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Album of the Year 2016 #10: Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition - HipHop

Album of the Year 2016 #10: Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition - HipHop

Album of the Year 2016 #10: Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 12:37 PM PST

Artist: Danny Brown

Album: Atrocity Exhibition

Listen:

Apple Music

Spotify

SoundCloud

Tidal

Album Background

Danny Brown (Daniel Sewell), was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and had wanted to be a rapper since he was in elementary school. He grew up on the East Side and despite his dream to start rapping, the support from his family to do music, and being pretty sheltered from the gangster kind of life, he went into drug dealing with his friends. At the same time, he had joined a group called Rese'vor Dogs with Detroit rappers Chip$ and Dopehead (both now a part of his Bruiser Brigade). In 2003 they released their album Runispokets-N-Dumpemindariva which got a little bit of play around Detroit radio stations.

By 2006, he had been collaborating with a Roc-A-Fella A&R and Detroit producer, Nick Speed, but also caught a couple cases for drug dealing which he evaded for 5 years before getting sentenced to 8 months in jail. When he got out, he finally decided to cut ties with Roc-A-Fella, and started to take rapping seriously. He released 3 (1, 2, 3) parts of the Detroit State of Mind mixtape series and Hot Soup from 2007-2009 which brought some attention to Detroit. He released a final part of the Detroit State of Mind series and his debut album The Hybrid where he began to use the familiar cartoony voice that he's known for.

The Hybrid and a couple more mixtapes (Browntown, It's a Art, The Hybrid: Cutting Room Floor, and Hawaiian Snow) got him some buzz and he signed with Fool's Gold Records in 2011. He went on to release his second debut album at the end of 2011, his first critically acclaimed album, XXX. It got him a lot of attention across the internet, placed as a freshman for XXL, and a tour spot with Childish Gambino in 2012.

The rest is history, relatively known, he popped off after XXX, and began his second album that would go on to be another hit, released in 2013, Old, also dropping three EPs in between, Black and Brown!, Bruiser Brigade, and The OD EP (I believe this was three bonus tracks from XXX, "Baseline", "Witit", and "Shouldn't Of").

After several tours, guest features, and an announcement of signing to the English independent record label, Warp, known for its experimental electronic-dance music, Atrocity Exhibition was announced.

Danny Brown has said that the album's goal was to pick up where he left off after XXX, to give a look into his life between then and now. The expansion of his budget for this album and his past experiences allowed him to go further than ever before, incorporating the classic Detroit sounds and lyrics, as well as experimenting with some of the craziest beats from experimental producers like Paul White. The title itself is named after the first song on Closer by Joy Division, which this album has a couple clear influences it takes from that album and genre of post-punk. The song by Joy Division talks about a man that everyone watches in an asylum with the chilling lyrics:

For entertainment they watch his body twist

Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist.'

Which is relatable to the way we listen to Danny Brown's music, especially on this album and how he feels we view him as well as evident by this quote:

"I just relate to that song a lot," says Brown. "That song, [Ian Curtis is] pretty much talking about how he feels like he's part of a freak show almost. People just wanna come see him and they just wanna see him be a certain type of way. I totally relate to that. That's just how I felt with this album, 'cause a lot of people expect for me to be some crazy drugged-out I-don't-know.

They both reference the book, The Atrocity Exhibition, which is a story about a doctor who works at a mental hospital who breaks down into psychosis and tries to make sense of the events during the 1960's in that mind state. In a similar way, on this album we listen to Danny Brown tell stories in a feverish, personal, and psychotic way.

In another interview prior to release, he described the entire album arc of Atrocity Exhibition as "going through a bender before having a reflective stage.", which is exactly what this album ended up sounding like.

Some fantastic reads:

http://www.stereogum.com/featured/you-aint-heard-it-like-this-before/

http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/a49100/danny-brown-atrocity-exhibition-interview/

And the Anthony Fantano interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U-BG__zpjU

Review

The album kicks off with an off-kilter beat that sounds like a band warming up before a set, on "Downward Spiral", which has no clear rhythm to it and, much like almost every single beat on this project, really doesn't have any damn business being rapped on. Danny Brown proves again and again throughout the album that he can rap over just about anything, be it an off-beat sample-heavy song on "Lost", a nonsensical cacophony of horns and drums like on "Ain't It Funny", or a song with basically no snares or bass to flow on like on "When It Rain". Instead, he mastered the art of finding his own groove in the song without using a straight-forward beat which led to a ton of different flows, opened the door of possibilities for what he can pick and choose production-wise, and basically changed the beats that sounded like random noise into something rhythmic just using his voice. I'm not sure how to perfectly describe it, but I would say it's like instead of using the beat's rhythm to find his flow, he uses his voice to help the beat find a rhythm and it results in some mindblowing sounding tracks.

