XXX (Danny Brown album)

''XXX'' (pronounced "triple x" or "30") is the second studio album by American rapper Danny Brown. It was released on August 15, 2011, by Fool's Gold Records. The album's production was handled by Frank Dukes, Brandun DeShay, Skywlkr, Nick Speed, Quelle, Paul White, Squadda Bambino and DJ House Shoes. The album's only guest appearances come from Brown's Bruiser Brigade cohorts Chips and Dopehead.

''XXX'' received widespread acclaim from critics. On March 13, 2012, the album was re-released on iTunes with three new tracks and a digital booklet included.

Background

''XXX'' was released as a free download by Brooklyn, New York-based record label Fool's Gold Records. Brown cited ''XXX'' as his attempt at "experimenting and seeing how far ecould push listeners" with his music. Brown explains that ''XXX'' is an effort at a serious concept album with a storyline, citing track 13 "DNA" as the start of Side B: "The cover looked like a vinyl to me, so I was going with that whole vibe". He explained that "the first side is all having fun" before the album takes a serious turn from "DNA" onward.

While recording the album, Brown was listening to a lot of Joy Division. He has also stated he recorded ''XXX'' with the intent of having it critically acclaimed: "I made ''XXX'' with the aim of getting great reviews."

Critical reception

''XXX'' was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 83, based on nine reviews.

Vincent Thomas of AllMusic wrote, "''XXX'' — named for his gutter-filthy mouth and his 30th birthday — is an accomplishment." Jack Law of ''Fact'' noted, "It's Brown's embracing of contradictions that makes him such a fascinating rapper, and ''XXX'' is given depth and longevity by a tension, or collision between hardcore rap's reality fix and the avant-garde's desire for creative and expressive freedom from reality." Patrick Taylor of ''RapReviews'' said, "''XXX'' is another excellent release from the man who is one of the best rappers out there, proving that you can be lyrical and street at the same time, and that hip-hop doesn't have to be one dimensional."

David Amidon of ''PopMatters'' said, "Beyond its confrontational veneer lies a 19 track collection of a good number of 2011's hardest, freshest, most concrete bars imaginable." ''Pitchfork'' wrote positively, "His gleeful love of words not only elevates some pretty heavy subject matter; it also helps distinguish ''XXX'' as one of the most compelling indie rap releases in an already strong year." Will Robinson of Sputnikmusic also wrote "''XXX'' is an absolutely essential hip-hop release in the age of Internet distribution and excess, and as the extreme of the lyrical tameness spectrum it's necessary for anyone who claims to be at all knowledgeable about hip-hop."

Accolades

''Pitchfork'' placed the album at number 19 on its list of the "Top 50 albums of 2011", while ''Spin'' named it the top hip-hop album of 2011. In October 2013, ''Complex'' named ''XXX'' the eighth best hip hop album of the last five years. In June 2016, ''Pitchfork'' placed the album at number three on its list of the "50 Best Rap Mixtapes of the Millennium" and in 2019, they placed it at 63 on their list of "The Best 200 Albums of the 2010s".

Track listing

Personnel

* Squadda Bambino – producer
* Danny Brown – primary artist
* Chips – guest artist
* Brandun DeShay – producer
* Dopehead – guest artist
* DJ House Shoes – producer
* Frank Dukes – producer
* Quelle – producer
* Skywlkr – producer
* Nick Speed – producer
* Paul White – producer

References

External links

* at Discogs (list of releases).

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xxx
2011 albums
Fool's Gold Records albums
Danny Brown (rapper) albums
Albums produced by Nick Speed
Albums produced by Frank Dukes
Albums produced by Quelle Chris
Albums free for download by copyright owner