Fast-rising Florida rapper Denzel Curry blazes up the underground (The Social)

THIS LITTLE UNDERGROUND 
Denzel Curry is a pretty exciting young Bahamian rapper rising from South Florida. He was launched by fellow Carol City breakout SpaceGhostPurrp and formerly rolled in his group Raider Klan (or RVIDXR KLVN for those young enough to fuck with fussy-ass alphabetical styling). But he’s staking ground now as his own man and coming hard with real underground heat. Here in Orlando, that manifested in a sold-out house of shit-losing, smoked-out kids (April 27, The Social).

His music is the real thing, a forward rap sound that’s utterly now and of the brave new world being forged by Odd Future et al (download his dope new album Imperial free right here). But unlike the trial-and-error that happens out on the frontier, Curry’s proving himself to be a bright exception already with an ability to stick his landings with impressive consistency. His merge of trap and cloud rap is a deft juggle of dark otherworldliness and technical grit. The new-school style is there, with deep, stuttering beat drops and ominous atmosphere. But there’s also airtight technique in his articulated, rapid-fire flow.

Just as remarkable, though, is Curry’s live aptitude. Even under the fever of stage adrenaline that magnifies the executional warts of too many rappers, his verbal campaign of compression and fire stayed impressively on rails. Moreover, his custom visuals – a dystopic fantasy melting of The Boondocks, Terminator and first-person shooters – brought multimedia dimensionality to the show.

Add it all up and it’s total ignition. The kid is legit.


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This Little Underground is Orlando Weekly's music column providing perspective, live reviews and news on the city's music scene.

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