Danny Brown says he broke COVID-19 restrictions for Bruiser Thanksgiving

On Wednesday, Detroit rapper Danny Brown held his seventh annual Bruiser Thanksgiving show, a hometown celebration that helps raise money for local youth. Due to COVID-19, the show went virtual this year — with Brown and special guests performing stripped-down sets in the house from Brown's recent "Best Life" video, made available to fans as a livestream.

It was a fun, intimate show, including performances by Tiny Jag, ZelooperZ, Bruiser Wolf, and Shigeto, who provided searing techno sets between acts, and Brown, at one point rapping while sitting in a chair, drinking tequila straight from the bottle. It all made us realize how much we miss drinking beer out of a red solo cup at a house show with friends.

However, as Brown himself sheepishly acknowledged during the performance, it was still technically in violation of Michigan's COVID-19 restrictions, which prohibit gatherings of more than 10 people and two households.

"You watching some illegal shit!" Brown said.

It was not clear when the show was filmed, but it appeared to be pre-taped. Michigan's restrictions on gatherings went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 18 for at least three weeks as the coronavirus surges in the state.

A representative of Brown declined to comment.

On Wednesday, the state reported 4,273 new COVID-19 cases and 73 new deaths in Michigan. The rate of positive tests has increased to 13% over the last week, and hospitals across the state are nearing capacity.

So far, Michigan has reported 324,779 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 8,761 deaths.

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