The southern Florida rapper Denzel Curry and producer Kenny Beats teamed up to create their new project, UNLOCKED. The album is a pure masterpiece from start to finish, with Curry and Beats packing a lot of great content in a short amount of time.
The collaboration is the first project from Curry since his May 2019 album, ZUU. Not only did fans not have to wait super long for new music, but Curry isn’t disappointing with UNLOCKED. Despite sitting just below an 18-minute runtime, the project excels with just eight tracks.
Curry, throughout the project, masters his flow versatility. “‘Cosmic’ .m4a”, the final track on the project, is a raw, aggressive track that Curry takes control of from start to finish. Other tracks like “Lay_Up.m4a” have Curry rapping with a more laid-back, melodic tone. One of the things that makes the project great, is Curry’s consistency despite how he approaches a track.
With the project being so short, it truly leaves no time for filler tracks. Every track has as much energy as the next, and Curry and Beats keep the flows and the instrumentals fresh with ease.
Curry’s gritty, hard-hitting flows, partners beautifully with the MF Doom-sounding, modern-day boom-bap instrumentals that Beats provides. The only issue with UNLOCKED is that there aren’t more tracks.
Curry has always been an amazing rapper, but he also showcases his true lyrical ability on all aspects throughout the album. Curry consistently combines aggressive sounds with introspective bars over every single track.
It is rumored that the project was created in a 24 hour period, which makes it even more impressive than it already is. Ironically enough, the project seems to symbolize the unlocking of ZELTRON, Curry’s aggressive, violent-sounding alter ego. The collab’s raw theme gives Curry a great outlet to let ZELTRON loose, and he does it with perfection on UNLOCKED.
UNLOCKED, although early in the year, is definitely a contender for the best rap project of 2020. Both Curry and Beats provide so much energy for this project, and the combination of aggressiveness and melodies by Curry is one of many things that makes the album shine. UNLOCKED is perfect through and through. The duo makes the release their own while still complimenting the other well. Without a doubt, UNLOCKED is a flawless, raw masterpiece by Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats.
Rating: 5/5
