XXX is a bloated album; 19-track albums are a thing of the early millennium past. But this bloat is a gluttonous glory.
XXX might just represent the most polished and fully formed manifestation of street-meets-art rap so far.
It’s precisely how over-the-top the mixtape is that settles it as one of the great hip-hop releases of the past few years. Brown’s lively lyricism and the brilliantly schizophrenic and experimental production form a beautiful team, and the release benefits greatly from every nasally whine, every trippy 808 and unearthly synth hook.
XXX is something much more complex, challenging, and rewarding than a dirty joke.
Detroit rapper Danny Brown's latest album functions in extremes. They're not really the angry, voluminous extremes the latest Death Grips album functions on. They're more like extremes of excess.
Brown's vivid storytelling skills bear testament to a major talent.
Rumors say that if you google the album's name you get unlimited money.
Well, considering that Danny just released the sequel to this album, it's definitely appropriate to dive into the project that put the legendary Detroit rapper on the map in the first place, and my second favorite album from him. 12 years ago Danny came out with one of the most unhinged albums of the 2010's, XXX.
After his not very successful debut (but still solid) in 2010, Danny released his sophomore album XXX. An ... read more
This is where Danny Brown really got it going.
Right away you’ll notice that Danny’s voice is pretty weird if you’re a new listener. Some people even hate his voice. Danny Brown himself said that making that voice gives him headaches.
If you get past his voice, you’ll come to find out that Danny Brown has a lot of clever lines in this album, especially in certain songs like Monopoly. The entire album is produced really well, and the pacing is awesome.
My only problem ... read more
I love how insane Danny sounds on this. His rapping is way more unhinged than what I'm used to from his later projects. It's one of those albums that's extremely fun to listen to from start to finish until you start to think about the lyrics and realize how abysmal Danny's mental health is at this time. This also perfectly goes with the overall theme about the dangers of addiction. Drugs can irrevocably ruin your life and I'm so glad Danny's doing okay after all these years. Seeing where he is ... read more
None of my complaints with this album are with Danny’s rapping because even 13 years ago, he was on his A-Game. There are a few songs on here that have aged very poorly, as well as some of the choruses being pretty weak. But for the most part, this is a crazy project on all accounts.
1 | XXX 1:50 | 93 |
2 | Die Like a Rockstar 2:25 | 92 |
3 | Pac Blood 2:32 | 92 |
4 | Radio Song 2:21 | 79 |
5 | Lie4 3:11 | 81 |
6 | I Will 3:15 | 78 |
7 | Bruiser Brigade 3:44 feat. DOPEHEAD | 78 |
8 | Detroit187 3:05 feat. Chip$ | 77 |
9 | Monopoly 2:44 | 92 |
10 | Blunt After Blunt 3:25 | 84 |
11 | Outer Space 2:44 | 86 |
12 | Adderall Admiral 1:43 | 81 |
13 | DNA 2:56 | 93 |
14 | Nosebleeds 1:36 | 86 |
15 | Party All the Time 3:28 | 91 |
16 | EWNESW 2:23 | 83 |
17 | Fields 2:33 | 86 |
18 | Scrap or Die 3:56 | 84 |
19 | 30 3:18 | 95 |
#3 | / | Prefix |
#6 | / | Cokemachineglow |
#6 | / | Complex |
#6 | / | SPIN |
#12 | / | The Needle Drop |
#19 | / | FACT Magazine |
#19 | / | Pitchfork |
#28 | / | Pazz and Jop |
#39 | / | Consequence of Sound |