XXL 2012 Freshman Danny Brown Rips Throughout Chicago On March 30

Spin and Pitchfork listed XXX as one of their top releases of 2011. XXL recently listed him as part of their 2012 Freshman Class. Fader even referred to him as hip hop's most unique rapper and a promising underdog. This is all simply to say that Danny Brown is the best underground hip hop phenomenon that you probably are not listening to...at this moment, anyway.

With one of the most unusually brilliant deliveries over some of the most uniquely creative beats recorded, Brown is in a class all to himself. On one hand, you have the comically innovative rapper with a slightly high pitched voice and a loose flow that references himself to the popularity of Teen Wolf and dying like various dead celebrities, all of which died from overdoses. On the other hand, you have a more straightforward rapper that is more introspective in content and much tighter with his delivery. There lies the brilliance of Danny Brown as you can get either one and you are never disappointed with either version. Both are dirty, street level rhymers meant for blasting out of your speakers during the summer as much as they are the kind of performers that you email and introduce to friends. It is this brilliant balance combined with his untouchable lyrical abilities (along with his visual presence) that has underground, indie and mainstream press buzzing about this gifted rapper.

It is also his abilities as a rhymer and overall performer that make XXX the best thing to come from Detroit since Eminem and D12 threatened to "roll up on you like Christopher Reeve." A mixture of sex rhymes and tales of drugs and partying with refund tax money over a collection of impressively crafted beats, XXX is an album that rarely appears today. It is album that took a lifetime of stories and experiences to craft the content and lyrical value while sounding very close yet far removed from the usual tales of street living, thanks in part to the craftsmanship and delivery of the tracks.

In promotion of XXX, Brown is on the road with another lyrically gifted and charismatic rapper, Childish Gambino, in what is a must see show even if hip hop is not your thing. This is the underground, indie sound coming to your town in a major way. Catch Danny Brown along with Childish Gambino at Riviera Theatre on March 30.