I really like Denzel curry. The first time I heard him was on Ultimate, but I never thought much of him at the time, assuming he was just a typical loud brainless rapper, not paying attention to the lyrics at all (I know). It wasn't until I heard his 2016 XXL cypher verse that he caught my attention again. Almost 8 months later I finally stumbled across ULT and then a few months later I found This Life, and after those songs I decided to check out this project. I'm sure this is gonna be hype as hell, lyrical, and hopefully catchy. Let's get into it.
1. ULT (Produced by Ronny J, Leon and FNZ)
As I said before, I have already heard this song, and it's really dope. Denzel basically goes in on this really dope beat, showing off his more lyrical side. The whole ULT thing is a part of Denzel's fanbase. He basically says stuff like "We are all ULT" meaning that his people are strong and unified, we are ultimate. It has a music video too.
"This is the wrath of Aquarius I am the black metal terrorist, ain't no comparison Humanitarian,bitch I'm a veteran Better than anyone comprehend"
I can't believe I slept on Denzel's lyricism for so long. After some quick research I also found that ULT has multiple meanings (Utilizing Limitless Talent, Understanding Life's Teaching, Ultimately Liberating Together, Unity Love Trust). So that's pretty dope, makes sense why that'd be his catchphrase then. I don't have a single problem with this track, it sounds good, the lyrics are great and Denzel has his typical aggressive delivery. Awesome track. 5/5
2. Gook (Produced by Ronny J and FNZ)
Straight away when I saw that title I was super confused so I looked up the genius lyrics instantly. Apparently Gook has a completely different meaning in Florida, menaing that a Gook is basically a weirdo or an outcast. So this is essentially Denzel saying, "yeah I'm a weirdo, who gives a fuck?". Had to make that one clear before I got started.
The production is awesome yet again, if I see Ronny J's name on something I know it's gonna be dope straight away. Same with Finatik and Zac. Denzel is absolutely going nuts on this shit, he's got that rapid fire flow and super hype delivery. Denzel comes a little close to stumbling over his words a bit on this song, but he gets everything out while maintaining his crazy delivery, so props for that. Yeah, this song is really hype, I just wish that Gook wasn't such an offensive word to play in public lol. The music video is nice too. 5/5
3. Sick and Tired (Produced by Ronny J and FNZ)
Denzel has a high-pitched delivery that I can't decide sounds dope or weird at the start of this song. The production is amazing yet again. Denzel's flow is kinda getting a tiny bit repetitive already, oh nevermind, it was just a little bit at the start. Denzel's crazy delivery returns once again, this man can rap his ass off. I like this hook, it's not crazy catchy, but I like the atmosphere, its sounds pretty spacey. This song really takes you on a trip. Denzel's starting the second verse similarly to the first. Ok, he's stepping up the aggression a lot now, yeah this sounds awesome. This is a great song, I have no problems with it at all. 5/5
4. Knotty Head (feat. Rick Ross) (Produced by Ronny J and FNZ)
I already really like this beat, I don't know about the Ross feature, he doesn't deliver very often, but we'll see. Oh FUCK yeah. Denzel is killing this song right now, I absolutely love this beat mixed with his delivery and flow. This shit sounds sick as hell. I like the hook too, It's pretty catchy. He's starting the second verse now, Oh wow Denzel... he's going in even harder now. He killed that. Ok Ross, let's see what you got. I already know he won't top Curry. This beat really suits Ross' voice and delivery. Ok, he's actually doing his thing on this song, the first half of his verse is really good actually, It's starting to fall apart a little towards the end, but it's not that bad, nothing cringey or anything. Yeah that was cool, I'd give Ross a 4/5 on that, just because of the first half and his voice, if he had such weak lyrics and a different voice it'd probably be a 3. Yeah this song is still really dope though, it's my favourite so far just because of Denzel. 5/5
5. Me Now (Produced by DJ Dahi and BloodPop)
This hook is ok, I don't think I'm gonna love this song to be honest. I don't love the beat or Denzel's singing right now. Denzel is spitting some good lyrics on this song, and he is using a very different flow and delivery, but I'm just not loving it. I might listen a few more times to see if it grows on me. Yeah so far this isn't really doing anything for me right now. Denzel is spitting really good lyrics, and I do kinda like his delivery, but nah. This song is just ok to me, I really don't like it that much, if it wasn't for the beat growing on me and Denzel's good lyrics this would be wack to me. 3/5
6. Story: No Title (Produced by Promnite and Lino Martinez)
This is a really dope beat. Denzel's killing this first verse right now, I like his delivery a lot. The whole theme and concept of this song is really dope, plus it has amazing production. I didn't like this at first, but I really enjoy it now. 4/5
7. This Life (Produced by Ronny J and FNZ)
This is another song I've already heard, I heard it while I was asleep and my Spotify was playing random songs in its radio mode or whatever. I really liked the song and woke up when I heard it, so I took a screenshot and fell back asleep. I came back to the song and listened to it non-stop for a week. So yeah, I really like this song. Denzel's singing is suprisingly great on this song, it has a great beat and a really catchy chorus.