Don't let the fact that the production sounds insane and random, fool you, because it's actually quite good on its own. There's a good amount of layers to pick apart on every song, some of the samples are songs or parts of songs that you would never expect to hear looped and rapped over like the "Ain't It Funny" sample, "Wervin'". With some more effects added in there, an echo effect that enhances this almost insane asylum/circus feel on Danny's voice, and a high tempo drum in the background, it makes for one of the craziest beats I'd heard all year. That extra care towards the production makes it feel less random, thrown together, and not at all lazy for the shits and giggles.

The actual conceptual story as mentioned earlier is supposed to be similar to a bender with some reflection afterward. It's like looking into a single cycle of Danny's life that seems to occur over and over again with the initial depression, subsequent falling off the deep end, the comedown, and then the reflection. It's not clear whether this is what he's experienced as a whole since XXX, every couple of weeks, or every couple of months, but that seems intentional to me because, in the middle of partaking in a lifestyle like this, you don't know or care what the timeframe is, you just live through it. It reminds me of that bender that BoJack Horseman and Sarah Lynn go on in BoJack Horseman where they pop in and out of consciousness doing mundane or insane things for who knows how long.

Danny starts in his own room that he's apparently been in for 3 days straight doing nothing but fucking and doing drugs to numb himself. He acknowledges that he's been successful since XXX, but he's obviously still depressed:

Everybody say, you got a lot to be proud of

Been high this whole time, don't realize what I done

Cause when I'm all alone, feel like no one care

Isolate myself and don't go nowhere

and he realizes that he's starting this reoccurring "downward spiral". The next couple of songs continues this line of thinking before "the bender" part of the album like on "Tell Me What I Don't Know" where he talks about his life in Detroit, the violence and sadness he's experienced, and reminiscing about old times and "Rolling Stone" where the lyrics get incredibly personal and expose what seems like every single depressing thought that Danny has in his mind. The lyrics here are so close to the sober and dark themes of Ian Curtis, you could almost see him singing these over a more traditional post-punk beat. Both of these songs and "Downward Spiral" repeat that theme of self-isolation that Danny puts himself in. He locks himself in his room for days, the hook of "Rolling Stone" tells people to leave him alone but at the same time "in his mind, he feels so alone". It's dark shit.

The next section of the album tears away from the obvious dark themes starting with a fantastic posse cut with Danny, Kendrick, Ab-Soul, and Earl where they basically flex as hard as they can, like a good posse cut should do, over a great beat by Black Milk. I think that this is definitely a future classic posse cut just for the fact that the beat is perfect for rapping over and how great every single person is on this song. It also acts as a small interlude between the next part of the album.

"Lost" keeps going on about being lost in this life as a pre-thought to the bender, but the beat and delivery are obviously crazier and he flexes way more. It acts like the comeup of the bender where Danny can still think clearly, but he's in a different, lighter state of mind. The bender really kicks in on "Ain't It Funny". As soon as that beat drops, Danny just comes with punchline after punchline as fast as possible and the first time you listen to this song you really can't comprehend what's even going on. Stuff like:

I can sell honey to a bee

In the fall time make trees take back they leaves

Octopus in a straight jacket

are some clear, standout lines, but underneath that he's still talking about how fucked up his lifestyle is and the devil watching him. I'd compare it to "Hey Ya" ("y'all don't hear me you just wanna dance) where without really listening to the lyrics, you'd just think it was a song focused on the insane beats and clever lines, but when you listen to it closer, you realize that he's just pushed the darker stuff to the background. The next song, "Golddust" is almost as bizarre as the previous song and focuses a lot more on his drug use and how it's fucking up his life. Some of my favorite lyrics are on this song and the end of his second verse on it basically sums up the major "atrocity exhibition" theme of stepping into his horrific mind. It's an incredible song in every aspect and is a perfect mashup of classic Danny and the more evolved, insane stuff he did on this album. White Lines is even less in your face than the previous two songs, but he's still giving the delivery like you're supposed to be waiting on funny punchlines when you're really hearing about how much coke he's doing, facing death, and not caring about life. I like how the beat sort of matches that with the sort of catchy melody going on in front with the sinister bass, drums, and ad-libs going on in the back.

"Pneumonia" is almost another interlude, but it's still a great song. Both that and "Dance in the Water" sound like the most danceable, "banger" tracks on the album and Danny flexes and gets people dancing on both. There's a small undertone of the theme in "Dance in the Water" that mentions his drug use again, "dancing in the water and not get wet", doing them without any bad consequences.

The final section of this album ends the bender and starts that reflection period. "From The Ground" talks about his come up as he remembers his past and asks questions ("Now tell me, would you sacrifice your dreams? What it takes if you want anything") to himself, "When It Rain" is both an homage to Detroit with heavy influences in his lyrics and the house music sound while also talking about the problems that exist there and quotes Pac to ask more questions to himself or the listener ("Ain't no water, how a flower gon' grow? Ain't no change, then how we gon' change?"), and "Today" is Danny reflecting on his own lifestyle and how any day he could die or go to jail because of it.

