Danny Brown is back. He spent a couple of years as the rap world’s go-to feature artist and it’s been a barrel of fun. His intense, zany style has crept its way into dozens of songs, giving them a disturbing twist. But now Danny is back on his own with “Atrocity Exhibition,” his fourth studio album. The album is a classic return to form for Danny. This music isn’t fun. It’s scary, it’s mean, it’s loud, it’s sad, it’s violent and it’s absolutely terrific.

From the very opening of the album to the last lyric, Brown hits the listener with vivid imagery, gruesomely describing the life that led him to where he is now. The album is dark. The first track is fittingly titled “Downward Spiral” as the songs that follow continually dive deeper into the misery of Danny Brown’s life. While his albums “The Hybrid” and “XXX” focus on the life he was living at the time, this project is highly reflective on those times. He’s grown up but forever scarred by what he’s seen and done. Each track on the album expands on the ever growing story Danny Brown has been telling us since his mixtape “Hot Soup.” Songs like “Tell Me What I Don’t Know” and “Ain’t It Funny” build on his persona while sharing more of his life.

“Atrocity Exhibition” may sound like a downer (because it is) but Danny Brown’s skill lies in his ability to tell these interesting and complex stories. He has painted a vivid and horrific image with his music but it still bumps like crazy. The tracks “Really Doe,” “Pneumonia,” and “When It Rain” are all awesome beyond their depressing undertones. The combination of the heavy beats and Danny’s one of a kind flow makes each of these songs an amazing trip. Danny Brown is able to tell this interesting stories while still creating music that is fun to listen to (Something a lot of “Art rappers” could learn from).

This is debatably the strangest of Brown’s releases to date. The instrumentals are significantly more dirty than those on “Old” and even “XXX.” The beats almost mimic Danny’s voice, ambushing the listener with high pitched synths and erratic drumming. This feels like the first time Brown has had this much influence over a project of his own. It appears that he was given full creative control to make the album he wanted to make and it payed off.

Every aspect of “Atrocity Exhibition” has been painstakingly worked over, from the complex instrumentals to the lyrical content. This is the kind of passion project that works. Danny Brown clearly had a vision that has been fully realized. It’s rewarding to see such a talented artist have this level of freedom over their work. If you already love Danny Brown as much as I do, “Atrocity Exhibition” is exactly what you wanted from a new release.

John Hart