PHOTOS/REVIEW: Danny Brown at TLA
PHOTOS BY: Conner White
WRITTEN BY: Holden Linton
Philadelphia was fortunate enough to be one of many stops visited for the Danny Brown – uknowhatimsayin? Tour with supporting acts Zelooperz and Ashnikko in promotion of Danny Brown’s new album, uknowhatimsayin? Danny Brown has been one of the biggest new acts of this decade with his introspective and aggressive rapping style with an album like XXX, as well as his dark, conceptual, and experimental takes to the hip hop genre with a record such as Atrocity Exhibition.
Now in recent times people are happy to see the new side of Danny with his new album uknowhatimsayin?. The show’s demographic seemed quite odd because there wasn’t a specific and consistent age group that was able to be picked out. Most people were at the show for Danny but a few people were also at the show for Ashnikko. Starting off the night, from Danny Brown’s very own Detroit-based hip hop group/record label Bruiser Brigade, Zelooperz brought the heat as the opening act with his abstract flows and abstract hip hop production. Zelooperz started to gain a spotlight this year shortly after his recently released album Dyn-o-mite, in which he played a lot of material off the record with songs such as “JayJay-Z” and the fan favorite “Easter Sunday 97.” Following was Ashnikko, who had quite a big following there at the show. Ashnikko has been making waves recently with her explosive pop rap with bustling beats and sexual themes, coming after her recent EP Hi, It’s Me.
When Danny Brown finally came on, the crowd cheering in excitement. Anyone who has seen Danny live in the past are in awe about the new look Danny Brown has with his shorter hair and less crazy outfits than what he used to wear. Danny Brown started out his show with material from his least popular albums to his most popular albums. He started to show with “Dirty Laundry” from his recent album and then went into material from Old to XXX to Atrocity Exhibition to uknowhatimsayin? The crowd was super engaged with the show and yelling the lyrics right back at Danny, as well as bouncing and moshing to songs like “Ain’t it Funny” and “When it Rain.” Danny Brown also took some time during his set to sit down and talk about how whenever he performs in Philadelphia that he gets a little “too drunk,” with the crowd laughing back at him. He also went on to talk about his appreciation for Philadelphia and Philadelphia rappers.
The connection between the crowd and Danny felt surreal and it just felt like a huge conversation. Danny Brown overall pulled off an amazing show that got the crowd going. Danny Brown is a must-see and worth your time for some hardcore hip hop. Danny Brown’s new album uknowhatimsayin? is currently out everywhere now and make sure to catch him on tour when he comes by your local venue!