All of those songs still sound like he's all drugged up and kind of crazy, so "Get Hi" is where he mellows out which gives a really nice break to the craziness of the album before its end. I actually really like the beat, B-Real does a good job fitting on the track with Danny, and Danny thinks about how life can kind of suck, drugs can make it better, but in the end, it's still only for a little bit and things go back to sucking. I know it's the least fan favorite, but I think it's only because it's way more low-key than the other songs on here and sounds out of place at first (and also I can totally see why people think the B-Real hook is annoying). I think after the trip of the entire album it's a good ending transition before the outro on "Hell For It".

After all of the darkness and crazy production, this one is pretty straightforward and a fitting ending to the project much like "30" was on XXX. Danny is looking to the future optimistically and even though he was worried about having money, not getting the respect he wanted, or was worried about dying before he could create a legacy, he's still going to try. He realized he could get the respect after XXX, got the money with Old, and I think the last couple lines of this song are very fitting and they show that this one was meant just for the respect:

I just wanna make music

Fuck being a celebrity

Cause these songs that I write

Leave behind my legacy

which I believe he deserves after cementing a legacy with this album.

Favorite Lyrics

Cause when I'm all alone, feel like no one care

Isolate myself and don't go nowhere

Smoking blunt after blunt, 'til my eyes start burning

Hennessy straight got my chest like a furnace

Drowning frustrations in a ocean of sin

Thinking irrational, I have no emotions

Jumping dope fiends that's owing us for credit

Taking turns catching sales things copacetic

Slice your tomato if you owe us for the lettuce

Running through the sack of D sorta like Jerome Bettis

Feeling like I got money

Know I'm just nigga rich

Even if she fuck me

I still know life a bitch

Bought a nightmare, sold a dream

Happiness went upstream

Blame myself, I had no control

Now I'm living with no soul

I'm on a road that never ends

Don't know opposite of sin

Some people say I think too much

I don't think they think enough

Loungin', ask your girl why her mouth on my nuts

You've been the same motherfucker since 2001

Well it's the left-handed shooter, Kyle Lowry the pump

I'm at your house like, "Why you got your couch on my Chucks?"

But my tolerance strong

Been cursed all alone

Whole family addicts

Floating through my bloodstream

Like I gotta have it

Tried to quit a few times

But it didn't work out

Can you understand

What my life is about

Cause I think you don't

So take a step inside

A mind so horrific

Images that I hide

Take look inside

Scare you for life

This is the way

Nigga step inside

Going through a bag like I'm snatching purses

Half a key of raw inside my fucking verses

Like a surgeon with that scalpel, bring that track to life

No umbrella, we stuck in the rain

Dark clouds hanging all over our head

No sunshine and them showers be lead

Lighting up squares and them dots be red

Now ya best friend gets shot in the head, damn

All the time I heard I wouldn't make it

I was writing shit that was so damn amazing

When half these little niggas was still watching

That's so raven

I was out there hustling

Scraping up and saving

Just to catch a 12 hour bus to NY

Sleeping on the floor in studios

Asking God why

But never got deterred

From the voice I heard inside

Tell myself everyday

The greatest that's alive

Discussion Questions

1) Where do you think Danny is going to go next in terms of both sound and lyrics? Where would you like him to go?

2) Would you like more artists to try experimenting in a similar lane that he did on this album? Perhaps somebody else trying to rap over beats influenced by other genres that would be difficult to rap on? Who and what sound?

3) If you didn't like this album but liked his others, what was missing from it or what did it have too much of? If you did like this album but don't like his others, what's different about this one that changed your mind?

4) Do you think that Danny's lyrical ability was the same on this album and if not, do you think it matters? Do artists have to get better at rapping on every subsequent project if they master another aspect or enhance the way they express their lyrics?

5) This album ran 47 minutes. Do you think it should have been longer or was it the perfect length? What is your opinion on lengths of albums, should they all be short, long, or what do they depend on?

Thanks for reading guys, tomorrow we have /u/zigzagzig writing about Elzhi - Lead Poison, another one of my personal favorites from last year.

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r/hiphopheads Essential Album of the Week #76: Mac Mall - Illegal Business?

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:52 AM PST

Welcome to the new and improved Essential Album of the Week discussion thread!

Every Wednesday we will discuss an album from our Essential Albums list

Last Week: Bloods & Crips - Bangin' On Wax

This Week: Mac Mall - Illegal Business?

Stream/Purchase

Spotify

iTunes

Google Play

Songs/Singles

Sic Wit Tis

My Opinion

Illegal Business?

Background/Description (courtesy of allmusic.com)

Mac Mall's first album, released locally in California on his own indie label, Young Black Brotha, is a refreshing entry in the West Coast gangsta rap genre for 1993. With Khayree's deep, bassy, funky beats accenentuating Mac's energetic and smooth style of rapping, what's produced is a thick album with plenty of differing styles and themes. Khayree has also produced beats for Tupac, Mac Dre, Ray Luv, Young Lay, and Master P, among others. The most notable songs on the album are "Sic Wit Tis," "Don't Wanna See Me," and the slow-grooving "Ghetto Theme." A music video for "Ghetto Theme" was released shortly after the album, and is the debut of Tupac Shakur as a video director.

