to become a cult favorite in the years to come.


7/10


Stream Atrocity Exhibition here

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