You could honestly make the argument that Danny Brown is one of the best emcees around right now. While not releasing a project over these past two years, there's a chance you've heard him with your other favorite rappers including: Kendrick Lamar, Flatbush Zombies, ScHoolboy Q, Childish Gambino, HouseShoes, Ab-Soul and more. We've seen Danny Brown go through a change since he first stepped on the scene, his debut album “XXX” was considered a classic in some hip-hop circles. The question is could Danny Brown bring that same fire and passion on his sophomore album “Old”. Allow me to answer this question with an emphatic YES

Danny Brown has made a damn near classic album with “Old”. The album is presented as a cassette tape with two sides. Side A is the Danny Brown of old featuring more underground type production (while on some songs adding a bit of mainstream to the mix) and has Danny Brown painting some real vivid and dark pictures of the life he led before he took over the music game. Tracks like “The Return” has Danny Brown spitting about being the OG back in Detroit. Speaking on the struggles he's faced trying to support his daughter and family. Also Freddie Gibbs comes through with a heck of a verse that Danny Brown spoke highly of before the record dropped

We all know that Danny Brown can spit flames, but where I think Danny Brown shines is when he is being personal. “XXX” had a number of tracks where he talked about his depression, anxiety, frustration and touched on his story with drugs. “Old” is no different and is even more personal with tracks like “Torture” and “Clean Up”. Danny Brown has seen a lot in his lifetime and “Torture” paints that picture for us to see and hear the pain he's felt and witnessed. “Clean Up” might be one of my favorite songs of the year. Danny Brown talks about the lifestyle he's a part of now and how it's effecting him and the people around him

“A whole week done went past ,I don’t go no where
Hotel rooms crushing pills and menus
Daughter sending me messages saying “Daddy I miss you”
But in this condition I don’t think she need to see me”

Lines like these just tug at your heartstrings and have you feeling for both Danny Brown and the family that he's trying to support while falling into depression himself

That's all Side A, Side B comes in and we get the Danny Brown that flows over more mainstream production with deep basslines and hi hats. You get the club bangers, the blunted, drug filled rhymes that will have you jumping around and wishing you could join Danny for his late night adventures filled with women, music and drugs. One of my favorites is “Dubstep” which has Danny Brown rhyming over a SKYWLKR beat that sounds a bit like A$AP Rocky's “LVL”. Side B is the fun side of the things he's been doing since jumping into this music business and it's a fun ride

I haven't touched on the people that provided the sounds on this album and let me say that they bring some serious heat. Paul White, Oh No and Rustie provide the majority of the soundscape and they all brought beats that fit Danny Brown to perfection (which is a testament to Brown's versality also). You get underground, you get mainstream, you get electronic beats, backpacker beats and everything in between

The album rounds out with “Float On” and if anyone remembers “30” from “XXX” imagine this as the sequel. Danny Brown summarizes where he's been and how hard he's worked to get where he is now. Speaking about his dependency on drugs and how his focus is solely the next rhyme in order to keep working towards the dream he's set for himself

My fellow geniuses “Old” is probably the closest to a perfect album that we're going to get this year. Danny Brown gives something for everyone old and new fans a like. Underground fans and mainstream fans will find multiple tracks to love on this album. Danny Brown's raps are nice, crisp but still sharp at the same time. His personal tracks bring you into his world and show you that he's not just a rockstar but rather a human being that has faced a lot of real problems and is still dealing with the consequences of it. Right now “Old” is my “Album of the Year” and to be honest I don't see anyone beating it (based on my knowledge of who's releasing stuff the rest of the year). Go cop it and enjoy a genius of a hip-hop record my fellow geniuses