Guidelines

This is an open thread for you to share your thoughts on the album. Avoid vague statements of praise or criticism. This is your chance to practice being a critic. It's fine for you to drop by just to say you love the album, but let's try and step it up a bit!!!

How has this album affected hip-hop? WHY do you like this tape? What are the best tracks? Do you think it deserves the praise it gets? Is it the first time you've listened to it? What's your first impression? Have you listened to the artist before? Explain why you like it or why you don't.

DON'T FEEL BAD ABOUT BEING LATE !!!! Discussion throughout the week is encouraged.

Next week's EAOTW will be Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle

submitted by /u/Saiyaman
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[FRESH] DMX Ft. Swizz Beat - Bane Is Back

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 07:58 PM PST

[FRESH] Sampha - No one knows me, like the piano

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 11:46 AM PST

BJ The Chicago Kid Sings National Anthem At President Obama’s Farewell Address

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 05:06 AM PST

A$AP Rocky is playing new music on Instagram Livestream including song with A$AP Ferg

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 08:40 PM PST

He played a new song with Ferg, as well as a new Carti song

Edit: "NEW CARTI, NEW A$AP, NEW COZY TAPES NIGGA"

Edit 2: Hinting at new music on yams day (jan 18)

Edit 3: Hes back on, and is playing more new Ferg

Edit 4: He playin like 4 new ferg tracks, all sound sick

Edit 5: Rocky forgot he was on live and the screen was black while he watched 'Lip Sync Battle'

submitted by /u/jd12737
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[FRESH VIDEO] Syd - All About Me

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 09:44 AM PST

Move That Dope / Nextel Chirp / Let Your Hair Blow - Childish Gambino - S T N M T N

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 05:13 PM PST

Hip hop scotch

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 02:08 PM PST

Hey guys, long time HHH lurker here. I Just started a Hip hop podcast, called Hip hop scotch, with my brother and my cousin. We are basically going to drink a different scotch every week and discuss albums, songs, or just anything hip hop related. This is the first episode, in which we each discussed our top 10 albums of 2016. Feel free to give it a listen, or don't! https://soundcloud.com/user-150242369

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Syd's Debut Solo Album, Fin out February 3rd

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 09:42 AM PST

http://pitchfork.com/news/70514-the-internets-syd-announces-debut-solo-album-fin-shares-video-for-new-song-watch/?mbid=social_twitter

Tracklist

01 Shake 'Em Off

02 Know

03 Nothin to Somethin

04 No Complaints

05 All About Me

06 Smile More

07 Got Her Own

08 Drown in It

09 Body

10 Dollar Bills

11 Over

12 Insecurities

All About Me MUSIC VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNIOrsxsa0A

submitted by /u/revea1s
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[FRESH] Kevin Abstract - Timeless

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 07:37 PM PST

[FRESH EXPLICIT CDQ] Lupe Fiasco ft Gizzle- Jump

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 03:14 PM PST

Frank Ocean - Lost

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 10:53 PM PST

Master P bought SoundCloud plays by using bots

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:12 PM PST

Rich The Kid - Dat Way (feat. Migos)

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 09:49 AM PST

Yams Day is back! On Ticketmaster for 1/18

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 09:17 AM PST

[Fresh] FKA twigs x Nike – Trust in Me -- do you believe in more? (Full Edition)

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 01:07 PM PST

Rich The Kid announces a collab with Kendrick Lamar

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 04:31 AM PST

Eminem - My Dad's Gone Crazy

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 11:06 AM PST

Daily Discussion Thread 01/11/2017

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:15 AM PST

Welcome to the /r/hiphopheads daily discussion thread!

This thread is for:

  • objective questions with right/wrong answers (e.g. "Does anyone know what is happening with MIXTAPE?", "What is the sample in SONG?")
  • general hip-hop discussion
  • meta posts...e.g. ideas for the sub

Thread Guidelines

  • Do not create a separate self post for these types of discussions outside of this thread - if you do, your post will be removed.

  • Please be helpful and friendly.

  • If a question has been asked many times before, provide a link to a thread that contains the answer.

Other ways to interact

There are a number of other ways to interact with other members of HHH:

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[FRESH] Ugly God – Lil Bitch

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 09:03 AM PST

Divine Council - P. Sherman (PS42WW$) ft. $ilk Money

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:14 PM PST

Official Bonnaroo Lineup 2017

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 05:48 AM PST

Sesame Street: Rubber Duckie featuring Daveed Diggs

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 11:30 AM PST

Proof - Life [Prod. by J Dilla]

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 02:56 PM PST

Curren$y Announces New EP 'Jetlanta' ft Production from Don Cannon and More Dropping Friday

Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:29 AM PST
at

Album of the Year 2016 #9: Babyfather - "BBF" Hosted By DJ Escrow - HipHop

Album of the Year 2016 #9: Babyfather - "BBF" Hosted By DJ Escrow - HipHop

Album of the Year 2016 #9: Babyfather - "BBF" Hosted By DJ Escrow

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 11:34 AM PST

Hello and welcome to another day of Album of the Year 2016. Today on the series I'm going to be talking about Babyfather's criminally underrated debut, "BBF" Hosted by DJ Escrow.

