Danny Brown’s recent Drink Champs interview was definitely one for the books. The Detroit native joined hosts N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN to discuss several topics, from sobriety to meeting Nas and his thoughts on the current state of hip-hop, among others. However, the 2-hour interview had some important moments worth highlighting. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from Danny Brown’s time on Drink Champs.
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Finally Sober
A major takeaway from Danny Brown’s Drink Champs interview was his sober announcement. He revealed that he has remained abstinent from drugs and alcohol for a year. When he was asked about his decision to get sober, he bluntly stated: “I was just fucking up.” N.O.R.E and DJ EFN then inquired about how he manages to have fun now without the drugs. “I don’t. But I’m 42 years old,” Danny responded. “The fun got to be done or you gon’ die. My fun was deadly. I was like a living skydiver. You can’t keep jumping out the plane every day.”
Later on in the conversation, the trio discussed the common belief that people are more creative when under the influence. However, Danny disagreed, using himself as an example. “Now that I’m sober, I realized that shit is just in me,” he said. “If anything, the drugs and alcohol was fucking me up more. It was taking me more out of who I was. But I’ve always been a funny motherfucker or just being able to fucking rap.”
The Evolution Of Rap Through Danny Brown’s Eyes
Danny Brown has spent over two decades in the rap game. As a result, he has witnessed the evolution of the genre firsthand. He spoke candidly about his sentiments regarding the current state of rap. “I just wish it was more emphasis on creativity than anything else,” he said. “Because right now, it’s just copy and paste. You see some shit work, and you’re like, ‘Alright, I’m doing that shit too.’ And then it works! It needs to be more gatekeeping around this motherfucker, if anything.”
Although his commentary may have kicked off in a critical way, he later acknowledged the time and effort it takes to create music. He also spoke about how much easier it is to make your way into the rap genre nowadays. “I do like the fact- I’m not saying it’s easy- but you can make some shit and the people fuck with it, you’re on,” he said. “You ain’t gotta go through all of these pipelines and shit, how it used to be before. So, I do like that part of it.”
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The Map To Success
Later in the discussion Drink Champs host N.O.R.E. expressed the idea that Danny Brown, who has dedicated his life to making music, embodied the essence of 1990s rap. Concurring with the sentiment, Danny elaborated on his own experience. He noted that while he was rapping during that era, he only found success after adjusting his approach. “I didn’t really get no traction like that until I was 30,” he said. “But I would admit that in my 20s, it was more so just rapping to try and get a record deal. I still didn’t find myself yet. It didn’t start working for me until I stopped giving a fuck about what other people thought about my music. I started to realize, like man, the music I listen to ain’t on TV or on the radio. So, I just started to pull my influences from that.”
J Dilla’s Impact
Towards the end of the Drink Champs interview, Danny Brown spoke honestly about the late record producer J Dilla. He also spoke about how much of an impact the producer had on the music industry. “People gotta understand, man. The shit that Dilla was doing, they still talk about and do shit to this day,” he stated. “I was in fucking Sweden one time, in like a fucking five-star restaurant, and they was playing fucking Slum Village instrumentals. I heard Slum Village when I was a kid but I was too immature to even understand that shit.” Danny shared that he didn’t fully grasp the brilliance on the record during his younger years. ”I was like, ‘These n**gas ain’t shooting nobody or nothing? They ain’t getting high or nothing, man. I can’t get jiggy with this shit,’” he joked. “But then when I grew up, I understood the genius in the music.”
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The Kendrick Lamar Shoutout
Danny Brown and Kendrick Lamar, who collaborated on "Really Doe," have shared a friendship in their musical careers. When Danny was asked about how their bond was formed, he stated: “We’ve always been fans of each other. I feel like K. Dot is one of the best rappers ever.” He later elaborated on this admiration and paid homage to Kendrick. “Some motherfuckers are just naturally gifted. Like, I feel like J. Cole worked hard to get where he’s at. He studied hard… he rapped hard. I feel like Kendrick was just born with that shit. You can’t take that.”
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