Danny Brown - Y.B.P. (feat. Bruiser Wolf)

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This episode contains explicit language.

Danny Brown started his career in 2007 by handing out mixtapes in Detroit, where he's from.

In 2011, he put out his acclaimed second album, Triple X.

Since then, he's collaborated with rappers like Kendrick Lamar, ASAP Rocky, and JPEG Mafia, but he's also worked with electronic bands like Purity Ring and the Avalanches, and he did a verse on a remix for Korn.

When I first heard him, around when Triple X came out, I was really drawn to his voice.

And I also appreciated that, given how young so many artists are now when they get really famous, Danny Brown's career really started taking off in his 30s.

He put out his sixth album, Quaranta, in 2023.

And for this episode, I talked to him about one of the songs from that album, called YBP, which features guest vocals from Bruiser Wolf.

My name's Danny Brown.

When I created this song, I was in Detroit.

I was really in a dark time in my life.

I just went through a real bad breakup.

I was living in a house in the suburbs.

And so I decided to move downtown because it was lively down there.

You know, it was just a lot of new restaurants, new nightclubs.

so i would move down there with the intentions on partying and being single you know and then the quarantine and pandemic and everything happened so everything was just shut down so now i'm in this penthouse apartment by myself and just lonely

and i was just drinking a lot and i figured the best way for me to get myself out of this funk was just to work it out start back creating music again so When I started on this album, it was just really just getting my feelings out.

So, my friend Skywalker, you know, I just told him to give me some beats, you know, just seeing what he got.

And then he gave me the beat for this song.

I really love a good chop.

Like, if somebody can chop up a good sample, it's like, oh, man.

And it gave me like a happy feeling.

I kind of like to make music with my heart and not my brain and not really think too much about it and just do it.

It makes me feel.

And with this song, the feeling was like I was back in Detroit and I always wanted to tell those stories of where I came from.

I really like to wake up first thing in the morning because I was like smoking a lot of weed then and drinking a lot.

So, you know, waking up fresh, just get a cup of coffee, cut on some beats, and see what happened.

And I just wrote like one verse to it.

When we change the channel with the plies, wet clothes on the porch, we ain't have a dry.

Spinning food stamps, wait till you leave the stove.

Too many in the bed, had to sleep on the floor.

When we changed the channel with the pliers, back in those days, we always had like the good TV downstairs.

Then the TV in my bedroom would always be some old raggedy television.

It had like knobs.

And after you use the knob for so long, sometime it'll break off.

So then you got to turn the actual knob with the pliers.

You know, the pliers will be always right by the TV.

And the good thing about living in Detroit was that we so close to Canada, we would all get the Canadian stations.

And I'd be always up at night.

I would watch a lot of Mr.

Bean,

Mr.

Bean and like kids in the hall.

If you lose the pliers, you're stuck on that channel.

You just got to watch hockey now.

You're like, oh man, we're watching hockey tonight, I guess.

My favorite line in that song, I was writing it in a penthouse apartment, but I had a line where I say, spending food stamps, wait till you lead us out.

My mama like give us food stamps or something.

And then we'll like go to school and all the kids will be in there like spending real money and if they see you spending food stamps they'll like joke on you in school and stuff so i'll always have to like wait around in the store and wait till everybody else bought their stuff and leave out the stove then sneak and spend so i was like i was spending food stamps but i'll wait till you leave the stove

i didn't even know we was poor I would say my parents did a great job of taking care of me, but because also growing up in Detroit, it's always somebody doing worse than you.

So we was poor, but I didn't ever feel that way because I always knew it was kids in my neighborhood that was doing worse.

It would be like kids knocking on your door asking for sugar or, do you got some bread so we can make some sandwiches?

I was never one of those kids, you know.

My mom always made sure we ate good every night.

But she had four kids and my parents had me real young.

My dad was 16.

My mom was 18.

And I look at my dad all the time.

Like, you crazy, man.

You were 21 years old with four kids.

Like, what was your life, man?

You know, I definitely wasn't mature enough.

And I'm pretty sure he wasn't.

So that's why I say kids raising kids.

And we all trying to be grown.

Kids raising kids, all trying to be grown.

Things never fix when we come from broken homes.

We was young, black, and poor being raised in Detroit.

You can never learn what a nigga been taught.

Say, we was young, black, and poor, being raised in Detroit.

You can never learn what a nigga been taught.

I'm not that good at hooks.

I'm cool enough to admit that, that the hooks are like my weakest in my writing game.

But working with Jpec Mafia on the last album, album, he kind of taught me a way to get around that.

And you just like, just write the longest verses possible.

And eventually a hook presents itself in that long verse.

And then you can edit the rest of the stuff around and make a verse out of all that stuff.

We was young, black, and poor being raised in Detroit.

You can never learn what a nigga been taught.

Say, we was young, black, and poor being raised in Detroit.

You can never learn what a nigga been taught.