Artist: Babyfather

Album: "BBF" Hosted by DJ Escrow

Listen:

Bandcamp

YouTube

Spotify

Background by /u/ReconEG

Babyfather is a UK rap group consisting of Dean Blunt, DJ Escrow, and Gassman D, with Blunt serving as the ringleader of the group. Before starting Babyfather, Blunt was a member of Hype Williams, an electronic music duo made up of him and Inga Copeland. The two parted ways sometime in 2013, each going onto their solo projects, with Blunt diving deeper into his after releasing a few solo records in 2012 and 2013, most notably The Narcissist II and The Redeemer (which I've talked about extensively on /r/indieheads and on the Indieheads Podcast) In 2014, Blunt's interest started to dip into black music and race in general. This interest led to Black Metal, for which he explained the concept of during an interview with Rinse FM:

Black Metal basically is like… imagine like an essay and the heading or the thesis or the title is Appropriate Yeezus: Appropriation, Re-appropriation and the Empowerment of the Post-Black Male. And it's the idea of how in America the black man uses existing white images and claims them as his as a form of empowerment… so black Cobain and black this and black that which is actually not really that progressive. So it's this American idea of racial progression [which] is completely backward because you're just appropriating something and kind of calling it your own [and] that's something that's already completely died.

I think anything like that… anyone like that… that whole movement and I think that whole idea of like this progressive and new black but really you are just taking something that's been discarded and claimed it back and saying this "I'm black Cobain yeah we reappropriating." You're actually just picking something old up, the real progression is something that is undefined and is new and that's what Black Metal is.

This would lead into his newest project, Babyfather, for which he released their debut self-titled tape in 2015 via Hyperdub. Later that year he self released a mix entitled UK2UK, then early on in 2016 released another mixtape under the Babyfather name, Platinum Tears. This all led into their debut record, "BBF" by DJ Escrow, a polarizing record that was hit with criticism by The Needle Drop and Pitchfork, but heaped with praise by publications like Tiny Mix Tapes and Resident Advisor, both of whom had Babyfather top their album of the year lists. They also dropped the 419 mixtape in November.

Review by /u/ReconEG

PREAMBLE

There is no one way you can approach "BBF" Hosted by DJ Escrow. It is a multi-purpose record that covers a lot of ground despite it's seemingly simplistic nature. It's a response to the rise in nationalism in the UK, specifically that of the right wing nature. It's a story about a DJ and his attempts to move his way up in the rap world. It's the tales of a badman who isn't quite who he says he is. It's a look at the recent re-popularization of grime. One thing is very clear: this is a very British record. This is known right off the bat with the album's intro, "Stealth Intro", which is, and I don't kid, five minutes of Craig David saying "this makes me proud to be British" on loop with lush guitar plucking until they're interrupted by sirens and DJ Escrow's pitched up voice as starts ranting about sirens before transitioning into "Greezebloc."

Before I continue, I'm going to be splitting this review up into a few parts because of the multitude of ways to approach this record. I think the most relevant way right now is the album's slightly satirical look at nationalism, as with the election of Donald Trump and the Brexit decision, it's interesting to look through Dean Blunt's perspective of his country, as he carries the dual identity of being a British man, and the son of Nigerian immigrants in a time where one of those identities is being attacked.

PART 1: "THIS MAKES ME PROUD TO BE BRITISH"

Across the world, right wing nationalist movements have been taking off. While some have been stumped like in Austria, it's taken over some of the biggest powers in the world like the United States and the United Kingdom. These movements taking off like they have should not be surprising. As an older generation begins to die off and a newer generation begins to fill in the gaps, the older generation isn't quite ready to relieve that power just yet. Just as we think serious progressive movements are beginning to take over, those on the opposite end of the spectrum play one last power move that could end the game altogether.

This is, as Thom Yorke of Radiohead says, "the last desperate fart of a dying corpse." While Yorke was describing Spotify, I think this quote could also accurately describe this recent right wing nationalist movement. But anyways, how does this relate to "BBF"? It doesn't. Not directly at least. There's no rants about Nigel Farage or the value of the Euro. The closest we get is DJ Escrow saying "Free all of my niggas locked down. Fuck Trident, yeah. Fuck MI5. Fuck MI6, yeah. Obviously you can't hear this but fuck you innit."

