‘Melt My Eyez See Your Future’ Is an Illustration of Denzel Curry’s Multifaceted Talent

With the XXL 2016 Freshman list being the first list that mainly consisted of Hip-Hop artists that cultivated their respective fanbases through SoundCloud, fans of Hip-Hop were treated to one of the most impactful classes of Hip-Hop newcomers they’ve seen in their lifetimes. The depth of that 2016 list is something that hasn’t been replicated since. Artists like 21 Savage, Lil Uzi Vert, and Kodak Black are still firmly entrenched in the 90th percentile of rappers. Additionally, artists like Anderson .Paak and G Herbo consistently find new ways to reinvent their sound, while staying true to their vision and creating quality music. Then there are artists like Lil Yachty, Dave East, and Lil Dicky who have successfully converted their individual likenesses into impressive acting gigs and brand partnerships.

Then there’s an artist like Denzel Curry. An artist who has the skills to be considered in the 90th percentile but doesn’t have the statistical data to support such an argument; due to his status as an independent artist signed to Concord Music Publishing, the world's leading independent music publisher. Denzel Curry has created a niche for himself, jumping from one sound to another from album to album to create one of the most unique discographies in all of Hip-Hop.

The sonics on Denzel Curry’s 2018 album TA13OO sound nothing like the sonics on the album that preceded it, Imperial, released in 2016. Furthermore, the sonics on TA13OO’s 2019 follow-up, ZUU, sound far apart from the two albums that preceded it. In fact, the two albums in Denzel Curry’s discography that sound the closest to each other are his collab album with Kenny Beats, UNLOCKED, released in 2020 and his newest offering Melt My Eyez See Your Future. However, while his previous two albums have a few common themes between them, those themes must travel a far distance apart to connect the two.

The chameleon nature in which Denzel Curry has navigated his career is a handful in a lifetime feat. With his newest album, Melt My Eyez See Your Future, Denzel Curry not only adds to the uniqueness of his discography but demonstrates his sound shifting talent and superior lyricism throughout.

Track two on Denzel Curry’s Melt My Eyez See Your Future, ‘Walkin’ is one of the best displays of lyricism of the year. The track, produced by Kal Banx, is split into two parts. The first part features harmonizing and a slow bass as the melody before the percussions come in over the beat’s foundation. Curry’s lyricism is shown as he raps, “Me against the world, it's me, myself and I, like De La, got in touch with my soul” and “I'm hawkin' down the next goal, the name's ain't Stephen.” For the second part of the song, the beat speeds up the same elements as the first with an added element of 808s. Denzel Curry speeds up his flow to match the new tempo of the track, which is best displayed by his delivery of the hook, “Keep on walkin', ain't no stoppin’, in this dirty, filthy, rotten, nasty little world we call our home, they get blickies poppin', ain't no options for my partners, so they resort to scams and robbin'…” Track two is Hip-Hop mastery distilled as Denzel Curry effortlessly navigates this beat.

‘Mental’ featuring Saul Williams & Bridget Perez serves as track six on Denzel Curry’s latest offering. Track six continues the themes of expert lyricism Denzel Curry demonstrates on track two while providing a more melodic beat and open mic feel. The vocals of Bridget Perez radiate throughout this track as Denzel Curry raps about his mental state by rapping, “Inside the fountain of youth, surroundin' the booth is water, my mind is flooded with these flows, so get the recorder, my mental state is, ‘Whatever happens, happen.’” Saul Williams’ poem at the end furthers the open mic environment Denzel Curry executes throughout the track.

T-Pain is the feature on track seven, ‘Troubles.’ Track seven served as the final single in the rollout for Melt My Eyez See Your Future and is another example of Denzel Curry’s versatility. When imagining the pairing of Denzel Curry and T-Pain, one would think that Denzel Curry would have to be melodic to make the song work. However, on track seven Denzel Curry raps while allowing T-Pain’s voice to shine on the hook and second verse. ‘Troubles’ provides a bright spot in what is an album that is comprised of mostly dark sounds.

The eighth track on Melt My Eyez See Your Future, ‘Ain’t No Way’ featuring 6LACK, Rico Nasty, Jasiah, Kitty Ca$h & Powers Pleasant successfully combines the talents of six artists by placing each artist in their comfort zones. 6LACK on the hook with a smooth melody, followed by Jasiah on increasing the tempo of the track with 808s being added, leading to Rico Nasty’s verse is a perfect escalation of sonics for this track. This formula of beat escalation is followed once again with the second half of the track with 6LACK’s hook coming in after Rico Nasty’s verse. JID’s verse comes in after the 6LACK hook followed by Denzel Curry’s verse. Once again Denzel Curry displays his lyricism throughout his verse by rapping, “Ain't no way this the way I'm livin' out my final days, I feel like JAY, chakra flowin' through me like a tidal wave, rivals made to be a slave inside my suicidal page “run the jewels 'cause I kill a mic on any LP.”

‘Sanjuro’ featuring 454 is the twelfth track on Melt My Eyez See Your Future. The twelfth track incorporates the feeling of some of Denzel Curry’s earlier music like ‘Ultimate’ with the pace that Denzel chooses to rap at. ‘Sanjuro’ is possibly the fastest track on Melt My Eyez See Your Future. 454’s hook matches the speed of Denzel Curry’s verses successfully adding another element to Melt My Eyez See Your Future.

While the sonics on Melt My Eyez See Your Future vary from track to track, the album’s consistent conversation around the topic of death bonds the album together like glue. The cohesion found through the vulnerability of Denzel Curry wrestling with past mistakes, the struggle to stay alive and questions around death throughout the album adds a relatable touch to the project. Aside from the name of track eleven, ‘The Smell Of Death,’ Denzel Curry references death in some form on tracks one, three, four, five, nine, ten, twelve, and fourteen. This illuminates how important varying your approach as an artist is to retaining an audience engaged throughout a 45-minute collection of songs.

Melt My Eyez See Your Future is a culmination of Denzel Curry’s multifaceted talents. The ability to execute an album with such heavy subject matter in a way that is easy for the audience to digest is an underrated skill. Furthermore, Denzel Curry’s ability to make an easily digestible insightful album with a wide spectrum of sonics and song structures is nothing short of rare. In a music environment where creating an album that has a lifespan of over a week is rare, Denzel Curry’s multifaceted approach has served up one of the most impressive albums of the year.