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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
Even though the emphasis of the record is on its expansive production, the lyrics are more telling than they’ve ever been. While each song has a solid musical backbone, it’s Brown’s narratives that make the most profound impact, and move the album forward.
91
What makes Old great is its refusal to be one coherent statement. The album is as messy and wild as Danny Brown’s life.
90
While Old often seems like a hip-hop kaleidoscope exploding across the speakers, it's also crafted and paced, split down the middle like a great LP with a sure start and a freeing finish.
88
More than ever, Old allows even passive listeners to care about what Brown is saying, to form a bond with him and to trust there is more of interest to him than women and drugs.
87
In his berserk originality, writerly flair, emotional impact, and old-fashioned craft, Danny Brown belongs in any conversation about the best rappers working, and he's at the top of his game here.
85
The popular perception of Danny Brown as a particularly lewd-yet-talented harlequin, one who banters about absurd rap tropes indicative of a healthy respect for the hoary even as he transcends it, fails to take into account his most important asset, the one Old makes abundantly clear; his acute understanding of the environment such bromides are born from.
85
Old, from its quirky beat selection to its more classic hip-hop moments leaves the listener more than happy but steeped with a sense of jealousy.
80
Brown's nu-skool genius is out in force here on his third album. The record's producers take their cues from his truly singular flow – a terse, hectoring blend of squawking cocaine mania and ghoulish, punk gruffness – and respond in kind with an album of unprecedented production styles.
80
Old is XXX without that fun first half. It isn't traditionally enjoyable, and it isn't supposed to be. But for Danny Brown, the pill-popping, pussy-eating squawk-box, it's the most daring record he could've made.
80
With Old, Brown has bettered XXX by putting in the same kind of hard graft that has given him the edge on his endless run of tours. It’s an album that feels measured and well timed and yet avoids sounding over-polished or awkwardly stage-managed.
80
Old is so successful because it reflects Danny Brown the person, Danny Brown the persona, and Danny Brown the artist.
80
Old consistently offers up words and music that, while certainly extremely enjoyable on the most basic aural terms, also holds up to deeper dissection and analysis.
80
Simultaneously targeting fanatics who believe Danny Brown can do no wrong and traditionalist skeptics who show up for highlights like the Oh No produced “Red 2 Go,” Old requires the patience and empathy one would lend to a friend suffering from a bipolar disorder.
70
The protean image we get of Brown, instead, is at its best when the complications of identity clash with complications of sound and fit into fascinatingly confining structures.
Rap has always made room for eccentrics - from Ol' Dirty Bastard to Busta Rhymes. Now, we have Danny Brown, the legendary crazy rapper with one of the most amazing discography in the game.
Danny Brown is a funny guy. In 2013, he was 32 years old -barely four years younger than Kanye West- he was regularly mentioned among the new generation of rappers 2.0, among "kids" who often barely exceeded 20 years of age.
Daniel Dewan Sewell was born in Detroit in 1981. His mother was 17 years ... read more
Danny Brown is a funny guy. In 2013, he was 32 years old -barely four years younger than Kanye West- he was regularly mentioned among the new generation of rappers 2.0, among "kids" who often barely exceeded 20 years of age.
Daniel Dewan Sewell was born in Detroit in 1981. His mother was 17 years ... read more
"OLD" isn't nearly as good as his more experimental works and Side B suffers from the club banger cliches of 2013, but it's still a very fun, energetic record with great verses from Danny and some of his best bangers yet. It's also a great segway into his next record.
Fav Tracks: 25 Bucks, Lonely, Old, Float On, The Return, Smokin & Drinkin, Dope Song, Dope Fiend Rental, Torture, Clean Up
Least Fav Track: Break It [Go]
Score:
7.9
Very Good
Fav Tracks: 25 Bucks, Lonely, Old, Float On, The Return, Smokin & Drinkin, Dope Song, Dope Fiend Rental, Torture, Clean Up
Least Fav Track: Break It [Go]
Score:
7.9
Very Good
Great
The title of this record is quite the opposite of the sound itself. While the first side has some old-school hip-hop beats and mixes, the second side goes off the walls with electronic overtones and booming bass. Quite the double-sided coin, this one.
Color: Black
FAV TRACKS: Dip, Lonely, Torture, The Return, Side A [Old], 25 Bucks, Dope Fiend Rental, Handstand, Side B [Dope Song]
LEAST FAV: Kush Coma, Smokin & Drinkin
The title of this record is quite the opposite of the sound itself. While the first side has some old-school hip-hop beats and mixes, the second side goes off the walls with electronic overtones and booming bass. Quite the double-sided coin, this one.
Color: Black
FAV TRACKS: Dip, Lonely, Torture, The Return, Side A [Old], 25 Bucks, Dope Fiend Rental, Handstand, Side B [Dope Song]
LEAST FAV: Kush Coma, Smokin & Drinkin
END OF YEAR LISTS
| #2 | / | Cokemachineglow |
| #2 | / | Gorilla vs. Bear |
| #5 | / | Complex |
| #5 | / | Pitchfork |
| #7 | / | eMusic |
| #7 | / | Stereogum |
| #10 | / | The 405 |
| #12 | / | Spin |
| #13 | / | Piegons & Planes |
| #14 | / | Consequence of Sound |
| #14 | / | Crack Magazine |
| #16 | / | Pretty Much Amazing |
| #17 | / | Rolling Stone |
| #26 | / | Gigwise |
| #27 | / | Tiny Mix Tapes |
More Lists
MISC LISTS
| #4 | / | Immaculate Noise |
| #6 | / | Exclaim! (Hip Hop) |
| #16 | / | Pitchfork Readers |
| #72 | / | Pitchfork (2010-2014) |
Track List
- Side A (Old) [prod. Paul White]
- The Return [ft. Freddie Gibbs] [prod. Paul White]
- 25 Bucks [ft. Purity Ring] [prod. Corin Roddick]
- Wonderbread [prod. Paul White]
- Gremlins [prod. Oh No]
- Dope Fiend Rental [ft. Schoolboy Q] [prod. Skywlkr]
- Torture [prod. Oh No]
- Lonely [prod. Paul White]
- Clean Up [prod. Paul White]
- Red 2 Go [prod. Oh No]
- Side B (Dope Song) [prod. Rustie]
- Dubstep [ft. Scrufizzer] [prod. Skywlkr]
- Dip [prod. Skywlkr]
- Smokin & Drinkin [prod. A-Trak & JMIKE]
- Break It (Go) [prod. Rustie]
- Handstand [prod. Darq E. Freaker]
- Way Up Here [ft. Ab-Soul] [prod. Rustie]
- Kush Coma [ft. A$AP Rocky and Zelooperz] [prod. Skywlkr]
- Float On [ft. Charli XCX] [prod. Frank Dukes]
In Library (80)
Added on: August 26, 2013