As I said in the preamble, "BBF" serves as Dean Blunt's perspective of the UK right now and its rap scene. But much like his previous solo albums, it's also about Dean Blunt himself. His blunt (no pun intended) and simple rap style goes to show how powerful of a writer he is. Blunt makes the most of the least and is able to perfectly capture a mood in a few words and the music that surrounds it. The mood here is very foggy, with Blunt giving us occasional breaks through the smoke, realizing where he is and who he is, realizing he can't keep up his badman persona forever.

Anyways, nationalism is a terrible and ignorant movement and this album takes a couple of digs at it, mostly through the recurring vocal sample of Craig David saying "this makes me proud to be British." Also, while Dean Blunt was the draw for most people coming into this album, the real star of the show isn't him, it's DJ Escrow.

PART 2: "LET ME JUST PLAY THAT FUCKING TUNE"

"You hear the sirens, yeah? The sirens is a real ting. Man hear the sirens every fucking night. Man's tryna do my ting, and I hear the fucking sirens."

These are the first words we hear of DJ Escrow on this album. Throughout the album, we learn of his character more and more and realize he's a somewhat of a sad figure. While Blunt has his whole badman persona mostly figured out, DJ Escrow is still trying to figure out his way from being real to being real. We hear his fast-talking diatribes throughout the entire album, relaying troubles with his baby mama, paranoia about the police, fear of falling into the corporate world, and his dreams of becoming a rapper.

Despite Dean Blunt being the draw of the album, DJ Escrow is really our main character, as he ends up taking up a majority of the runtime on the album. On my repeated listens of the album for this review, I didn't quite realize how important he is to the whole experience. He is the observer to the world Dean Blunt creates on this album, and much like Escrow, you want to model yourself based on the badman persona Blunt cultivates.

And you see his struggles to try to get there. Two tracks that highlight some of these multiple struggles he has are "Platinum Cookies" and "The Realness." On "Platinum Cookies," Escrow tries to wow us with a set of bars: "Who's back, who's back? / See a little cat / Run around the flat like 'What?' / Man don't wanna get jacked like 'Naw' / Naw, [?] that, that / Show up from the back / Swing it in your hat 'til you're bleeding that, that" He ends of this set with "Yeah man's got bars as well, you know" before getting into another set, telling us he's aware they're basic, but "I'm a DJ first, innit?" He then compares himself to Wiley, saying that Wiley used to be a "shit MC" then saying he's gonna be sick like him one day. It's kind of a sad and desperate song, but one that's wholly endearing because of Escrow's character.

Then onto "The Realness", where Escrow tries to reach out, telling listeners that they don't have to get into crime to make it, trying to explain there's other ways before realizing his words go into one ear, but out the other. "I'm chatting too much here / Let me just play that fucking tune." He then goes into a speech about his trust issues, sounding more like Mark Kozelek than a radio DJ for a mixtape. His speech is then slowly interrupted by harsh noise leading into the track "Flames." Where on "PROLIFIC DEAMONS" Escrow was able to be one with the noise, this time it consumes him. It represents his come to terms with reality and the brutality of it all.

We hear Escrow one more time on "Message", bringing up an extremely poignant point about division and how if we all worked together, we could do a "big ting." Even in politics and economics, we could use "rhythms" to make good things for both, for everyone. It's hard not to relate to Escrow on this album. We see these big figures we look up to and want to emulate, but at the same time want to stay true to ourselves. On this album, DJ Escrow is our Nick Carraway and Dean Blunt? Our Jay Gatsby.

PART 3: "I'M TRYING TO FIND MINE"

This review is essentially part 3 of my Dean Blunt album review trilogy. In my last review on 2014's Black Metal, I made point about the last track on that album, "GRADE." Essentially, the song is a fight between the badman persona he was building up towards the end of the album and his normal anti-social self seen on the first half. This fight seemingly continues on "BBF".

For the most part, Blunt is able to keep his badman persona intact but there's little cracks on the surface when you dig deeper. The deep emotional trauma on albums like The Narcissist II and The Redeemer is still here, it just takes a bit more digging to find it. "Meditation", the album's lead single, touches on Blunt's paranoia: "I don't know what they asking of us / Everyone got a question for us / Can they give a nigga privacy? / What is that? Where is he? Who is she?" However, he's still able to make that neurosis cool and keep the persona up, but the cracks do show.

These cracks really begin to open up on the double dose of "Shook" and "Motivation", the first of which starts off as a fairly chill gangsta rap song, but begins to uncover the unglamorous world of this badman. Yet, despite the increasing tension of the song's lyrics, Blunt's tone remains dormant, telling whoever he's talking to in the song "don't panic." But at the same time, could he be talking himself down too? After Escrow's rant mentioned in Part 1 of the review, the song transitions into "Motivation," a trap banger that wouldn't sound out of place at all on a Future album, which opens up with the same refrain as "Shook": "Shorty fell in love with a hustler / Shorty fell in love with a G". Towards the end of the track, Blunt raps "Everybody's here when I get it / But ain't nobody here when I hit it / Forget it", before coming back in 20 seconds later to say "You're never gonna get it, boy." Is he talking about money? Is he talking about his depression? Is he talking about a girl? It's hard to tell but there's some there lurking in Dean that he doesn't want us to know.

