Danny Brown Describes How SXSW Has Changed, Says “It Kind Of Lost A Little Something”

Speaking with Complex News shortly before his 33rd birthday today (March 16), Danny Brown detailed his years of attending the SXSW festival and how the gathering has changed over time.

Asked about his new green hair-do, the XXX rapper explained a tradition of trying new things around the time of his birthday. “Yeah man. I was just trying to make a change, it’s my birthday this weekend, turning 33,” he said. “I always try to do something new when my birthday come around. So, I’m the Grinch right now, saving Hip Hop though.”

Looking back at his time at the festival, Brown described how SXSW used to function more prominently as a showcase for new and unknown artists and bands. “The best thing for me was, I remember coming out here years, years, years ago, before it was like all the major label guys and all the guys were coming out here,” he said. “It was pretty much an up-and-coming artists—it was really more so about bands at that time, it wasn’t even that much Rap going on. In those days, it was just more about you got put up on something. More so than now when people coming here they just going to see the Kanye show or they going to see—now you don’t really get put up on nothing. It kind of lost a little something with that. My thing is, when I come out here, I try to go see all the people that I don’t know.”

Asked about his least favorite part of the Austin festival, Brown cited the traffic and remembered himself as a relatively unknown rapper performing up to nine shows a day. “Worst thing, just the traffic,” he said. “Before I could walk around all day, just kicking it, hanging out. Now I can’t even stop at a taco truck right, but it’s cool. Especially like I was saying, back in those days, remember all those bands and stuff, had to carry they amps down the street. Stuff like that, going to show after show carrying your equipment. I been there too, I mean I’m not carrying guitars and stuff but at one point in time we came here just carrying our deejay set around from show to show and I probably had like nine shows in one day. It’s pretty much like no parking, if you do rent a car you park probably two miles from where you gotta play at. You had to walk a lot. That’s the worst thing I would say, the traffic and the walking. Other than that it’s cool. You gotta find the people with the bikes though, that’s what I use. I use the little bike transport, we can get it like that.”

Near the end of the interview, Brown reported that he was tasked with presenting Iggy Azalea who is performing at this year’s MTVu Woodie Awards, which airs tonight (March 16).

Brown added that he’s currently preparing for a second leg of his recent domestic tour. “I’m ‘bout to go out, back on the road for a few months, on the ‘Old Danny Brown‘ tour for the US, I just came from Europe doing it. So I’m gonna do that, by the time I’m done with that it’ll be summer, it’ll be festival time again. I’ll be playing festivals.”

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