UNLOCKED

EPFeb 07 / 20208 songs, 17m 52s
Hardcore Hip Hop Southern Hip Hop
Popular Highly Rated

A couple of months after releasing 2019’s *ZUU*, MC Denzel Curry joined the hardcore band Bad Brains for a rerecording of their 1986 classic “I Against I.” The point was clear: For as steeped as Curry is in the regional vernacular of southeastern rap, he also understood rap’s spiritual link to punk—music that channels the raw, noisy energy of youth. At eight tracks in 18 minutes, *UNLOCKED* is even shaped like a hardcore record, with tracks that mutate, Hulk-like, from sturdy weight-room rap to tangles of warped vocals and dissonant samples that play like experiments frothing over in real time (“Take\_it\_Back\_v2,” “DIET\_”). As exciting as Curry is—to paraphrase an old chestnut about great singers, one could listen to him yell the phone book—the anchor here is producer Kenny Beats, whose tracks mix the feel of classic boom-bap with a sample-splattered approach that captures the tabs-open fever of now.

7.2 / 10

On his collaboration with Kenny Beats, the Miami rapper pays tribute to unbridled rap personas like DMX and ODB.

8 / 10

9 / 10

Fresh from a staged online beef, Curry and Beats continue to thrill

In the summer of 2019, months after the release of his critically acclaimed album Zuu, Florida emcee Denzel Curry joined producer Kenny Beats on his online freestyle show, The Cave.

9 / 10

After fabricating an internet feud and releasing a short film, Denzel Curry is back with UNLOCKED, a collaborative project partnered with th...

8 / 10

Denzel Curry - Florida rapper best known for his gritty, dark and raw rap style, has dropped a short but memorable project - with arguably one of the

4.1 / 5

Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats - Unlocked review: I kick that funky shit until my casket close