Danny Brown Talks Drug Use, Attempted G-Unit Signing

Detroit rapper Danny Brown strikes a singular figure; his lopsided long-hair and thrift store-bought apparel sets him apart from the typical look of his predecessors, but the cut of his jeans also cost him a high-profile signing with 50 Cent's G-Unit crew.

After striking up an unlikely friendship with Tony Yayo, with whom he released his 'Hawaiian Snow' album in 2010, Brown seemed poised to sign with 50, however, despite touring with the crew, his skinny jeans barred him from receiving a deal.

"50 was with it; he just didn't sign me because of my jeans," Brown revealed in a recent interview with MTV. "He liked the music, but he didn't like the way I looked... I understand where they were coming from with that, but you gotta understand where I'm coming from too: I'm from Detroit."

Happily, Brown went on to sign with DJ A-Trak's hip-house label Fool's Gold, and has just released his new mixtape 'XXX,' a nod to his age -- he's 30 years old -- not his (straight) edge.

"Most of the stuff that I talk about is stuff that I've done in the past. But where is my life at right now, at 30? At 30, my life is: I've been trying to get in this industry for over 10 years, and through me trying to get into that industry, I can say I developed a drug habit," Brown candidly admitted.

While he frequently name-drops the various weed strains he smokes, Brown's drug of habit is Adderall, the amphetamine salt-based medication used to treat ADHD, which the glam-looking rapper initially took to stay focused while recording, but has since begun using recreationally, leading to experimentation with harder drugs.

"I got to the point that I was just taking Adderall to work on music, then it got to the point where I wanted to take Adderall to stay up late and party," Brown continued. "So now, from me trying Adderall, I've tried other drugs too."

Though he rapped about hoes, 'dro and clothes -- in his own way -- on his 2010 mixtape 'The Hybrid,' with 'XXX,' the Midwest up-and-comer's schizophrenic content more effectively matches his appearance -- equal parts hipster, hood and something completely different and new.