Hawaiian Snow

iTunes Review

As G-Unit’s most stringent soldier, Tony Yayo is last person you’d expect to find exploring the world of subterranean, experimental hip-hop. As it turns out, Hawaiian Snow — titled after a potent strain of cannabis sativa — is one of the strangest, grittiest, and best-executed underground albums of 2010. The album is a full-length showcase for Danny Brown, a sharp-witted and audacious rapper from Detroit. Brown’s irrepressible flow and unpredictable wordplay make him the perfect foil to Yayo’s slurred threats. You never know what Brown’s going to say or how he’s going to say it. “Cyclops” turns thug braggadocio on its ear: “All my bitches bad / Climbing on that a** in the four door drag / D*** bigger than the words Keith Murray use / Once got busy in the Burger King bathroom.” Visionary Bay Area rapper Lil B — the only guest here — is right at home in this setting. The rapping on Hawaiian Snow is framed by a focused, ominous sound design, courtesy of G-Unit producer Doe Pesci. Gothic and groaning, “Bags Double Tied,” “So High,” “O.M.G.” and “Trippin’” display no frills and no gimmicks, only naked midnight menace.