Old

Coming out of Detroit, Danny Brown has gone from blog-friendly mixtape rapper to legitimate star in just a few short years. Now he's signed to A-Trak and Nick Catchdub's Fool's Gold Records, and Old is his third full-length (following The Hybrid and XXX). It's his first with major-label backing and officially for sale in stores. One of the most unusual, nontraditional emcees in the game right now, Brown has two distinct vocal styles: one mellow and laid-back, the other high-pitched and hyperactive. The songs here are also of the split-personality type; half are serious, darkly introspective, and thought-provoking ("The Return" with Freddie Gibbs, "Gremlins"), while the other half are spazzed-out let's-get-wasted-and-party anthems that wouldn't sound out of place on a LMFAO record ("Smokin & Drinkin," "Handstand"). The production—from Oh No, SKYWLKR, Frank Dukes, and BadBadNotGood—is heavy on the freaky electronics, while vocal features come from A$AP Rocky, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and others. If you're already a Danny Brown fan, you're gonna love this.