Credit: Julio Enriquez

Danny Brown is one of the best underground rappers to come out of Detroit. While Eminem and Big Sean are among the biggest names from Motor City, Brown has always offered something grittier. Not everyone has the capability of rapping over beats from Skywlkr and Flying Lotus, but he makes it sound easy.

Following the success of his XXX mixtape, Brown went on tour with Childish Gambino in 2012. At the time, Donald Glover was in the early days of his musical career as Gambino. That same year, Brown and Gambino collaborated on the song ‘Toxic’, which sampled Britney Spears’ 2003 hit of the same name.

During an episode of The Danny Brown Show, Brown once admitted that his time touring with Gambino was one of the worst experiences of his life. While his manager doubted the decision to hit the road with Gambino, Brown simply wanted the opportunity to perform live. However, what he wasn’t to know is that he would be booed on every tour stop.

“I mean, shit, man, Childish Gambino,” he began. “I remember when I first did [‘Toxic’], people weren’t really fucking with Childish Gambino like that around that time. ‘Cause I remember when he asked me to go on that tour.

“My manager at the time was like, ‘You sure you wanna do this?’ I’m like, ‘Hell yeah, fuck that. I’m tryna get on the road.’ Which was, I will say, that was like one of the worst tours I ever played. They hated my guts every night – I was getting booed off stage.”

Not only was he jeered, but he was also feeling that energy on stage and admitted to crying in public after one of the shows. “I remember I was crying one night, crying crocodile tears like a little bitch, sitting in some diner,” he said. “We had some hoes with us and everything. I ain’t even wanna do with the bitches, man. I’m like, ‘They hate me, man. This shit sucks. I’m really trash.’”

Upon reflection, Brown acknowledges that he and Gambino were offering something different with their music. Despite thinking their sounds contrasted, he considers Gambino one of the most talented people he’s ever come across, being able to switch between creative avenues.

“They was hating my ass, dawg, that whole entire tour,” he recalled about the run of dates. “But when I look at it, man, our music was so different. Like, I was coming from a whole different perspective than what he was coming on. But then when I got in the studio, I’m like, ‘Oh no, this n*gga is dope.’ So I would say, more than anything, I’ve been impressed by people that I didn’t really think were like that.”

He added, “He’s just an all around talented motherfucker in that sense, and I be jealous of them motherfuckers, too. I call them ‘art school kids.’ Like, this motherfucker can really do anything – why you wanna rap?! This all I got! This all I know how to do!”