Nobody in hip-hop sounds like Danny Brown.
Which is just one of the thoughts that'll go through your head if you ever get to watch the Detroit native perform live. On this night he's spazzing and twitching on stage at the Oculto Manor in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood, giving those in attendance a visual spectacle to go along with his signature nasally rap cadence. The venue—more performance art Halloween / brand-friendly Eyes Wide Shut funhouse than concert hall—was created by Oculto, a new lager blended with beer aged on tequila barrel staves. The location's uniqueness is only matched by Danny Brown who—sporting half-closed eyes and a U.S./UK flag T-shirt—shuffled through hit after hit in front of a masked audience of South Beach beauties and media gargoyles.
Earlier in the day I was lucky enough to catch up with the "Old" diamond-grilled emcee poolside at his Miami hotel to talk Pistons, NBA players he'd like to smoke with, and Derrick Coleman's G-pass.
Interview by Maurice Peebles (@tallmaurice).
If you had to fix the Pistons right now what moves would you be making?
Oh! Uh, fixing the Pistons…I guess we just really need to figure out our guard situation, man. I guess we’re just cool with Drummond and hopefully Monroe is coming back but yeah, our guard situation. I really like Spencer Dinwiddie. He cool and KCP is tight. I guess we need to figure out what’s going to happen with these guards. I think a point guard is the most important thing. We don’t know with Brandon Jennings, man. Don’t know what’s going to happen with that. Reggie Jackson looks good, you know, but we don’t know if you want to put all your chips on that.
That’s a big contract.
Yeah, you know we’ve done that before and it didn’t…you know.
It’s funny man, I was trying to set up an interview with you and Brandon Jennings talking to each other—
I met him before actually!
Did you?
Yeah, when we did the A$AP tour. We was in Milwaukee; we know each other.
I can’t smoke weed with Kyrie Irving, man. That’ll be wrong like, 'Uncle Drew, what is you doing, man? Fucking up, man.'
We can get that going. What’s the best Detroit sports moment in your lifetime?
Best Detroit sports moment in my lifetime? I guess when won the back-to-back’s. When was that in ’89? ’88? The Bad Boys. Yeah, I was there for that, you know what I’m saying, so I remember what the city was like. It felt like we had a different energy in the world. Like MC Hammer "Can’t Touch This."
That was bigger than the later one? Like Ben Wallace and that squad?
Yeahhh, to me! I was a kid still then. [In 2004] I was grown going through problems. I ain’t give a fuck about no championship then. I got bills to worry about, man. But then, a kid it was like, you know, I could do anything. Detroit was like motivation. It was tight.
And it had a whole—its own feel to it.
Yeah, the Bad Boys! It was tight! Tight, man.
Do you want that style to come back? Would you rather see ball be a little bit more rougher than it is now?
I would [like] for the Pistons to be a lot rougher. [Laughs.] I don’t know about anybody else, but yeah. The Pistons should watch some old Bad Boy tapes and let’s get that going. I do like Stan Van Gundy, though.
Off of the Pistons, who’s going to the ‘chip this year? Who’s got it?
Right now? I mean, It’s a little bit tricky right now. It’s a little tricky. Because I feel like it’s some fluke shit that can happen and stuff when we least expect it. Man, we can mess around and Washington can be in the championship. You know what I’m saying? And I like the Warriors, you know, I love the Bay so I’ll run with the Warriors.
NBA personality all-time if you could smoke with, who would you want?
If I could smoke with any NBA player, shiiit…
Player, coach, TV personality…
I guess I would want to smoke with one that gets busy, you know? Like a Shawn Kemp or Isaiah Rider. You know what I’m saying? They’re going to get it in. Like I don’t want to get high and start feeling bad about it like: "Aww, man. I’m fucking up your life, man. You don’t want to be doing this." I want one whose life is already fucked up like ask him dumb questions like: "Man, what were you thinking about when you did that first East Bay Funk [Dunk]?" You know what I’m saying? [Laughs.] That was legendary.
You don’t want to be like: ‘Man, Kyrie. I’m sorry I messed up your drug test.’
Yeah, you know. I can’t smoke weed with Kyrie Irving, man. That’ll be wrong like, "Uncle Drew, what is you doing, man? Fucking up, man." [Laughs.]
1.
D-Town rapper with the most game?
With the most game, what you mean?
Basketball wise.
Basketball wise, I don’t know. I don’t play basketball. I would have no idea. My whole thing like I used to try to play basketball, always too goofy and would hurt myself all the time so I just stayed away from it. I wouldn’t even go close to a gym to even know who can play.
I saw on your Instagram, you got some [NBA] 2K shots up there. You talk about playing 2K in another interview I read.
2K? I know the best NBA 2K player as far as rappers, that’ll be A$AP Twelvy. He’s amazing. Actually me and him, our last game we played it was Chicago against the Sixers and [he] won by a buzzer beater and I felt good about that like, "God damn, he only won by a buzzer beater." He did have Jordan, though. But my Iverson is real deadly.
I know the best NBA 2K player as far as rappers, that’ll be A$AP Twelvy. He’s amazing.
But you were close to him, though? You were saying he’s the best one so obviously you’re good.
But I’m saying I’ve seen him, he’s real good, man. He’s real good. Super good. I don’t know too many people that could really play 2K. It’s a difference—some people just playing a video game. You can tell, every play is real. It’s real life.
You mess with FIFA too?
Yeah, I love FIFA.
FIFA or 2K, you got to pick.
I mean, I play them both. But you know FIFA always come out before 2K so you get your time with FIFA. So I don’t know, I kind of separate it a lot like I have both systems and I’m just playing FIFA on the Xbox and I’m playing 2K on PlayStation and that way it separate it a little bit. Cause sometimes you want to play PlayStation and sometimes you want to play Xbox.
I feel you. But for those of us who only have one system though, it’s a little bit different.
[Laughs.] But that’s how I can do it like, you know, I got 2K for both systems and I could just play my player mode on Xbox and play franchise and shit on PlayStation, you know? It helps me separate it that way.
2.
I was curious if you had any Detroit sports stories. I know you said you we're too old and had bills and stuff during the last run, but were there any runin’s, any celebrity mix-ups at any bars or clubs or anything? I know Detroit had to be popping at that time.
Yeah, we always see people in the club and stuff.
Like is Tayshaun Prince getting his girl taken by you or just any weird shit with the celebrity status with that team at the time?
Nah, I guess for me probably the closest thing a lot of people don’t remember is like Derrick Coleman, but that’s like some super positive shit. Like he used to always be in the hood. Like you’d see Derrick Coleman on TV and then he in the hood right with us with the Range Rover, might buy the whole hood drinks. You know, like the dope boy but he was in the NBA though and wasn’t doing nothing wrong and coming up, coming back, and showing the hood love. And this was the Sixers days when he was playing with Iverson, you know what I’m saying? I remember that. He used to always come to the hood and just show love. I’m like: "Damn, that’s so tight." So I guess that’s my only story. Derrick Coleman is a real G to me [when] I look back on it.
I had no clue Derrick Coleman had a G-pass.
What?! He got the biggest G-pass! Like he opened up so many like stores or like always trying to do something for the city. Derrick Coleman is a G.
That’s funny my only Derrick Coleman memory is that my dad took me to a Sixers game when Derrick Coleman was on the team and he was the sweatiest person I had ever touched in my entire life. This dude just went by and he was just leaking, head to toe.
[Laughs.] All that drinking, man. Them toxins, man. Coming up out of him.
Get them out the pores?
Cuz used to drink like a fish, man. Buy the whole block liquor, man. Smoke whatever—Cuz was a gangster.
