- Somewhere between his criminally underrated second LP XXX and his overblown, unfocused follow up, Old, Detroit emcee Danny Brown found himself becoming immensely popular with the pill popping, party-centric dance crowd and seemingly spent the next three years touring the world
on a bender of epic proportions. His live show, which I managed to catch on three different occasions, quickly went from small scale, euphoric rap rave parties, to these odd, jilted, forty-five minute sets of only his most popular club bangers. By my third live experience I vowed not to throw any money his way until he was peddling some new wares for this old dog.

When Danny Brown finally unleashed to the world its first taste of that new Danny Brown I was ready to be overwhelmed with apathy from a dude who I used to consider one of the tightest talents in rap. That lead single, and Danny Brown's initial offering on new label and personal favourite, Warp, was, to my surprise, exactly what I craved. When It Rain was the perfect piece of experimental hip-hop, wrapped up in an equally perfect three minute pop package and was the first time in a long while I had Danny Brown firmly on repeat and suddenly the rap game Willy Wonka was back on my radar in a big way. 

Fourth record and the latest instalment in the wild world of Danny Brown is the aptly titled Atrocity Exhibition and doesn't waste any time in laying the framework to be his greatest accomplishment to date. Opening cut Downward Spiral sees Brown musing reflectively on his drug fuelled paranoia to a hauntingly minimalistic beat. Brown claims that he's "been high this whole time, don't realise what I've done"; his unapologetic honesty throughout the record is one of his greatest strengths. I for one quickly tire of the sex, drugs and rap talk without getting a glimpse into the dark side. One can't party for that long and that hard without one hell of an eventual comedown.

The production on Atrocity Exhibition is almost untouchable and is handled in bulk by British producer Paul White who has been working with Danny Brown since XXX and has quickly become Brown's go-to guy for the tastiest backing; White has this uncanny knack for crafting beats that suit Danny Brown to the bone. Those found on Atrocity Exhibition containing some of most eclectic and bizarre juxtaposition of sounds, samples and live instrumentation on any rap album you'll hear all year. Danny Brown acts as the hip hop conductor of the world's loosest orchestra. Listening to these beats out of context you might assume each was sourced from their own unique records and yet when consumed together, the whole flows with a warped grace and impactful ease you wouldn't instantly expect. 

While Atrocity Exhibition is musically a wild ride of epic proportions, the album has an underlying focus that I found lacking on Brown's last outing. The pacing, the stylistic balance and the sporadic use of guest vocalists are bang on; it's clear that party animal or not, Danny Brown is a totally switched on and clever dude. I was worried that the larger than life caricature that Brown has created would swallow the man but on this record he feels like someone in control of his destiny once again. 

Atrocity Exhibition is without a doubt one of the most infectious, awe-inspiring and well thought out rap albums I've heard all year. Bombastic and larger than life though it might be, it still manages to be equal parts dark, brooding and thought provoking. Brown is back to rapping like an absolute beast, his voice again dripping with life, character and spitting that forever tongue in cheek humour. Here's hoping he doesn't completely disappear back down the rabbit hole anytime soon. The world is a better place with Danny Brown firing on all cylinders.

- Jay Edwards.