The song is still great to me even after listening to it so many times, so I can't complain at all. 5/5
8. Zenith (feat. Joet Bada$$) (Produced by Ronny J, Freevase and FNZ)
Joey is a really underrated rapper, he's killed every song I've ever heard him on and his XXL cypher verse was easily one of the best of all time, so I'm sure he'll kill this.
I'm interested to see what Denzel does on this production. It sounds really cool. Denzel is using a different flow on this shit, and he is absolutely murdering this beat.
"Catch me on the zenith, that's the only time you'll see 'em Televised, paralyzed, thoughts are paraplegic"
"Catch me on the zenith like I'm Hercules and Xena Or Trick Daddy or Trina with the victims of Katrina"
Denzel did really well on that verse. I like this hook, it's nothing crazy but it's good. Joey is gonna kill this shit. Yep.
"Catch me on zenith channelling a fucking genius While I catch the way these demons try to catch me while I'm sleeping Won't slip, won't fall even if I did get back up and stand tall Tell 'em suck my dick and catch me on a zenith bitch"
Yeah Joey easily had the best verse. He was just maintaining a great flow and wordplay throughout his entire verse, that shit was super dope. This song is amazing. 5/5
9. Good Night (feat. Nell and Twelve'len) (feat. Joet Bada$$) (Produced by FNZ)
I really like this straight away, the production sound's really great.
This hook is really great from Denzel too.
"Even if they hit me on sight Everything gon be alright Everybody have a good night We gon make it to the daylight"
Denzel is absolutely going nuts on this verse, the beat sounds absolutely amazing combined with his rapping. Twelve'len is a really great singer. He suits this song perfectly. Ok Nell is starting now. Wow, he's really impressing me right now. Yeah holy shit, Nell just absolutely slaughtered that verse. I think he might have had the best verse on this song. He really rapped about some real shit and still managed to maintain a killer flow and a really passionate delivery. This song is really good, I think this is my new favourite. Yeah it definitely is, this song is so fucking dope. 5/5
10. If Tomorrow's Not Here (feat. Twelve'len) (Produced by Lacy)
Well, last song, this album has turned out pretty damn well so far, so hopefully it finishes on a high note. This is a really different style of production compared to what Denzel usually rap's over. It actually sounds really good. I like Denzel's delivery a lot. He's spitting some really nice lyrics too.
"If tomorrow's not here, I write down all of my worst fears Fear of loss, fear of change, fear of losing my peers Apparently I will watch the whole world collapse and appear No tears, my intuition tells me that the end is near"
I'm actually not really liking Twelve'len's singing on this song to be honest. Yeah I'm not feeling this shit at all to be honest. Denzel is really good on this song too, which sucks. Actually nah, I don't know what I was thinking. Twelve sounds really good at the end of the song. This is a pretty good song, I didn't really like Twelve's contribution that much, but it grew on me after a few more listens. Still, if it was just Denzel this would be amazing, but to me its just great. Twelve did good, but I would've preferred someone else for this song. 4/5
This was amazing. Denzel is not exactly a top tier lyricist, but he has an amazing talent for crafting songs and he has a really unique style. Denzel is now one of my new favourite artists after this, and I'm definitely gonna review his 13 EP, after all it's only 13 minutes long. Hopefully he keeps on releasing solid content like this.
Overall Rating (Commercial Release): 92/100
Favourite Track: Good Night
Least Favourite: Story: No Title
Now that's the official commercial release over with, but since there's still two other songs that got taken off the cut I'm gonna count them as track 11 and 12 and include them in a separate rating, taking away the scores for Good Night and Me Now since those are the new songs on the commercial version.
11. Narcotics (Produced by Budd Dwyer and Martinez)
Woah, this production is really crazy. I like this shit a lot. Denzel sounds a little strange with this autotune. Nah, actually he sounds pretty badass to be honest. He's going in right now. This song is hard af. Yeah this is growing on me big time. This beat is fucking amazing. Ok, this song really surprised me, I don't have a single problem with it to be honest, this shit is high energy, sounds great, and doesn't outstay its welcome at all. 5/5
12. Pure Enough (Produced by Ronny J and FNZ)
I really like the sound of this beat, yeah this shit sounds amazing. Denzel is saying some deep stuff on this song. He's talking about his suicidal thoughts. This song doesnt really have much of a structure, it's really just his jumbled and sad thoughts. I like the hook too, it sounds pretty nice. I really like the second verse. This song is great to be honest. I wish this was on the commercial version, this ten times better than Me Now or Story: No Title. This is amazing. 5/5
Well, that was a great album, the only major complaint I have for the album is that sometimes Denzel uses the same flow a bit too much, and its pretty easy to get sick of his delivery when he barely changes up his style on some of his songs. To be fair there was still a large amount of variety, if Pure Enough and Narcotics were on here instead of Me Now, this would be almost perfect to me.
Overall Rating (Mixtape Release): 96/100
Favourite Track: Pure Enough
Least Favourite: Me Now
Overall Rating (If all 12 songs were on a single album): 93/100
Favourite Track: Good Night
Least Favourite: Me Now