Danny Brown Talks Detroit, Dropping Out, Musical Influences & His Fear of Driving

Danny Brown shares a number of amazing stories for ComplexTV's "The Neighborhood."

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Image via Complex Original
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                          This feature is a part of Complex's Danny Brown Week.                              

Danny Brown has seen a lot in his travels. However, it's clear through his unique demeanor as well as his new album Old that the 32-year-old rapper from Detroit hasn't forgotten where he came from. In ComplexTV's new episode of "The Neighborhood," Brown gives us a personal tour of his city and shares some amazing stories along the way.

Sitting in front of his childhood home, Danny talks about the difference between the West Side and East Side of Detroit. "East Side a whole 'nother world, man. It played a part in how my personality is," he says. "They encouraged me to rap. I was like the only black kid in class, damn near, and that was just cool to them."

After going through some growing pains in middle school, Brown explains his priorities as a teenager changed. "I pretty much dropped out of school when I was 16, but I just went everyday," he says. "I was the guy that would look in your door and be making faces, I was that kid. I just came to show off my clothes."

Danny Brown also takes us to his newly-purchased studio, where he discusses his musical influences. "My pops, he was mostly my biggest influence in hip-hop. I listened to whatever he'd bring in the house, and he brought Wu-Tang[Clan] in the house," he says. "Wu-Tang still gave you that edge, but they were still preaching Five Percenters shit, so they still had jewels inside their shit."

It wouldn't be right to spend a day with Danny Brown without discovering something quirky about him. Brown doesn't disappoint as he admits he's never sat behind a steering wheel in his life. "I dont drive. I dont know how to drive. I never drove a car ever in my life," Danny states. "I think I'm too goofy with driving. I got a short attention span, man, I get freaked out. Everybody got to be scared of something, right? I think I'm going to die in a car crash or somethng."

Watch the full clip above, where Danny Brown also talks about signing to Fool's Gold and why he doesn't play basketball anymore. Here's a hint: he'd have more teeth if he didn't.

 

 

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