Ahead of releasing his feverishly anticipated fourth album next week, Danny Brown has dropped the projectβs most anticipated collab: βReally Doe,β featuring Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, and Earl Sweatshirt. Yes, this is now a real song that exists in the universe and not just in your wildest dreams. Get excited.
The star-studded banger boasts an ominous, fractured beat with looped bells; it kind of sounds like a nefarious ice cream truck rolling down your street at midnight. Brown kicks things off with his idiosyncratic flow, and each subsequent verse is tied together with Kendrickβs hook: βThey say I got the city on fire / I ainβt boominβ, thatβs a goodamn lie.β Itβs practically impossible trying to decide whose bars here are the illest β with a collab like this, we all win.
Speaking to NPR, Brown explained how βReally Doeβ came together, saying, βMe and Kendrick always talked about doing stuff, and I had the idea to get K Dot and Earl together... but first I got me and Ab Soul. And then one day when I was mixing the album with Ali, K Dot snuck in and just laced it. I had to be patient and wait on Earl, but it was all worth it you know because hip-hop needs that posse cut. We just wanna make the best possible song βcause we know the hype on paper. I know itβs gonna satisfy, my feet isΒ up.β
Brownβs Atrocity Exhibition, the follow-up to 2013βs Old, arrives September 30.