East side of Chicago native Danny Twelvetree recently released “What A Life” a 12 track record full of clever witty punchlines detailing the freedom, hustle, and slightly hedonistic (hip hop and hedonism have always been crossed lovers) STAR like lifestyle of Danny Twelvetree.
Structurally this record is extremely well put together, cohesive in its feeling, production, and subject matter. This is a record for the fans of Nipsey Hussle, Wiz Khalifa, Schoolboy Q, if you like any of those artists, you are bound enjoy Danny Twelvetree.
One of the leading singles from the record is “Back In My Bag.” The song has a sleek visual to coincide; Twelvetree raps in a few different locations, riding a BMX bike, and he performs inside a convenient store in a light blue jersey. Twelvetree mentions situations of women trying to hassle him for his time, being robbed at a young age, and how he’s had to cut down his circle from snakes.
Lightspeed is another song that stood out, the song might take one back to Wiz Khalifa’s Star Power mixtape in its positive vibe, melody, and rhymes about the high life. The song has much replay value, highly recommend re-spinning that track a couple times as you listen chronologically.
Notable favorite from the record is “Bad Idea” which starts out with a sample about a kid describing what its like to be flying, then Twelvetree comes in with a hard flow. The hook is still ringing, “I can’t take another blunt, that’s a bad idea, I can’t take another shot, that’s a bad idea”
That hook ties together all these impulses, deadly sins of sorts, that Danny wants to do, but doesn’t know if he should. The song seems to be a struggle with pleasure through women and substances, but also a song that possibly rejects the overindulgence of both of these things. The song contains an unaccredited feature who sounds like a mixture of E-40 and Anderson Paak. The track is a solid combination of quasi-lyrical mood rap mixed with a turn up anthem. (The whole LP fits that description however and that’s why its so enjoyable and has a lot of replay value.) Listeners of this song could bump and dance while indulging in substances they know they shouldn’t consume more of, because its “bad idea” and Twelvetree perfectly reflects the culture and generation he’s apart of. Casual drug use at least in terms of cannabis, alcohol, and possibly pills have found themselves a quite prevalent presence in hip hop. The song channels that Kendrick Lamar Swimming Pools song energy quite perfectly.
Danny Twelvetree rounds out the LP with “Hit Me Up”, this track starts out with another sample, a woman leaving a voice message on Danny’s phone. He then comes in with a cool and powerful singing voice, autotuned in a unique way different from most modern rap sing-songs. The song surrounds this theme of how Danny is progressing, making money, traveling, making waves, and his ex girlfriend seems to try to crawl back in his life.
For being relatively underground, Danny Twelvetree has a remarkably marketable and commercial sound and image. He’s bound to make waves in an industry that’s intense, cut throat, and full of sharks. Twelvetree should be well off given his product, his style and sound give off a sense of grit, resilience, and a will to not give up. We’re excited for the debut of this album.
