In the summer of 2019, months after the release of his critically acclaimed album
Zuu, Florida emcee
Denzel Curry joined producer
Kenny Beats on his online freestyle show, The Cave. The fruits of that meeting arrived in early 2020 as the
Unlocked EP. Packing a brisk eight songs into less than 18 minutes, the set is a thrill to experience and begs for further collaboration from this pair. Twisting his own Miami-bred style with the hardcore aggression of New York predecessors like
Wu-Tang Clan and
DMX,
Curry fires off a brisk flurry of rhymes that showcases his quick wit, pop culture prowess, and head-spinning wordplay. As
Curry pushes himself to the creative edge on standouts "Diet_" and "Lay_Up.m4a,"
Kenny Beats delivers menacing production that blends throwback sampling techniques and addictive, head-nodding beats. Although
Unlocked concludes almost as soon as it starts,
Curry and
Kenny pack so much into this short release that repeat listens are a must and, indeed, a pleasure. ~ Neil Z. Yeung