Old English D

Detroit has been getting all kinds of shine in different ways these days. It makes sense after all, America loves the underdog, and there is no city that more represents the underdog (not exactly by choice) than Detroit. Home of American organized labor, Motown, the greatest baseball team known to human kind. The arsenal of democracy! What's not to love! Of course, there are the underlying racial tensions that continue to dominate an outsiders perception of the Motor City, not to mention the politics of the city itself, but to say that's not typical of modern America as well would be erroneous.

The most ubiquitous view of Detroit recently has been the recent Chrysler ad that debuted during that Super Bowl that I didn't watch. Without a doubt, the commercial is awesome. Nothing says grizzled like a commercial filmed in the Detroit winter (ask anyone). Sadly, it doesn't address many of the issues facing the industrial metropolis in the 21st century, most notably outsourcing, which Chrysler is no stranger to. Post-industrial life is rough in the Motor City, but at least this commercial is awesome (sarcasm unintended).



But Detroit's shine does not stop there! After all, a big commercial spot during the Super Bowl can hardly represent a city as unglamorous as Detroit. A more accurate representative is the up and coming rapper Danny Brown whose penchant for out of control rhyming and widely varying subject matter have made him one of the top young rappers to watch in the upcoming young year.

And he represents Detroit almost too well, often rapping about the ugliest parts of urban decay. In fact, it's hard to listen to his critically-acclaimed The Hybrid and not get a little depressed. But so is life in the D, and he represents it well when he raps on the song 'White Stripes' :

Roll deep like the roaches in my kitchen
Dawg I ain't trippin'
But they never gone
They don't even run when I cut the lights on

While much of The Hybrid shines light on Detroit, what has bee on constant rotation lately as a start to get ready for my return to Motor City is Danny Brown's 'New Era'. Assuredly, 'Black and Yellow' this is not. And in the many Detroit anthems that have come out of the most 'underestimated plus underrated city in this hip-hop game', none are as catchy as Wiz Khalifa's smash. But they shouldn't be. Undoubtedly, this is a song that can only be truly enjoyed by Detroiters. And this is Detroit's charm, and why Chrysler's ad claims 'Imported from Detroit'. Detroit, whether it's for better or worse, has become one of the most unique cities this country has ever seen. And while it would certainly be nice to revel in the big city feel of a more traditional metropolis, artists like Danny Brown makes one revel in that uniqueness, even if that uniqueness is slightly depressing.

Danny Brown - New Era