By Logan Langlois
NASHVILLE, TN — Local rapper Brian Brown is coming off of a roll following his most recent circuit of being interviewed by several different locally beloved Nashvillian radio shows, even receiving a surprise birthday celebration from the folks at ACME.
“When [they] hollered out that it was my birthday and they brought out the cake and all that … I had no idea they were gonna bring the cake out that was … as big of a surprise to me as it was to anybody else,” said Brown with a laugh while reminiscing about the event.
Since Brown was born on April 22nd, 1993, at Baptist Hospital, now St. Thomas Hospital, he’s been a proud Nashvillian and has since continued to live in Music City his whole life except for a brief stay in Chattanooga. A departure he says worked to only strengthen his love for Nashville, and not only by missing his friends and family. Since moving back, Brown has worked harder at incorporating larger calls for social and political justice in his music, referencing things such as Nashville’s food insecurity in the opening lines of his song Trillville.
“When I got back home, it just made me a bit more appreciative of what this place is, what it has been for me, but it also put … fire into me to just be, almost like a storyteller.”
He says that his rapping career arguably started as early as ten years old when he decided to battle rap against a friend of his with a reputation of being the best around while the two attended a birthday party. After the battle, none of the other kids watching could decide who won. Later in his childhood, Brown would rap in front of his father to his dad’s excitement, leaving Brown to feel as if he may have the chops to become the artist he dreamed of, though he still has a hard time seeing the art as something that could produce a career. That is, until one fateful day when his perspective on life completely changed after hearing the tragic news of his close personal friend and fellow rapper’s suicide.
“It just struck a nerve, like damn. If somebody is that talented, that bright. Could just at any moment say … ‘I don’t wanna be here anymore,’ sighed Brown just after reminiscing about his companion. “At any point in time, your next day is not guaranteed. Why would I not go after this?”
During his career, Brown has been overt with his love for his hometown and state, often repping Titan’s while also rapping about issues extremely familiar to Nashvillians. He is proud to take his place in the rich, diverse, and influential yet sparsely mentioned Nashville rap and hip-hop history that has been brimming with talented artists for decades.
Brown says that he’s thankful for all the attention and love that he’s received, but also can’t help but feel as if Music City’s Hip-Hop has long been overlooked by greater mainstream culture in favor of Nashville’s country-led stereotype. Something that also feels eerily familiar with Nashville’s long history of physical and cultural gentrification, resulting in most of the Black artists who laid the foundation of Nashville’s Music City history sparsely, if at all, mentioned.
At the end of the interview, Brown announced several EPs in the works and that his projects will hopefully be ready to be released one at a time each remaining season of this year. Brian Brown is on all social media under @worldofbrown and available on all streaming platforms.
