Detroit, Michigan emcee Danny Brown staying with Warp Records for his 7th LP. Emerging as a member of the Rese’vor Dogs in the mid-2000s, he would go onto form the Bruiser Brigade at the start of the previous decade & put out his debut album The Hybrid shortly after. This resulted in him signing with Fool’s Gold Records & delivering a near perfect sophomore effort XXX the next year, which was followed up with Old in 2013 as well as his 2016 magnum opus & Warp debut Atrocity Exhibition. Coming off uknowhatimsayin¿ in 2019 & what was originally supposed to be his final Warp Records album Quaranta, the Motor City’s finest has decided to stick around & have them drop Stardust.

Quadeca’s ethereal instrumental on “Book of Daniel” matched with Danny’s lyrics confidently talking about making it by the end of the night couldn’t have been a perfect combination to set it all off whereas “Starburst” fuses experimental hip hop, hardcore hip hop, industrial hip hop, bubblegum bass, trap, hybrid trap, deconstructed club, poetry & wonky for a speechless 2-parter showing no pity for a clout-chasing succubi.

“Copycats” combines pop rap, electropop, electro hop, electro house, grime, hyperpop, electro hop, dance-pop & bubblegum bass into 1 thanks to underscores expressing the importance of staying authentic in a world full of imitators just before “1999” featuring JOHNNASCUS works in some skittery synthesizers from the former Spider Gang member himself to tell us that the world truly ended a quarter of a century ago referencing Y2K.

Meanwhile on “Flowers”, we have Danny over an EDM beat talking about persevering through the hardest times of his life leading into “Lift You Up” embracing a hip house vibe instrumentally suggesting to move slower as a result of things going too fast. To conclude the 1st act, “Green Light” shifts towards a bit of an industrial hip hop/pop rap direction telling the love of his live that nothing won’t stop him from giving.

“What You See” reunites with Quadeca to begin the 2nd half on a colorful note wanting to know what their lovers see in them specifically & once “Baby” featuring Rodney Chrome finds the pair coming together to talk about being the perfect type of guys, ISSBROKIE joins Danny during “Whatever the Case” so they can clarify to those in pain due to their hustle that they won’t be knocked off their axis.

Femtanyl’s drum & bass influence throughout “1L0v3myL1f3!” is pretty cool talking about enjoying how things are going in his life because he has his paper up right when some tried counting him out while “Right from Wrong” advises to continue the journey & focus more regarding what’s ahead of us. “The End” featuring Ta Ukrainka links up for a bilingual 3-parter produced by Cynthoni & Quadeca, but “All4U” featuring Jane Remover stands as the true outro doing everything for those who take the time out to listen to their music.

Not to be mistaken with the lowest point of the current 2-time WWE Champion Cody Rhodes’ entire career, Stardust isn’t necessarily superior compared to Atrocity Exhibition but what I can say that it’s an admirable foray into electronic dance music after getting sober. He’s essentially telling about his recovery from addiction & finding joy in art again through the lens of a 90s-era semi-autobiographical popstar named Dusty Star additionally exploring the styles of pop rap, hardcore hip hop, bubblegum bass, deconstructed club, hyperpop & industrial hip hop.

Score: 4.5/5

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