Danny Brownis a Detroit rapper who broke through with a confrontational and cartoonish style more than a decade ago. In the years since, he's become an experimental rap staple releasing numerous highly acclaimed albums, most notably his experimental rap opus Atrocity Exhibition in 2016. Earlier this year he teamed up with fellow beloved underground rapper JPEGMAFIA for a fan-favorite collab album called Scaring The Hoes.
Review by Lav:
If Scaring The Hoes sees Danny Brown following some of his most bombastic and experimental sonic instincts, then Quaranta all about his most introspective and self-reflective thematic ambitions. On this album Danny is not only embracing the role of experimental rap mainstay, but also the role of experimental rap veteran. Across the album he doesn't just meditate on lessons he's learned, but share that wisdom and perspective with anybody that chooses to listen.
That didn't really seem like the case with the lead single Tantor. I wasn't crazy about the song originally I think the superhero samples in the beat are interesting at first but eventually become an unfortunate and distracting addition. It's even more disappointing within the context of Quaranta because Danny only revs up the intensity a few times and its unfortunate that I'm not a big fan of this song.
Thankfully some of the other more energetic moments translate a lot better. Dark Sword Angel is one of the most sonically experimental cuts here with this vocal filter over Danny's voice and these wild warbling synths in the beat. It's the track on the record that most feels like a throwback t a younger and more zany Danny and I'm here for it. On Y.B.P Danny teams up with Bruiser Wolf for what could be loosely described as a tribute to Detroit. At the very least they touch on both the good and bad of their experiences in the city and it creates a portrayal full of character.
A lot of that character comes from very detailed songwriting and its something that he returns to time and time again on the album. The title track and opener sees Danny facing up turning 40 years old while still rapping. He manages to perfectly get across the conflict of appreciating everything that rap has brought him while also understanding the struggles it caused. He also does the exact same thing on Jenn's Terrific Vacation, the appropriately terrific second single. The track is one of the best pieces of songwriting I've heard from Danny in a long time as he details how gentrification tears apart a community. He works in some fantastic details he includes in the song that makes it feel like an honest and vivid portrayal of a real place. The eerie and sparse instrumental is also packed full of perfectly placed sound effects to go alone.
On Down Wit It, Danny unsurprisingly deals with being depressed but unlike on Atrocity Exhibition he plays it in an extremely reserved way. It's centered around a girl that Danny doesn't realize he's in love with until its too late and comes with a spacious instrumental and fuzzy electronic guitar that makes for a rewarding detail on the album. I'll also admit that the "sell a bit / celibate" line on the chorus of Celibate won me over way faster than it should have. Danny serves up some of his most sneaky hilarious bars on this track and in combination with the moaning vocal samples it makes for a track that's quite playful despite how reserved it sounds.
The album also manages to conclude on a pretty wonderful sequence starting with Hanami. I absolutely love the chorus on the song and it once again features layers and layers of details to craft a vivid world around the song. I also love the strange little flute flourishes which make for a meditative but very satisfying song. Closing track Bass Jam is an absolutely killer finale to the album with this wonderful swaying instrumental and Danny trying on this more gentle and cause demeanor that is perfect for the subject matter. I love how patient the song is and how idealistic Danny gets about his past even knowing the difficulties that follow. It's a great love letter to music as a whole and a very emotionally potent finale to the album.
The album isn't perfect and lapses in songwriting ability tend to make for its weakest moments. Ain't My Concern features some of the most eye-popping lyrics on the entire album, you'll know them when you hear them. The song is definitely one of the least insightful on the album. While I do like the chilling nocturnal keys the subject matter feels painfully routine compared to the rest of the album. My least favorite track is probably Shakedown which feels like a massive stylistic and sonic change of pace on the album. The glistening little samples laced into the background don't really sound at all like the rest of the album and while some rap records can pull this off, I think this is a particularly rough example.
Even though it contains a few slip-ups, I like Quaranta a lot. Seeing Danny evolve artistically over the years has always felt like a pretty natural progression and Quaranta fits right into that. Hearing him sound so worldly, introspective and mature across this album reminds me of other rappers who have gracefully moved into late-career eras. The first example the comes to mind is Jay-Z who approached a variety of topics with supreme veteran poise on his 2017 album 4:44. Similarly, Danny Brown is looking inward across much of this project both recognizing mistakes he's made but also learning lessons from his experiences. Hearing him work through all of it with his unique voice as a songwriter and eerie instrumental ambitions makes for a dynamic and rewarding experience. 7.5/10
For more underground hip-hop check out my review of Noname's Sundial
