Ever since the exponential growth of the underground hip-hop scene on streaming platforms such as SoundCloud, many rappers have struggled to maintain a reliable, consistent run in the limelight. Not the case for Floridian artist Denzel Curry. Ever since his breakout single “Ultimate” took the internet by storm in 2015, the Carol City native has seemingly perfected and reinvented his sound multiple times. His 2018 release Ta13oo spiraled into the dark depths of Curry’s persona, boasting sinister, unrelenting tracks such as “Clout Cobain,” “Percs,” and “Vengeance,” featuring experimental rapper JPEGMAFIA and City Morgue member Zillakami. 2019’s Zuu was a triumphant ode to his city, and 2020’s 13lood In + 13lood Out reinforced the darker themes he explored in previous projects.

Now, not even a month later, Curry has teamed up with underground producer Kenny Beats, whose collaborations range from 03 Greedo to Rico Nasty to Dominic Fike, to release an eight track EP titled “UNLOCKED.” The project marks the duo’s first official collaboration over streaming services, but the two had worked together on Kenny Beats’ signature YouTube series “The Cave” the previous year. In addition to the EP, the two released a highly entertaining animated film to accompany the project. The short was visually thrilling and absolutely hilarious, but luckily, the album functions just as well without it.

The project’s opening track is mainly instrumental, featuring an unsettling, vintage vocal sample that narrates over the majority of the cut. However, in the last leg of the track, the beat switches to a villainous boom-bap anthem, and glitchy vocal samples introduce Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats as the main antagonists. Kenny Beats keeps his mean streak hot on “Take_it_Back_v2,” a clunky, hard as nails cut on which Denzel reveals his true motives: to finish his competition. Lines such as “I don't got candy but I'll turn your head to Gushers, sucka / When you see the barrel better pucker” allow him to perfectly balance his goofier persona with darker content. Furthermore, the choppy flows and heavy percussion serve as an ode to old school boom-bap, an aesthetic that remains prevalent throughout the rest of the record.

One particular method Kenny uses to pull off this aesthetic is by making many of instrumentals’ melodies very subtle, putting emphasis on the thumping percussion and creating more rigid, brash drumlines similar to the ones present in much of old-school hip-hop. Additionally, the abundance of chopped interludes and pitched vocals call back to old methods of sampling found in projects such as Madvillainy; however, Kenny Beats manages to throw experimental twists into the equation, making every unexpected quirk and sample a welcome surprise. Tracks such as “‘Cosmic’.m4a” and “So.Incredible.pkg” exemplify this spectacularly and carry a super fresh sound as a result. And Kenny isn’t the only one making callbacks on this project: tracks such as “DIET_” and the aforementioned “‘Cosmic’.m4a” feature Denzel sporting boisterous inflections reminiscent of rappers such as DMX and Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and aside from the obvious comparisons, he’s the most animated he’s sounded in a long time.

Occasionally, Kenny and Denzel return to the current wave of underground rap, crafting minimalist, nocturnal bangers with in-your-face bass and and haunting melodies. The track “Lay_Up.m4a” incorporates a chunky west coast bassline and some of Denzel’s hardest bars on the project. It’s certainly a good detour from the rest of the album’s sound, and the same goes for the penultimate interlude, a trippy instrumental with numerous beat switches and a funky bassline throughout. On the track, Kenny combines elements of acid jazz with chopped versions of Denzel’s vocals from other cuts on the project. Overall, it makes for a tight, satisfying journey, and it perfectly transitions into the anthemic final track, “‘Cosmic’.m4a.”

With UNLOCKED, Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats come through with an EP that has very few flaws. Its tracklist is airtight at just under 18 minutes, the instrumentals are a near-perfect blend of modern experimental hip-hop and old-school boom-bap, and Denzel’s vocal deliveries are as dynamic as ever. However, as I experienced multiple times during my first listen, listeners may scoff at some of Denzel’s punchlines or find them extremely corny. While bars such as “Harry Potter clip filled with deadly ass hollows” are certainly clever, lines such as “Doctor buggin out like Flick versus Hopper” don’t hold up as well, and others such as “Captain Planet / I'm on my packin' cannons to crack Atlantis” don’t even make much sense to begin with. Hell, even the line about Gushers mentioned earlier could be seen as too goofy to take seriously.

Despite this issue that may turn some listeners off, I found the EP as a whole very enjoyable. The off-the-wall production, flighty interludes, and aggressive flows and vocal performances from Denzel Curry make for an entertaining ride. Furthermore, at under 20 minutes, the project flies by with no problem, increasing replay value and giving fans a set of enticing tracks to hold them over until Denzel’s next full length project. Earlier, I discussed the longevity problem that many new artists face in today’s industry, but if Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats continue to put out work this consistent, I can’t see them fading out anytime soon.

Favorite Tracks

Take_it_Back_v2

DIET_

‘Cosmic’.m4a

Rating: 8

Listen to UNLOCKED here:

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