This further develops on "Esco Freestyle", as Blunt raps about buying/using cocaine, but later regretting it: "I never should've did it / Never should've did it", then trying to justify his actions with "Every nigga want a good time / I'm trying to find mine." From his previous work, you know Blunt has been through some serious pain and is now willing to do anything to suppress it. Is Blunt really the badman other rap stars from the UK hype themselves up to be? Speaking of...

PART 4: "IT'S LIKE THERAPY, INIT? IT'S SOOTHING"

On September 15th this year, Skepta won the Mercury Prize for his album Konnichiwa, beating out the likes of David Bowie, The 1975, Radiohead, ANHONI, and more. The win was the ultimate culmination in the recent mainstream resurgence of grime, a genre known for it's pulsating electronic beats, fast-paced flows, and tough bars. On "BBF", Blunt pulls a heavy detour from this style with a snail-paced flow, basic lyrics and lowkey production, with a couple of exceptions. However, he still keeps up the gangster image seen among grime artists, but somehow comes off as a more intimidating figure.

As I've said before, Blunt is supremely good at doing the most of the least and this album shows it well. From a lyrical, technical, and production standpoint, this is one of Blunt's most minimal works yet and nearly no element is wasted. The album was all produced by Blunt himself, with Arca showing up on a few tracks to lend some production work, giving the album some of it's best sounding beats.

Inbetween the lowkey but pulsating Arca beats and chilled out west coast inspired vibes, the album throws the occasional curveball at you. Specifically on the track "PROLIFIC DEAMONS", which is, and again I don't kid, DJ Escrow going hypeman mode over harsh noise. It is completely jarring on first listen but absolutely hilarious on your fourth or fifth listen when the album's themes begin coming together. While Blunt has repeatedly stated that Babyfather isn't a joke project or a satirical one, you can't help but find some satirical bend in tracks like these.

Then you have the less ear-shattering curveballs like "God Hour" featuring English artist/composer Micachu, who gives a nice break between the Escrow tirades, Blunt's laid-back raps, and harsh noise for a string heavy indie pop track that calls back to Blunt's solo work without sounding out of place on this record.

EPILOGUE

Dean Blunt recently announced that he'd no longer play shows in the UK. After releasing this album, it makes sense. With the Brexit decision and the rise in hate crimes since the decision, Blunt's testimonial of being a black man in Britain, son of immigrants, was one that wasn't listened to. He talked about this in a recent conversation with fellow British artist GAIKA, both of them discussing feeling out of place in their own country.

On "Stealth Outro", Craig David once again is repeatedly saying "This makes me proud to be British." Expecting this repetition to loop again for the track's 3:26 runtime, the phrase instead fades out less than a minute into the song and the guitar plucking and light strings fully take up the mix. Seemingly, Blunt no longer needs to keep up this facade. He has realized he isn't accepted where he's from, and he's fine with that.

"BBF" Hosted by DJ Escrow is a Dean Blunt looking into his culture. It's a culture that's far from perfect and Blunt knows that. It's in these imperfections that Blunt is able to derive some great and powerful music from it. It's very much like an iceberg, where on the surface there doesn't seem to be much. For a long time I only looked at this album on that surface level but after diving deep and really studying parts of the record, there is so much to gather from it, it's quite insane. So if you've read through this whole thing, please listen to this album as it's possibly the most important and relevant rap album of 2016, and most definitely the most important album to come out of the UK in years.

Favorite Lyrics:

Fuck, it's a wrap

Cause I guess a nigga back

Pull that, and the niggas leave

Oh shit, there's that nigga Dean

  • "Greezebloc"

Everybody's here when I get it

But ain't nobody here when I hit it

Forget it

You're never gonna get it, boy

  • "Motivation"

I feel it in my chest now:

All the pain

Can't get the vest out

It's been too long, G

  • "Deep" ft. Arca

When it came down to it

I realized that the only person I could depend on one hundred percent and be was me

Trust is a luxury I can't afford

Betrayal is something I can't ignore

  • "The Realness"

Talking Points

  • How would you compare this album to Dean Blunt's previous work, solo and with Hype Williams?

  • Do you find this album to be wholly satirical?

  • What do you think is the future of the Babyfather (and Blunt in general) after this project?

  • And finally, is this album really worth digging into or is there not much there?

Hope you guys enjoyed my write-up! Come back tomorrow as /u/fozzik talks Danny Brown's Atrocity Exhibition.

submitted by /u/ReconEG
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Migos and Childish Gambino collab on the way according to Offset

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 03:43 PM PST

Big Sean is the musical guest on SNL on January 21, Aziz Ansari is hosting

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 09:23 AM PST

Ugly God - Water has entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #100

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 10:05 AM PST

Free Nationals LP coming 2017!!

