Monday, 22 June 2015

Review of '32 Zel/Planet Shrooms' by Denzel Curry


The hip hop community are going to start getting serious bedsores if they continue to sleep on this Floridian rapper any longer. Sporting some of the tightest flows and creative beats in the game, this dude is a clear mile ahead of every other trap rapper in the game.

His debut album Nostalgia 64 was borderline flawless when it came to the flows and instrumentals. The lyrics weren’t bad either, displaying some truly gritty and sinister storytelling, ‘Parents’ and ‘Dark & Violent’ getting serious and socially conscious whilst impressively managing to stay fun and dumbed-down at the same time.  

This latest semi-album/double-EP-thing ’32 Zel/Planet Shrooms’ arguably doesn’t quite have the lyrical prowes of it's predecessor. There’s some pretty deep talk about the fear of death on the second half of the record that caught my ear, but otherwise it’s a lot of samey braggadocio and weed worship. 

Thankfully, the album makes up for this sonically. Comprising of one-half trap bangers/one-half trippy shit, the beats on the first half will get you so pumped up you’ll want to fight the Chinese army single-handedly, before zonking you out for the second half and transporting you beyond the astral plane.

Curry’s vocal energy meanwhile is at an all time high here. Leaping around each beat like an acrobat, the artist's delivery is dizzying in its ever-changing speed and surgical precision. The tone of his voice meanwhile sounds more animated than ever before, most noticeable on ‘Ultimate’ in which he sounds more livid than a bear passing a pinecone. 

The hooks certainly aren’t up to the high standard of Nostalgia 64. The same can be said of the lyrics. However, when it comes to the vocal delivery and beats, Curry is still sounding as fiery and fresh. I'm glad this dude didn't devolve into writing mainstream strip-club Migos-alike material. Instead, he’s continuing to carve out his own lane, bringing a spacey and cartoonishly dark feel that’s unique and exciting, suitable only for the strip clubs of Hell. 

TRACK TASTER: