It’s a cold night in early winter when Danny Brown strolls into an Irish pub to talk to CREEM. Greeting him and knowing his rock ’n’ roll leanings, I compliment the rapper, clad head to toe in leather with a leather-daddy hat, as looking like the god of vocalists, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford. But I immediately get pushback: “Well, I think it’s more like when hip-hop first started, Melle Mel and that sort of thing.”

Fair enough, and same difference.

Brown and I are here to discuss Quaranta, his new album released just a few days before and slathered in universal acclaim on the heels of a similarly lauded record, his collaborative LP with JPEGMafia called Scaring the Hoes. The pair of projects are just another set of W’s for the one-of-akind Detroit-based rapper, whose eccentric rhyme style and production have made the MC stand out in the crowded rap world since before his debut for Fool’s Gold, XXX, more than a decade ago.

XXX exploded with hilarious one-liners and naughty bits, with one particularly notable track being “Die Like a Rockstar,” which included anecdotes about Brian Wilson and many others in its tirade about partying a little too hard:

I’mma die like a rockstar
Bitch I wanna party like Chris Farley
Shot of Hennessy spike that with some molly
Tell mommy I’m sorry
God bless my soul
But life is so sublime going out like Brad Nowell
I got that Kurt Cobain type of mind frame
Feeling like Keith Moon shrooms in my dressing room
Basquiat freestyle
Feeling like Jimi Hendrix and Anna-Nicole mouth
River Phoenix ’93 VIP

Danny Brown’s music is rooted in the traditions of boom bap but goes much, much further with it, much like predecessors Company Flow, Aesop Rock, DJ Shadow, and even the Beastie Boys did in their own ways—channeling their ideas of their genre through an amalgamation of influences. In his case, Danny Brown has flirted with everything from hyperpop to ghettotech to the futuristic thump found in the work of producers like El-P (of Run the Jewels) and J Dilla, folding classic hip-hop and rock ideas into a mishmash of styles that is singular and works perfectly for the unique vocalist.

Considering the rapper’s wide musical influence and his open love for rock, we cornered the Detroit MC to gather as much intel as we could on his two recent releases, his rock-focused influences, possible collaborations, and what exactly motivates this evil genius.

So growing up, your dad was a DJ into disco and dance-related stuff. I’d imagine Larry Levan, soul, funk, probably some rock mixed in there, too. How do you think having a diverse array of music around you informed your taste? Do you think that contributed to your eclectic approach to your own music?

I would say not too much in the beginning, because when you are a kid anything that your parents listen to kind of sucks. [Laughs] It took me becoming an adult to realize how cool it was, picking up old albums around the house and stuff like that. But in the beginning I didn’t know—your parents are never cool, so I was rebelling. I liked the music that I liked, which was a lot of gangsta-rap stuff. Stuff I probably shouldn’t have been listening to. [Laughs] And my dad, he was younger too, so he liked rap as well. So he would try to be like, “This is better,” trying to put me up on cool rap, which eventually did change my taste. He was right in some sense, you know?

What is your definition of cool rap?

Like A Tribe Called Quest. He put me on to Wu-Tang Clan. But Tribe, KRS-One, De La Soul...he was super huge into everything Eric B. & Rakim and all the stuff in that era. I was always into Rap-aLot stuff. Scarface has always been huge in Detroit.

And someone you name-check a lot as well. How did you get into other sorts of music? Was there a specific band? Were you a Nirvana guy?

It all kind of started with me listening to Korn. I bought Follow the Leader with my own money, but then I went back and bought the self-titled and, you know, that was my favorite band growing up. I was in high school then probably and going through a real teenage breakup and it had a lot of that stuff in there. [Laughs] So I think it just was the perfect time for me and what I was going through.

“Got the Life” is the big single on there, and it’s a rap video in so many ways.

I love that video so much. So yeah, it started with Korn, but that got me into looking for more L rock stuff, and I think the next album that blew my mind was Toxicity by System of a Down. Eventually I just started to get into more stuff. I think MTV was blurring the lines a lot. They would play a lot of rock stuff with rap stuff. Just being all into that, like Incubus, you know?

It was sort of the time. Even Limp Bizkit had a song with DJ Premier and Method Man.

Yeah, even though back then I kind of knew that wasn’t my cup of tea. Then I started getting into older stuff just because my ear was adjusted to hearing guitars. I think that was the main focus of being able to understand what was good about a band.

So being from Detroit, there are a lot of rock icons from the area. Who are some that you like?

I've spoken about the White Stripes before in the past, but there’s also so many classic bands like the Stooges and MC5. I think I didn’t really look into that until after I started to like rock on my own, and then I went back and learned my history.

Were your parents into any of that?

No. It was more just electronic music. It was strictly more soul and dance-floor stuff. A lot of house and ghettotech. But he would listen to Roy Ayers and stuff like that, too.

Your promo photo has you in a Mayhem shirt—what exactly is it about that band that moves you? Are you into a lot of heavy metal?

I wouldn’t say too much. I got into that band by seeing that documentary. [Laughs] It was the craziest time and I was just so captivated by that story. I can’t say I got too much into the screamy vocal stuff. But I like good songs. I’m also a big fan of Black Sabbath, and it’s not really metal, but I love Lynyrd Skynyrd.

I think that’s why I gravitate to the White Stripes so much. Jack White’s one of the best songwriters of his generation, you know? But I also love all kinds of rock stuff, like Arthur Lee.

Absolutely. I’ve seen you name-check Love before.

