Recently, after partaking in a sustained manic state for an extended amount of time, I replayed to the experimental hip hop album of Atrocity Exhibition. Previously, I had loved some pick-out songs from the record, but the full album itself never clicked for me. I knew the album’s dark and manic atmosphere would most likely click with me this time around and boy, was I right. The experimental instrumentals gave a unique life to every single track, each one a feel of their own. The opening track Downward Spiral audibly sounds like stumbling in the dark, drunk, head pounding. Golddust sounds like the four A.M. descent into madness and bad decisions, while the discordant Ain’t it Funny is the very concept of heart-pounding manic madness, where your situation is so bad and you’ve fallen so far all you’re left with is sanguine dry laughter surrounding you.
The entire album tells the story of drug addictions, and not in a cute, romanticized way. Real trauma and horrifying experiences are told on almost every track, with the ending song praying listeners don’t fall down the same pitfalls Danny Brown did. The features along the entire project are standout, from guest appearances of Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, Earl Sweatshirt on Really Doe, to songs where Danny Brown reverts back to his “normal” voice, almost playing an entirely different person — a calm interior to the storm of the outside.
Overall, I’d rate the album Atrocity Exhibition easily a ten out of ten. It joins the ranks of my favorite albums of all time, and I highly recommend the project to anyone looking.
