Hear Danny Brown’s Sinister New Song ‘Pneumonia’
Danny Brown has released a sinister new track, “Pneumonia,” set to appear on his upcoming album, Atrocity Exhibition.
Produced by Evian Christ — who worked on Kanye West’s similarly menacing Yeezus — the track conjures a captivating cross-section of clanging industrial percussion and the sparse, ominous synths and deep bass bombs of drill rap. Brown settles into the negative space of “Pneumonia” with wicked ease, spitting a high-pitched string of outrageous bars about drugs, money and women, all of which are nevertheless undercut by a sense of dread.
Brown will release Atrocity Exhibition, his fourth LP, on September 30th. The record marks his first for electronic label Warp Records and follows 2013’s Old. Along with Evian Christ, the album features production from Alchemist, South African songwriter Petite Noir and Detroit hip-hop minimalist Black Milk, while guests include Kendrick Lamar, Earl Sweatshirt, Kelela, B-Real and Ab-Soul.
“At the end of the day, its just something that I really took my time with,” Brown said of the album in an interview with Rolling Stone. “I know this day and age, a lot of artists can’t really take time off to make music … they’ll get replaced. With me, [I’m] somebody that’s able to sit down and be able to take my time, ’cause aint nobody gonna be out here sounding like me, ain’t nobody gonna be out here doing what I do.”
Brown will hit the road in support of Atrocity Exhibition beginning September 14th at the Theater of the Living Arts in Philadelphia.