Which pretty much just saying, like, all the stuff that I've been through is what made me who I am today.

And everything that I learned, you can't teach that.

You just have to to experience it

when I create these songs with just like simple loops like that it's almost just like me with like an acoustic guitar then once I get them to like a executive producer or something like that they bring the full band in and bring everything into it there's like a moment in the let me play this okay so like the drums change here

And it gets real 80s.

Yeah.

That was really Casa Overall, who's my label mate, who I really consider to be like the MVP of this album because he took a lot of my ideas and took them to places that I couldn't have done on my own, you know?

And I'm glad he was able to pull that out of it.

Like we were talking about my childhood and stuff, and he was able to like just tap into that and it gave it that feeling, man.

And it's so dope.

Detroit city.

That's where I live.

It's like poetic justice.

You get killed after driving.

Who will front you some work?

Who will front you some work?

We be fresh from the dirt.

Put you on a t-shirt.

The newest guy on our crew is Bruiser Wolf.

When I first heard him rap, it was just like a breath of fresh air for me.

You know, I wanted to get him on his song and he actually like the next day wrote a verse.

It was a dope verse, but you know, I think he was just trying to be cool and just say some dope stuff.

Brown's like, nah, man, I want you tap in more, man.

Like, you gotta reach into your soul, man.

Like, just talk to the city.

Like, let them know where we come from.

What was his reaction to that when you gave him that direction?

I don't think he was too happy, to be honest, because I know he worked on that verse and he just knew it was dope.

It was dope, but it just didn't work for this song.

But when he did redo it, and when we played it back, and he was like, Man, you was right.

And then he just had so many Detroit references in that verse.

Like, a lot of people in the outside world probably wouldn't get half the stuff he's saying.

Like, naming like a lot of our sports heroes that we grew up watching, Rodney Pete, who played for the Lions, and Barry Sanders, you know.

Want to run like Barry, shoot like Zeke, but in the hood with a nine on me, like Rodney Pete.

Motor City, the Motown, the Fab Five, Police violence, that's how Malice Green died.

Talking about Malice Green, which was a guy that got beat by the police and they murdered him.

That happened like back in the day, and that was like a big deal in Detroit.

One of my favorite lines on this album is from him on that song, which was ask them why, B.I.

like Butch Jones.

They won't abuse when they grown, but ask them why, be I, like Butch Jones.

And Butch Jones was a leader of a gang in the 80s of Detroit called YBI, which stands for Young Boys Incorporated.

And he was like the leader of all these young kids, you know, that was doing wrong.

But in that line, he said, they want to be us when they grown, but ask them why, be I.

And it's like that double entendre, why be I?

Like, why would you want to be me if I ain't doing nothing right for the community?

I feel like his other verse where he was trying to relate more to the people on the outside world this time, he just talked to the people in the city.

My city show no love.

It's hard to fit in the murder mitten like OJ Glove.

This album sat around for some years.

And then when we were gearing up, starting to like getting the final product, my manager Dart, he hit me up.

He's like, man, I booked you some studio time, man.

I think you need to put one more verse on it.

Just tie it all up.

I was like, man, I don't feel like even

because what made it so hard i was just struggling with addiction at that time and i was just looking at my career it was almost to the point i was like i don't even want to do this no more i was just like i hate this but he made me do it so i went and recorded in austin i just ended up getting super drunk went to the studio wasn't a good day to be honest it really wasn't a good day but I sent him a song and he's like, yeah, that was just what I needed.

So I was like, I did my job, you know?

Stuck in the middle between Blade and Dilla.

Surrounded by killers, couldn't see the big picture from a bird's eye view.

We ain't had no clue.

Didn't know what was true.

Had nothing to lose.

You know, I say stuck in the middle between Blade and Dilla.

Blade Icewood was like a street rapper in Detroit.

And of course, everybody know Jay Dilla.

And I always felt like I was just in the middle of that.

Like, I wasn't always like.

the more traditional hip-hop style.

And then the street rappers, who, you know, pretty much is drug dealers that rap in their free time, you know, I always felt like I was in the middle of those because I wasn't necessarily accepted by either crowd, but I was able to play in both arenas.

I just felt like a nomad in some sense, you know, coming up early days.

You know, I was pretty much just like everybody else that starts out.

I didn't have a voice yet.

I would go to New York all the time.

And, you know, I was trying to get a record deal and stuff.

So they would try to like make me like rap over like Nelly beats or stuff like that.

And of course I was doing it because I wanted to get a a record deal.

But at the end of the day, that wasn't me.

So I was like, I need to go back home and make a name for myself first.

And then when I went back, I started to rap over that more Dilla-esque stuff because then I looked at it like, that's our sound.

I'm from Detroit.

That's what I need to be doing.

I need to be making that kind of music.

And so I didn't find this Danny Brown voice until 30, to be honest.

Back to the war, we ain't had no plan.

Everything about the city made me who I am.

You can make it here.

Yeah, yeah, you know the rest.

