Really Doe? The Best Rap Verse Ever? And Verses by Decades

Ever since the release of Danny Brown’s XXX (2011), he has been recognized as one of the most unique and pioneering voices in hip-hop. Some may say he’s carried the baton Lil’ Wayne held for so long as the most dexterous and skilled rapper in popular recording music. Story has it that Danny Brown learned how to rap at a very young age, a precocious age (much like Lil’ Wayne), from being read Doctor Seuss books by his mother. He began to speak in rhymes like the Seuss books, telling his kindergarten friends when he grew up he was going to be a rapper, and I guess the rest is history. I find this anecdotal story interesting, because even now Danny Brown seems a nice embodiment of the Seuss essence. He’s this quirky, oddball personality in hip-hop; or put another way, if hip-hop had a character in a Doctor Seuss book, that character might look a lot like Danny Brown.

However, the aesthetic of Danny Brown’s newest album, Atrocity Exhibition (2016) is basically the opposite of a Doctor Seuss book. It’s dark, gritty, industrial, and full of wasteland themes. Maybe the only qualities this album shares with Seuss are surrealism and trippiness, but even those general themes are remotely related. Atrocity Exhibition is a brilliant album not only for showing off Danny’s awe-inspiring skill as a rapper in songs like “Ain’t It Funny” and “When It Rain”, but also impressive in the way the album was stitched together as a cohesive whole. There’s a pervasive mood to the album and a dark aesthetic throughout that makes this perhaps his best album to date. Whereas in previous albums he’s rapped about the desolation and despondency of his hometown of Detroit – the derelict buildings and empty blocks – this album takes those themes and makes it almost a sonic embodiment of the idea. Take the opening track “Downward Spiral”- it’s got this dark and expansive guitar moan placed throughout that gives the song a certain mood, as if the unnerving emptiness of Detroit was channeled into every open space of the song. It’s like a dark breath on the back of your neck as you watch an empty swing rocking back and forth in a desolate park in the middle of the night. It’s the feeling you get walking down a lonesome alley when every window is boarded-up on a defunct block, and then a black cat scurries across in front of you. Take a listen to get an idea of the type of gritty and dark menace the entire album displays:

Showing more of Danny Brown’s speed and skill as a rapper:

The most impressive song on the album, however, is “Really Doe”, which showcases Danny Brown’s incredible skill and speed as a rapper in the opening verses. He gets all-star support from Kendrick Lamar, Earl Sweatshirt, and Ab-Soul, but it’s Danny’s opening verses that really stand out. The flow is impeccable and the dexterity undeniable. Not only is it clear on this album that he has honed his skill, but it also begs the question, what other rap songs throughout the decades have captured that moment when the artists are clearly in the zone?

So here’s another new periodic post I will be submitting every once in a while called “Verses by the Decades”. In this post I will try to showcase songs from great albums, by the decades, in which everything was on-point. Meaning….. the flow comes naturally, the style of rap matches the music, the music matches the flow, and the production is perfectly executed. I think you get the idea with “Really Doe”, clearly from this decade, but now let’s look at a couple songs from other decades that display this perfection in every facet of the song.

From 1995, Raekwon’s “Knuckleheadz” off of the classic album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx:

And this might be a little too obvious, but I can’t help it. “A Milli” from 2008’s Tha Carter III by Lil’ Wayne:

I think there are certain songs that just jump out as “being in the zone”, and if you have any that specifically come to mind for you, please feel free to post or leave a comment.