Album Review: 'What does legacy mean ii you?'
“What does legacy mean ii you?”
That’s the question Florida rapper Denzel Curry and producer Kenny Beats asked each other in a video posted to social media on Aug. 11.
Denzel Curry has been steadily rising since his debut album back in 2013, “Nostalgic 64.”
In the following decade and change, Denzel stayed consistent with viral hits and very well put together projects, both by himself and in collaboration with other artists and producers.
However, one of those releases stood out more than the other, that being “Unlocked” which was released in early 2020 alongside Kenny Beats. The duo in tandem put together an eight-song masterpiece with otherworldly production that Curry’s rhymes fit perfectly on.
To a large amount of his audience, “Unlocked” became one of the fan favorites in Denzel’s discography which led to fans clambering for a sequel to the project.
Nearly a year later, he released “Unlocked 1.5,” a remix album of the previous installment with more features and producers involved.
With its title being 1.5, the assumption would be that they’d get to the next whole number release soon. Denzel denied this, until Aug. 11, when he released the trailer for the album with the quote in the caption: “What does legacy mean ii you?”
The release date for the project, the track list and its lead single, titled “Difference” featuring singer and songwriter, Yebba, all released the following day. The full project then released on Aug. 21.
Despite how some artists release music, Denzel showed that less absolutely is more.
This album has only nine tracks. There is zero filler in any of this project, and Denzel doesn’t waste a line or a minute on the entire album.
It starts with the intro track, “Gone Fishing” which sounds ripped out of a classic video game with the sound effects and synths used within the beat. To me, I think Denzel is taking the discussion he had with Kenny in the trailer to heart.
Denzel Curry has released five studio albums, eight mixtapes and six EPs in his storied career. When I hear this album, there’s a level of maturity in the lyrics and how he carries himself.
Thirteen years into his career, you start to look back at it and think about how you will be remembered. He’s talked about his aspirations throughout his discography and does it again on this project, in track eight, “Crown” featuring fashion icon and Buffalo Rapper, Westside Gunn.
Now Gunn finds his way every time he’s on a project to add extra personality and a change in the energy of the song, whether that’s with his voice, his ad libs or his rhymes.
However, there’s this line Denzel says during his verse on the track. He says: “Classics, I'ma have a trophy, tragic, if it never happens, Doesn't really matter, I know legends who don't have 'em”.
Despite the lack of trophies and awards, Denzel knows that it is his body of work that will define how he’s remembered. And that’s what this album is to me. I believe this is a project I could play for someone to understand Denzel as an artist. He’s the most himself he’s sounded in recent projects. He’s lyrically gifted, he has an unmatched energy and he’s one of the best rappers of this generation.
What should also not go under appreciated is the album’s production. Kenny Beats finds a unique way to twist these older sounding samples to create something that sounds classic, yet new.
In the trailer, Curry mentions rap legend MF Doom as another artist who is a legend in the industry but without a grammy to his name. I hear Doom’s influence in the production throughout a lot of this project especially in songs like “Product,” “Benjamin” and “UPS.”
This project is nine tracks of Kenny “alley-ooping” Denzel the opportunities to showcase his creativity and musical ability in way that is concise and what I would say is a nearly perfect record.
My personal standout tracks from this project are: “Gone Fishing,” “Product” and “Benjamin.”
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