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 01:59 PM PST

Lil B, Believe in Earth: A Very Rare and Based Visual Experience

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 12:57 PM PST

Kodak Black challenges Lil Wayne to a fight: 'I'm Finna Knock That Stupid Ass N**** Out'

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 08:01 AM PST

Kanye on Def Jam Poetry (Eventually became All Falls Down, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Gold Digger, and Bittersweet)

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 10:34 AM PST

Solange has her sister Beyoncé interview her for Interview Magazine

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 08:31 AM PST

Travis Scott Feat. Kanye West - Piss On Your Grave

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 06:45 PM PST

Kendrick Lamar Freestyle Over Kanye West's 'So Appalled' In 2009

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 04:08 AM PST

Young Jeezy - My President (Farewell Obama)

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 06:26 PM PST

Daily Discussion Thread 01/10/2017

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 10:24 AM PST

Welcome to the /r/hiphopheads daily discussion thread!

This thread is for:

  • objective questions with right/wrong answers (e.g. "Does anyone know what is happening with MIXTAPE?", "What is the sample in SONG?")
  • general hip-hop discussion
  • meta posts...e.g. ideas for the sub

Thread Guidelines

  • Do not create a separate self post for these types of discussions outside of this thread - if you do, your post will be removed.

  • Please be helpful and friendly.

  • If a question has been asked many times before, provide a link to a thread that contains the answer.

Other ways to interact

There are a number of other ways to interact with other members of HHH:

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Yung Lean - Hoover

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 12:08 PM PST

Action Bronson - Easy Rider

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 08:12 AM PST

DJ Crazy Toones passed away yesterday but the post didn't get much love on here. Here's one of his best tapes: That Nigga's Crazy Vol. 1

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 01:15 PM PST

RiFF RaFF x DANNY BROWN - WETTER THAN TSUNAMi (epilepsy warning)

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 08:26 AM PST

[FRESH VIDEO] Ramriddlz - H2o

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 12:55 PM PST

Tyler, the creator - 2SEATER

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 10:41 AM PST

21 Savage & Metro Boomin-No Heart Confirmed RIAA Platinum

Posted: 09 Jan 2017 11:36 PM PST

Lil B - Suck My Dick HO [BASED MUSIC VIDEO DIRECTED BY LIL B]

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 03:16 PM PST

Coloring Book Overrated?

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 10:19 PM PST

Please don't crucify me. As much as I want to like Coloring Book, everytime I listen to it I'm just dissapointed. All We Got starts off pretty hype but then Kanye comes and wipes his ass with it. No Problem is fun but I really don't like Chance encouraging violence when a big part of the mantra that got him here was straying away from violent-esque lyrics. But then DRAM starts singing and I can't believe that someone thought that it was a good idea to put that on an album. Smoke Break and Mixtape are just boring. Nothing against Justin Beiber but Juke Jam is just awful. It sounds like they put minimal effort into that song. As for All Night, the chorus is dumb and annoying, Chance's verse is cringy as fuck and Jay Electronica should just go home at this point. And I don't need to listen to three minutes of gospel choir on How Great. If I wanted to I would just go to church like I do every week and listen as this exact same song is sung.

Also I feel like Chance is just being the hype man on his own album. Alot of songs are curated to the feature and not Chance. Seriously, Smoke Break is just a Future song ft. Chance and Mixtape is just a Young Thug song ft. Chance. And plus the features aren't really that good either. MBDTF had a ton of features and they were all awesome and everyone was lashing out career defining moments. But on Coloring Book, most of these features sound half-assed and seem like they were written in the studio the day of recording. Chance doesn't take any risks with anything here and kinda sets out on making tracks that leave everyone decently happy at the end and that's about it. There's not much that blows me away about this album.

Not saying that there were some great moments here, but it just seemed that Chance was riding hype and didn't Coloring Book his full attention.

On a side note I'm sick of hearing how Chance is such a champion for independent artists and how he doesn't sell his mixtapes (he actually did sell Coloring Book). I would've liked more independent/ underground artists on Coloring Book then instead of a feature list with some of the biggest names in the world. And he needs to stop caring about this whole Grammy thing. No one cares about the Grammy's anymore. Not even the Grammy's care about the Grammy's anymore. It just seems immature for him to be so crazy about it. And then I look at Frank Ocean who literally didn't even care enough to submit Blonde in.

I realize this turned into a rant a bit but I do enjoy Coloring Book in places but I probably won't be returning to it much, if at all in the future. I'm just trying to see what's the whole hype about it.

submitted by /u/cjgalvin
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Kirk Knight feat. Mick Jenkins - I Know

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 10:01 AM PST

[FRESH] Lil Bibby - You Ain't Gang (Remix) (Feat. Kevin Gates, Lil Durk, & DeJ Loaf)

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 08:44 PM PST

Devin The Dude - Doobie Ashtray

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 10:46 AM PST

[FRESH] Ugly God - Lil Bitch

Posted: 10 Jan 2017 07:48 PM PST
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