On Feb. 7, 2019, American rapper and songwriter, Denzel Curry, released his 3rd EP “UNLOCKED”. This EP marks Denzel’s first collaborative project with producer, Kenny Beats. It was announced on social media the day before the project was released.

I have been a fan of Denzel Curry for many years now ever since his 2015 breakout single, “Ultimate”, was released. “UNLOCKED” is Denzel’s latest release since his 2019 album, “ZUU”.

The project is 8 tracks long and lasts 17 minutes. It starts off with the track titled, “Track 01”. This track features vocal samples from a newscast and acts as an introduction to the EP. As this track ends it winds into the 2nd track “Take_it_Back_v2”. This track is my personal favorite of the EP because it starts off with a very aggressive verse from Denzel over a hard-hitting beat. 

Another track which I enjoyed a lot is “Lay_Up.m4a”. I felt like Denzel’s unique flow over the bass-heavy beat made this song very fun to listen to.

The 4th track, “Pyro (leak 2019)”, was another track that I enjoyed. It is one of the shorter songs and only has one verse, but it is rich with excellent word choice and analogies. 

“DIET_” is another one of my favorite songs on the project. This song features two hard verses and an aggressive chorus from Denzel. I believe this track is best when played loud, as it complements the aggression that Denzel lets out through the track.

The 8th track, “Cosmic.m4a”, is also a track I highly recommend. Denzel raps two hard verses over a punchy, up-tempo beat. In this track, Denzel raps about his childhood and being raised on the streets of Miami, Florida.

“So.Incredible.pkg” and “Track07” were songs I didn’t enjoy quite as much. They weren’t necessarily bad, but I won’t be adding them to any of my playlists. “So.Incredible.pkg” is the longest track on the album and I feel like it gets a little repetitive and boring by the time it is finished, and “Track07” is just an interlude of “So.Incredible.pkg” slowed down and atop a different beat.

Overall, I can easily say Denzel did not disappoint. His hard, aggressive verses and unique flows worked wonders with Kenny Beats’s production throughout the 8 track EP. I also enjoyed how Denzel and Kenny payed homage to artists like MF DOOM and Madlib in this project.

This project is very fun to listen to and I believe the high points of “UNLOCKED” easily overshadowed the very few shortcomings on the project. Given that this is their first collaboration, it excites me for the future and I hope they continue to work together.