As far as soundtracks for 2016 go, there could be few more fitting than Danny Brown’s recent Atrocity Exhibition. With the Detroit rapper’s whiny, abrasive flow perched upon avant garde rock and post-punk dissonance (the album might be named after a Joy Division track but its most obvious touchstones are Public Image Ltd and the Pop Group), he takes us on a splintered, anxiety-fuelled journey through drug withdrawal and into the abyss. Yet with hip-hop’s tendency to turn richness into flatness in a live setting, it should be no surprise that Brown’s nuanced, atmospheric and rather bleak vision doesn’t translate to the stage very well.
In Brixton, south London, this evening, he is exuberant, even chipper – exaggerated mock-jogging across the stage during Dip, and taking time out to pile his gratitude on to the the fanatically dedicated crowd. The subtleties of his songs are subordinated to teeth-chattering sub-bass and the joie de vivre of the live performance.
What’s left of Brown’s hellscape is his hugely distinctive flow. On record, it’s cloyingly squawky – at times resembling cutesy mid-90s Californian rappers such as Ahmad and Skee-Lo. Tonight it’s far brasher, more extreme and more grating, and the main source of the unsettling mood. It’s not all one note, however: a brief spurt of Atrocity Exhibition tracks at the end brings with it Really Doe, the album’s most memorable moment and a welcome bit of pop relief. And when Brown’s vocal is matched by something equally audacious, his back catalogue starts to translate more gratifyingly into a live entity. During Attak, one of his collaborations with Scottish producer Rustie, blaring synth lines and hyperactive trap drums challenge Brown’s voice for dominance, making for an impressively ecstatic juncture.
Although Brown, with his progressive and self-consciously abrasive style, is a favourite with thinking hip-hop fans, he’s a generation too old for the arch and unashamedly poptastic rap du jour practised by the likes of Lil Yachty, Desiigner and tonight’s support act, ZelooperZ. Instead, he sits in a place that is less fun, less entertaining but deeper, darker and, when the stars align, pretty satisfying too.