Forever Changes is really my favorite album ever. I listen to all the older stuff, like Beach Boys stuff and all that, but nothing gravitated towards me like Love did.

Why do you think that is?

I mean, just how big they were taking it. Using string arrangements, and then the songwriting was so deep. Plus, you hear songs like that and what they were writing about was kind of the same as what we’re going through today. It’s timeless music. That’s where I’m at with music—wanting to be able to make stuff like that. Somebody could find me 50 years later and still be able to relate.

Do you see some parallels between what Arthur Lee was doing and what you’re doing in the sense that his approach was so grandiose and you’re not constrained by genre?

Definitely. And I read his book and...he made everybody hate him, you know? So I’m trying to learn from his mistakes more than anything.

As far as lyricists are concerned, are there any rock bands that have lyrics that you admire?

Right now, one of my favorite lyricists is the lead singer of the Bobby Lees, [Sam Quartin]. Her songwriting is top-tier, man. The stuff that she’s writing right now is crazy. I really love her, man. It’s very good. She seems like a real thinker—I just love how smart and heady it is. There’s a lot that is open to interpretation. I really like that lyricism, where you can take anything from it and adapt it to your life.

It seems like you gravitate toward heavy music in the sense of either heavy guitars or weighty subjects. Do you get into any rock that is lighter fare?

I like Frost Children. I like their new album, which is pretty much an indie rock album. I really like 100 gees. They’re actually a fun band. I think “Doritos & Fritos” is one of my favorite songs of this year—just to be able to write something so silly like that but still be so cool. But back to the lyrics thing, somebody like Mike Skinner, the Streets. As far as silly and fun personalities, for me, it’d be someone like a Redman or even Eminem.

You’ve always fashioned yourself as an indie artist, which is sort of the antithesis of most rappers—chasing the bag, et cetera.

I think that’s more the music I loved. I would say once you start really discovering and buying music for yourself instead of just seeing what’s on TV and what’s on the radio, I started to be like, “This is better.” I was a huge Def Jux fan, and I think that’s what changed everything for me, hearing Company Flow and everything El-P was doing.

So that sort of backpack era of Stretch & Bob and Rawkus and...

Yeah, like Soundbombing was a huge album for me. Cannibal Ox’s The Cold Vein—that is one of my favorite albums ever. I thought I would never be able to write songs like that. I think I’m getting close now. [Laughs] I just love how they were pulling from those different sounds. Most hip-hop was being sampled, and when there weren’t any rules on what to sample anymore with hip-hop, I think that’s when everything changed.

Do you listen to any experimental music? Noise stuff, drone, or anything weird?

I would say not recently, but I’ve definitely had my time.

What about jazz?

Definitely had a jazz phase. I think you have to. Especially classics like Miles and stuff.

Speaking of jazz and hip-hop, as somebody who grew up with the ’90s, does that make you more susceptible to looking for samples and source music? Have you ever sought out a sample?

Not really. I’m kind of more interested in the opposite, getting into having a lot of instrumentation and being able to build stuff from scratch. I think that just eventually happens with any artist.

Also, Joy Division was always a big thing for me too. Closer is one of my favorite albums ever.

Obviously that’s a great and important band, but let’s be honest—his voice can be an acquired taste. Like Rush or something. It feels like something you couldn’t just jump into, you have to take stepping stones to get there. How do you think you got there?

I just think it’s the songwriting, or maybe it’s the lyrics. I’m a lyric guy. I’ll read the lyrics and don’t even have to hear the music. If I just read it and realize, it’s amazing.

It’s funny you say that, because in another interview you mentioned the influence of West Coast rapper Ras Kass and his album Soul on Ice. Clearly he was a gifted lyricist, but he was never known to have super strong beats, and his strength always was in insane lyrical content and delivery. Is the beat always secondary to you?

I’m definitely like that. Yeah, I’m more of a lyric person than anything. But like I said, it still has to sound good. It still has to have something to be able to hold your attention. So production is very important. But sometimes a good song can make the production better, and vice versa.

The title of this record is Quaranta, which as you explain in the first line of the album means 40. How do you think it represents you as a 40-year-old?

Just to still be able to do it in that sense, because hip-hop almost acts like an age cap where people think you’re too old to do it. And that’s the only genre where people look at it like that. So I think I was just trying to prove that I still got the chops, you know? Yeah. And it was more like a therapy session too, being able to get stuff off my chest that I wouldn’t talk to people about and put it in songs.

The flip side of that is that this year you also released what may be your wildest record: your collaboration with JPEGMafia, Scaring the Hoes. Are there plans for another?

I would love to.

Are there other guys that you would like to collaborate with? Maybe a full record with the Alchemist?

Nah. I would like to work with El-P, though. We’ve been talking about it for a long time, but it’s never been able to come to fruition.

Who do you look up to in the game in terms of longevity and relevance?

Nas and E-40. They’re still doing it, and I still think they have it at their age, you know? I still get that same feeling I got when I was a teenager listening to ’em. Yeah.

How about some rock musicians you’d want to work with?

Of course I wanna work with Frost Children, but the kid in me would love to work on something with Jonathan Davis [from Korn], That would just be everything for me. I was able to do a remix for him, but I would just love to be able to work on something with him.

Would you ever consider a project where it’s you rhyming over a heavy band like Korn? Not necessarily them but that idea?

Hell, yeah.

Have you ever thought about singing?

I suck. [Laughs] You gotta know your limitations, man.