by Dan O

In 2011 XXX became everything for a while. It washed over us like it must have felt when Rock fans heard The Stooges for the first time. The 2010’s found their Iggy Pop, an exciting performer whose voice could rearrange into so many different weapons. We wore the merch, played it over and over, told everyone we knew about this new important person. For us, Bass Jam is important. Quaranta is important. It had to be Paul White who ended this beautiful album as his production is all over XXX. This song marks the end of something. Maybe I don’t know what that is yet but the meditative soulful soundscape will lead me there. Danny smiles through his voice every time and not in a shit-eating Tasmanian Devil way. He’s lost in the journey it took to get where he is with a grateful warmth radiating from within his tone.

Waking up to Anita Baker smelling eggs cooking with the bacon this song is beyond smart. It manages to capture something beyond simple explanation. How the right song can unite people who don’t know how to express their feelings or deal with pain. How music can pull your whole world together in three minutes. Regardless of the simple valuation of an artists career Sade helped Danny Brown get to sleep when he couldn’t and that means more. More than think pieces or Spotify wrapped can elaborate on. I know the song that made me determined to be a father. You don’t but I do. Danny Brown figured out how to express all of that and imply to his audience that if he has ever been that special for you, he understands that power and all of his blood sweat and tears have been worth it.