For the past two years, fans have been eagerly awaiting the release of Danny Brown's forthcoming album, Quaranta. So what's the hold up?
There's a myriad of reasons why records can be held up, and Brown offered one of them on the latest episode of his podcast, The Danny Brown Show. "I don't know what's going on with Warp [Records]," he said. "I turned my album in two years ago. I will say, yeah, we're still working on the album and shit's getting doper but at this point, where's the urgency?"
He then proposes a call to action, asking everyone who is watching the podcast to send messages to both his manager, Dart Parker, and his label with the hashtag #FreeDanny and #FreeQuaranta. He speculated that the label shelved his album without telling him. Just last week, Brown independently released SCARING THE HOES, a collaborative album with fellow experimental rapper JPEGMafia.
The hashtag quickly gained traction with tweets from fans demanding the record, even spamming the hashtag on the label's recent Instagram posts and posting screenshots of direct messages sent to both his manager and the label. When that didn't work, some fans took to the accounts of Brown's friends and family.
Several hours removed from the podcast and movement gaining traction, Brown issued a statement on Twitter calling for the movement to come to a halt. He cites being drunk as the reason for his choice words leveled against his team and told his fans that he is checking into rehab tomorrow, March 29. Brown had previously stated he will be finally going to rehab in a recent episode with comedian Tony Hinchcliffe.
\u201cAye chill out with all the #FreeDanny shit I was drunk and talking shit and that\u2019s why my dumb ass is checking into treatment tomorrow got nothing but love for dart and warp so chill out the album is mastered\u201d— Danny Brown (@Danny Brown) 1680037087
Brown compared himself to Lil Wayne, whose issues with Cash Money Records runs deep. When his long-awaited Tha Carter V was delayed despite being finished, the rapper released a mixtape and album in protest.
When it is eventually released, Quaranta will serve as the follow-up to 2019's acclaimed uknowhatimsayin¿. Quaranta is intended to serve as the companion to his breakout 2011 album XXX, released shortly after his 30th birthday.
In the meantime, we wish Brown the best of luck on his recovery. At least we have Scaring The Hoes!
Photo courtesy of Mat Hayward/Getty