Denzel Curry: Melt My Eyez See Your Future - Album Review

Denzel Curry back with an album again, only 2 years on from his joint project with Kenny Beats, 'UNLOCKED'. I really like Denzel, his versatility, charisma and rap abilities all stick out and help him stand out amongst a crowded industry of rappers trying to display those exact 3 attributes.

Let's just kick off talking about this album with that lovely opening track 'Melt Session #1'. You hear Denzel's voice rapping acapella for around 8-12 bars with these reflective bars about battling stress and bars that are quite depressing, including referencing thoughts of suicide later in the verse also. After the first few bars, the drums come in so smoothly and eloquently, I love them. The percussion sounds crisp and clear, and at some points through my headphones, live.

The single 'Walkin', what an epic song that is, but moving on to the following track after 'Walkin', we have 'Worst Comes to Worst' which had a chilled-out melodic hook and Curry displayed in the 2nd verse an ill bit of wordplay with the bar 'they draw guns so how could lead erase me', when I clocked that one, probably after a couple listens I thought that was insanely nice.

Following 'Worst Comes to Worst' is one of the anthems of the tracklist and easily the hook that seemed the most quintessentially Curry - 'The Last'. With a similar sound to what we heard on 'ZUU', it is hugely catchy but when you dig into the lyrics you will hear Curry tackling issues around crime and police brutality. That deeper meaning and consciousness to the song gives it another edge. You could sing a long to this song all day, but I feel the real appreciation of it, is when you take it in and hear how Curry sees the state of things on the streets of the US.

'Mental' comes after 'The Last' with a simple, chilled piano beat that has lovely, calming singing, acting as background vocals and a bit of a hook. The singing adds to the haziness of the album and I think links nicely with the vibrant and blurry album cover. Whilst discussing the album cover, although I like it, I was slightly disappointed in it, especially after the hard cartoon-style cover we got for 'UNLOCKED' and the iconic cover of 'TA13OO'. 'Melt My Eyez See Your Future' has nice psychedelic colours that match the albums (sometimes) flowery sound, and it is better than the majority of album covers we get nowadays so I can't complain too much, but thought it might go a bit harder than it did.

Although not huge on the song itself, I appreciated how T-Pain really commanded and stamped his influence and mark on the song 'Troubles'. His verse was wordy, classically auto-tunes and added something to what I would consider an immemorable track.

'X-Wing' marked a high-point of the album. The medieval violins tormenting the listener were awesome and Curry's elongation of the last syllable in the hook was brilliant. He sounded confident and it sounded creative so made for a really strong song. Mentioning 'Skywalker' in his braggadocios second verse was a cool tie-in with the title, as 'X-Wings' were of course the type of vehicle that Luke Skywalker drove as part of the Rebel Alliance in the Star Wars movies.

Like 'Mental', 'Angelz' had some nice delicate singing included, but this time it felt slightly more prominent on the chorus. The beat had a nice bassline to it and the piano keys accompanied the relaxed drums comfortably too. The beat felt complex, but in an interesting way that felt a little jazzy too.

'Sanjuro', what a banger this song would be live. Epic MF DOOM shoutout in the opening bars that get wheeled-up - "Me, I been talkin' for those that don't speak enough, bitch, I'm a king, RIP to King Geedorah". On here he is doing what he does best and certainly what he is most known for. The feature chorus from 454 does well at maintaining the energy of the verses too with a truly unique voice also.

'Zatoichi' featuring Slowthai - this is interesting because Slowthai's feature on here is very similar to Curry's on Slowthai's song 'Terms', also featuring Dominic Fike. You cannot really hear or understand Slowthai's lyrics, this is of course intentional I don't doubt, and not a mixing issue. The beat switches to a drum and bass style moment when the hook is being performed. Curry's second verse has this nice persistent rhyme scheme that comes off very well, using a "demise", "rewind", "archived" 1 syllable type rhyme scheme that lasts the entire verse.

'The Ills' closes the album and is definitely the most chilled tune on here. Jazzy keys flutter over a nice boom bap beat - there are also some messy beat scratches on here too, which I would rather were not included in the track, in my opinion they take a way from the mood of the song, and my enjoyment.

Where would I listen to this album?

I could see why people would like this in the gym like much of Curry's other albums, but not for me. I think it'd play well in social situations, whether showing a friend one of the songs, or as a background filler that provides a decent "vibe" lol.

To conclude this review, I got some good subtle enjoyment from the album. I found myself excited and eager to listen to it but never rushed into it either. Whilst listening I never felt like I was rushing or wanting it fo be finished. The songs are sequenced well and it has a good flow to it with good pacing. Although moments of his ultra-aggressive style were on show, I found Curry to be more subdued on this latest effort. 'Melt My Eyez See Your Future' is a classy album and a good addition to the strong discography that Curry is building up and adds to its diversity. Denzel avoids giving his fans 'more of the same', for the most part, as there are a couple tracks that would fit in on either 'ZUU' or 'TA13OO'. For the future I hope this is album that stands up and an album that continues to grow on me and one I look back on fondly in years to come.

Star Track - The Last

7.5/10