Denzel Curry – “UNLOCKED” review

This is the new surprise EP from Carol City’s very own Denzel Curry. A man that got his start as a member of the Raider Klan, founded by SpaceGhostPurrp. His 2013 debut Nostalgic 64 was nice, but the next 2 albums he would put out Imperial & TA13OO would show his talents much more clearer. Last time we heard from Zel was this past spring with ZUU & not even 9 months later, he’s teaming up with Kenny Beats for UNLOCKED.

After the predominant spoken word intro “Track 01”, the EP’s first actual song “Take_it_Back_v2” finds Denzel lashing out & getting wreckless over a dystopian instrumental. The track “Lay_Up.m4a” talks about fighting haters over a spacious beat while the song “Pyro (leak 2019)” speaks on being on a God-level over a woozy. The track “DIET_” is pretty much Zel bragging over a trunk-knocking beat while the song “So Incredible.pkg” talks about how great he is. After the “Track 07” interlude, the closer “Cosmic.m4a” drops knowledge to the phonies tryna bite him over a hypnotic instrumental.

Didn’t think Denzel would drop new music this quickly but nonetheless, I’m very pleased with the outcome of UNLOCKED. The concept is a lot more interesting than ZUU as much as I enjoyed that previous album, Kenny reminds us that he’s one of the best producers out right now & Denzel continues his reign as the King of the Florida hip hop scene.

Score: 4/5

A$AP Ferg – “Floor Seats” review

A$AP Ferg is a 30 year old rapper from New York City that came up as a member of the A$AP Mob. He made his debut in 2013 with Trap Lord, which was a a fantastic display of himself to the mainstream. This was followed up the next year with the Ferg Forever mixtape & that was succeeded by the excessively commercial A.$.A.P. (Always Strive And Prosper) in 2016. Then came Still Striving in 2017 which returned to his Trap Lord roots, but was overloaded with features. 2 years later, we’re finally getting new music from Ferg with his debut EP over here.

It all starts with the title track, where Ferg charismatically brags over a trap beat with some prominent party horns. The next song “Jet Lag” talks about how fly he is over a grimy trap beat while the track “Wam” talks about killing his competition over an alluring beat. The song “Wigs” with Asian da Brat sees the 2 getting raunchy over a hyphy beat while the track “Butt Naked” with Rico Nasty is a tongue-in-cheek sex anthem with a synth-heavy instrumental.

The song “Pups” with A$AP Rocky sees the 2 talking about their friendship over a fantastic B.T. Express sample while the track “Hummer Limo” flaunts over an intoxicating Timbaland beat. The penultimate track “Ride” is a mediocre R&B crooner & the closer “Dreams, Fairytales, Fantasies” with Brent Faiyaz continues to get raunchy over a spacey Salaam Remi beat.

For the 2 year wait, this was just ok. I get that he‘s fusing elements from both of his albums, but obviously the cuts that’re in vein of A.$.A.P. (Always Strive And Prosper) don’t do anything for me at all.

Score: 3/5

Denzel Curry – “ZUU” review

Denzel Curry is a 24 year old MC from Carol City, Florida who came up as a member of the Raider Klan, founded by SpaceGhostPurrp. He caught my attention in 2013 with the release of his debut album Nostalgic 64 which was good, but it wouldn’t be until 2016’s Imperial in 2016 & then last summer’s TA13OO that he would top it. However almost a year after the release of his magnum opus, he’s hitting us again with his 4th full-length album.

It all kicks off with the title track, where Zel pays tribute to his hometown & the FNZ beat has a really pretty atmosphere to it. The official WWE NXT TakeOver: WarGames theme song “RICKY” pays tribute to his father over a dirty south style-instrumental while the song “WISH” with Kiddo Marv is a mediocre sex tune a cloudy beat. The track “BIRDZ” with Rick Ross sees the 2 getting confrontational over an eerie trap beat while the song “AUTOMATIC” gets braggadocious over a bass-heavy trap beat from Tay Keith.

The track “SPEEDBOAT” pays tribute to XXXTENTACION over a trap beat with somber piano chords & after the “BUSHY B” interlude, the equally long “YOO” is a pretty decent skit. The track “CAROLMART” talks about how fresh he is over a bouncy beat while the song “SHAKE 88” is an really cool Miami Bass booty anthem. Then after the “Blackland 66.6” skit, the closer “P.A.T.” with PlayThatBoyZay is a fighting anthem with a distorted Ronny J beat.

Despite being worried at first, this wasn’t bad as I feared. Could’ve been padded out with a few more tracks, but it’s a short but fun concept album about Zel’s hometown.

Score: 3.5/5

Denzel Curry – “TA13OO” review

Denzel Curry is a 23 year old MC from Carol City, Florida who came up as a member of SpaceGhostPurrp’s Raider Klan collective. I first caught wind of him in 2013 with his solid debut album Nostalgic 64, which he would follow up in 2016 with the modern day trap classic Imperial. He’s been laying quite low since then, dropping a EP last year called 13 & doing only a couple features. But now, he’s back on the scene with his 3rd full-length album.

Things start off with the titular track, which Denzel melodically uses as a metaphor for a woman who was molested at a young age over a psychedelic rock influenced instrumental from FNZ. The next song “13LACK 13ALLOONZ” with GoldLink sees the 2 talking about rising above negativity over a moody boom bap beat while the track “CAZH MAN1AC” triumphantly talks about his success over a nice synth funk instrumental. The track “ZUMO” brags about his pockets being bigger than WWE Hall of Famer, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion Rikishi over an gritty Charlie Heat instrumental while the song “ZUPER ZA1YAN ZUPERMAN” gets braggadocious over a eerie beat. The track “ZWITCH IT UP” is about Denzel’s lifestyle changes with him cleverly changing his flow throughout over a gritty trap beat from !llmind & Ronny J while the song “MAD 1 GOT 1T” talks to his haters over a gloomy trap beat.

The track “Z1RENZ” with J.I.D sees the 2 getting conscious over a mellow instrumental from DJ Dahi while the song “CLOUT CO13A1N” vents about suicide over a murky instrumental. The track “13LACKEZT 13ALLOON” vividly talks about wanting to connect mind to mind over a minimalist trap instrumental & an annoying hook while the song “PERCZ” is an jab at the misguided youth over an abrasive instrumental. The penultimate track “VENGEANCE” talks about just that over a bass-heavy instrumental & while I do enjoy the first 2 verses from Denzel & JPEGMAFIA respectively, ZillaKami’s doesn’t do anything for me. The closer “13.M.T. (13LACK METAL TERROR1ZT)” finishes it off perfectly by rapidly talking about killing this demon on his shoulder over an abrasive trap beat from Ronny J.

Overall, this is just as fantastic as his last album was. The concept is thought out almost perfectly, it’s well written, well executed & there are moments where Denzel gets more versatile from boom bap to neo-soul.

Score: 4.5/5