Every day was like a test.

If you fail, it's death.

But I feel like I just got caught up in what a lot of artists probably get caught up in.

You know, we create these personas for ourselves.

And, you know, with rap is almost like creating this character that's bigger than life.

You know, you're always going to overglorify your lifestyle or, you know, try to make yourself like this big superhero kind of character.

And in the midst of that, I stopped being Daniel and started being Danny Brown.

And Danny Brown wasn't happy.

It wasn't a healthy lifestyle that anyone should be living.

But thank God, you know, was able to get some help and, you know, going to rehab and stuff.

And you realize that you deal with a lot of underlying trauma.

You realize why you do it in the first place.

It starts out fun and, you know, hanging with your friends and just having a good time, but it still stems from something else deeper and darker that you're trying to escape from, you know?

How the system made the vision, but it don't add up.

Take away from the hood never giving back to us how the system made the vision but it don't add up take away from the hood never giving back to us i have a sense of who this song is for and that's for like any kid right now that's going through that same thing and then they can listen to something like this like look he's been through this look where he at today and for my childhood self too and just for me to just kind of remind myself to where i came from and where i'm at right now in my life Like, man, you bless.

You did it.

The thing that you wanted to do as a childhood kid, when you would tell your teachers, like, I want to be a rapper, and the whole class will laugh at you, you know?

But you did it.

Like, you should be proud of yourself.

I was never able to pat myself on the back and be like,

be happy for where you came, you know.

We was young, black, and poor, poor, poor, poor.

You can never learn.

Say we was young, black and poor, poor, poor, poor.

Coming up, you'll hear how all of these ideas and elements came together in the final song.

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And now, here's YBP by Danny Brown featuring Bruiser Wolf in its entirety.

When we change the channel with the plies, wet clothes on the porch, we ain't have a dry.

Spending food stamps, wait till you leave the stove.

Too many in the bed, had to sleep on the floor Cause my cousin always be getting whipped in the morning Every night, can't sleep Got me tossing and turning late night in the kitchen Here I'm always fussing Got my ass beat, I ain't even do nothing Seen her crying in the kitchen and I don't know why Got my aunt smoking crack and she got a black eye Living all focused hope and we tryna get by Sipping on wicked juice, wash it down with chili fries Homie shot at the Coney, hope we survive Only go to church when someone die Kids raising kids all trying to be grown Things never fix when we come from broken home We was young, black, and poor, paying rap in Detroit.

You was young, black, and poor, paying rapid Detroit.

You can never learn what a nigga been talking.

You was young, black, and poor, paying rap in Detroit.

You can never learn what a nigga been talking.

Detroit said he drew it.

That's where I live.

It's like poetic justice.

You get killed at the driving.

Who gon' find you some work?

Who gon' find you some work?

Put you on a t-shirt.

Wanna run like Barry.

Shoot like Zeke, but in the hood, with a nine on me, like Pratt Nee Pete, Motor City, the Motown, the Fat Five, Police violence, that's how Malice Green died.

Coleman Young, Dennis Archer, killed Patrick, killed Patrick, busy mattress in the alley doing backflips.

All these hoes, ratchets, daddy's absence.

But the kids see us doing grown.

Ayy, they wanna be us when they grown.

But ask them why, be acting like Glitch Jones.

My city show no love.

It's hard to fit in the murder mitten like OJ did show.

You can never learn what a nigga been drawing.

Since you was young, black and poor, being raped in Detroit.

You can never learn what a nigga been taught.

Since you was young, black and poor, being raped in Detroit.

You can never learn what a nigga been taught.

Since you was young, black and poor, being raped in Detroit.

You can never learn what a nigga been taught.

Stuck in the middle between Blay and Dilla.

Surrounded by killers, couldn't see the big picture from a bird's eye view.

We ain't had no clue, didn't know what was true, had nothing to lose.

Don't wear the heart is, but where's the love?

Feeling lost in the world, they don't care about us.

Back to the war, we ain't had no plan.

Everything about the city made me who I am.

You can make it here, yeah, yeah, you know the rest.

Every day was like a test, if you fail, it's death.

Or a trip to Wayne County, hope you dunk it sit to Jackson.

Middleman taxing to the story, just a fraction.

How to systemate the vision, but it don't add up.

Take away from the hood, never giving back to us.

How to systemate the vision, but it don't add up.

Take away from the hood, never giving back to us.

For more, visit songexploder.net.

You'll find links to buy or stream YBP and you can watch the music video.

If you like this episode, you might also like the episode with Meek Mill from 2019.

You'll find that and all the other episodes of the show at songexploder.net.

This episode was produced by Craig Ely, Theo Balcom, Kathleen Smith, Mary Dolan, and myself.

Special thanks to Chris Goodwin.

The episode artwork is by Carlos Lerma, and I made the show's theme music and logo.

Song Exploder is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a network of independent, listener-supported, artist-owned podcasts.

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I'm Rishikesh Hirway.

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