[REVIEW] Danny Brown's 'Stardust' - an Electrifying Assault from Rap's Mad Scientist

★★★★

From the first glance at the album art and the track listing, Stardust seems to be a very different album from Danny Brown’s past releases. The chiselled chest and pop star presentation, backed by features and production credits that would usually be grouped in the ‘Hyper-pop’ category, left fans apprehensive, to say the least. Another notable aspect of this being a very different album is that its Brown’s first to be recorded in sobriety. After the Jpegmafia collaborative album SCARING THE HOES was released, Brown decided to check himself into rehab, declaring he was “blackout drunk” while recording the album. In rehab, he found solace in the music of 100 gecs, listening to them every day for 8 weeks straight. Through them, he found more artists that sat comfortably on the borders  f pop, like Jane Remover and their label DeadAir.  

Many collaborations with artists like Frost Children, 8485 and femtanyl followed, introducing Danny to a new wave of musical disruptors while reigniting his love for music. From that point on, Stardust began to form. Before I dive into the album properly, I want to state that this is still a Danny Brown album, no matter which way you cut it. It's got everything you’d expect from him, just refined to a high calibre, with a few surprises on the way too.  

Opener ‘Book Of Daniel’ unfolds with hopeful guitar chords backed by some truly retrospective verses from the man himself, discussing rap and music as a lifeline for him. It's a Danny we’ve never seen before, with production and dreamy hooks courtesy of  Quadeca, who Danny has shared helped him find the beauty in music again. He is finally putting respect on his name, and he’s “Sleeping real good at night, cause I’m proud of  myself”. 

The main producer this time round is Holly, an off-kilter electronica artist more widely known for his work on Bauuer’s PLANETS MAD and various tracks with Machinedrum. Many would see this as an odd choice, but again, this is Danny brown; He’s collaborated with Charli XCX before it was cool, bounced over Bauuer and Evian Christ beats effortlessly and got Blood Orange crooning on Q-Tip production. He's proven to be a versatile force to be reckoned with, which is why I think no one else could do this kind of album justice. 

Holly’s first production offering is ‘Starburst’, an absolutely barmy track that jitters with warbled vocal sampling and grating synths. Brown absolutely glides over the beat with braggadocios verses and his signature squeaky delivery. Before you can even get used to the track, the beat switch kicks in and turns it into an aggressive and unsettling assault, before changing the vibe one more time: introducing the first of many spoken word monologues courtesy of Frost Children’s Angel Prost. Lines such as: “Like a  vegetarian with a carnivore spirit, you stabbed at the fauna of the world, hunted it, surveying life’s riches” as godlike vocal soundbites drip through the edges of her voice, tell you this is a different beast altogether.  

San Francisco native Underscores features on two tracks here, lending production credits and sharp choruses to ‘Copycats’ and ‘Baby’. She is truly in a league of her own; these tracks alone show the amount of dedication that has gone into her craft over the  years. These are sharply inventive dance-pop tracks that are as varied as they are a showcase of her signature style. ’Copycats’ is bratty and loose, thumbing bass with drums worthy of a two-step, as Danny and Underscores bounce off each other's careless energy. The hook here in particular is infectious: “Rap star, Pop star, Rock star, gimme  that, gimme that.” The latter track unfolds in an eclectic fashion: Heavy hi-hats, boxing ring bells, and bright synths that recall old school Nokia ringtones. Danny is clearly having so much fun here with a really catty delivery on his verses that match the essence of the  lyrics; “She wanna be my bae, juicy just like Ocean Spray”.  

'Lift You Up’ is more evidence showing how impressive Danny’s bars can deliver, no matter the bpm. Holly's thumping house production with its twinkling organs neatly contrasts the contemplative nature of Browns verses, discussing a relationship going  nowhere; “All we do is fight and fuss, you break me down to lift you up.” One thing I  wasn’t expecting from this album was a full-on synth pop song, yet ‘Flowers’ delivers exactly that. 8485 shines with these bubbly and auto-tune-laced choruses and verses, with a truly strong statement from Brown showing how far he’s come. The production matches this self-affirming energy, tight and focused, with Neo futuristic synths and chords.  

While Angel Prost’s spoken word interludes are an incredibly vital and wondrous element to Stardust, the same can’t be said for Frost Children’s musical contribution, ‘Green  Light’. With Angel’s spacey and deliberately confusing poetry, she invites thoughts that almost feel like they were ripped from the many thoughts of brown himself, which matches the context of the album. ‘Green Light’ feels like a Frost Children track with a Danny Brown feature, while not being a bad thing, it clashes with the pacing of the album. Even production-wise, it's still tightly crafted and has interesting moments, but it is ultimately drowned out in the sea of ideas on show.  

In a similar vein, ‘Right From Wrong’ does struggle to keep up with the pack. Umru &  NNAMDÏ’s production is enticing but doesn’t go anywhere, same as NNAMDÏ’s choruses. It's a song that I want to enjoy more, but it feels lacking with the tracks surrounding it. Danny still delivers on the songwriting front; the lyrics are hard-hitting and delivered with intent: “So continue on the journey and focus on what’s ahead, ‘cause they run with lies when the truth ain’t got legs.”  

Warts aside, this album is just full of quality. Full of bracing production from various powerhouses that are paced out evenly. ‘1999’ with JOHNNASCUS has hardstyle breakdowns backed with gritty screamo style verses, which wouldn’t sound out of place on Brown’s album Atrocity Exhibition. ‘What you see’ is the latter Quadeca featuring track that brings out a beautifully sombre side to Danny, showing layers of honesty and vulnerability through the lyricism as the track progresses on with chugging drums, elegant piano work and heartfelt hooks courtesy of Quadeca.  

The 9-minute beast that is ‘The End’ is split into three parts, with each part produced by a different artist. The first part matches producer Rye Mann’s atmospheric breakbeats and gentle piano with Danny and Polish indie-pop artist ta ukrainka keeping up with the beat with ease, brown ruminating on his drug-addled past, and ukrainka comparing herself to a Franz Kafka character while poetically pouring her heart out. Part 2 goes into more ethereal territory with production from the Australian artist Cynthoni, formerly known as Sewerslvt. As the Cynthoni producer tag kicks things off, Danny erupts into his verses like a machine gun, almost like the beat can barely keep up with him. It's a thrilling display of skill and passion, with the lyricism not taking a hit for the sake of technical skill. The multimedia artist Zheani pulls through with a distant and sparse chorus that complements the drums and the song's progression. The closing minutes contain one final Angel monologue with a swan song on production from Quadeca. It's a gorgeous and disarming moment on the most sprawling track in Danny's discography. 

Stardust showcases Danny Brown’s newfound love and appreciation for life and music, with the MC looking back while constantly moving forward. He brings a new wave of musical misfits with him along for the ride, allowing them to show their talent through a  strong sense of collaboration. It's unrelenting, joyous, heartfelt and hilarious; occasionally all at the same time.  

While a few listeners may be turned off by this new album (Danny himself even stated  “This is gonna be the album that shocks people”), there’s much to be rewarded with for repeated listens: great pacing, hearty variety and consistently solid flow and songwriting  from Brown. He had doubts about releasing an album completely sober: "I’ve seen so  many artists get sober, and their music sucks.” If this is how his creative output is when he’s sober, the future of his artistry is looking very bright indeed.