{"id":7602,"date":"2021-03-09T17:01:42","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T22:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/?p=7602"},"modified":"2021-03-09T17:01:42","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T22:01:42","slug":"review-denzel-curry-kenny-beats-unlocked-1-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/2021\/03\/09\/review-denzel-curry-kenny-beats-unlocked-1-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Denzel Curry &amp; Kenny Beats &#8211; UNLOCKED 1.5"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s been a while since we had an album rollout from Denzel Curry. However, it doesn&#8217;t mean he was slouching around in 2020 as he released a couple of loosie tracks and EPs here and there, one being <em>13LOOD 1N + 13LOOD OUT MIXX<\/em> and the latter being a part of this review, <em>Unlocked\u00a0<\/em>alongside producer Kenny Beats. It ended up being a short but exhilarating EP full of bangers along with a long-form <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=oyIrhGleD9M&amp;feature=youtu.be\">animated music video<\/a>, easily making my Best of List in 2020. Now a year later, the duo is back, but this time, they&#8217;re making a remix album.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, I&#8217;m covering a remix project of an EP from last year, but to be honest, I was very interested to see how this turned out. I know remixes can often be either hit or miss with some people, but I&#8217;m willing to hear how different it&#8217;ll be. The two singles released so far got me on board, and the lineup of guest producers and features does please me a bit.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"747\" height=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JhD9y_bLxeM?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>In fact, after listening to this like 5-6 times, I&#8217;m liking this more than the original <em>Unlocked.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, that&#8217;s the case here. I was immediately into this project from the first remix track, &#8220;So.Incredible.pkg,&#8221; with Robert Glasper providing the production. I was floored by the jazzy flourishes and the backup vocals on that new beat, even if\u00a0 the feature verse from Smino is OK at best (Also, I didn&#8217;t know until now that they&#8217;re cousins). &#8220;Track07&#8221; has a &#8217;70s psychedelic spin courtesy of Georgia Anne Muldrow, and it&#8217;s worth noting that Denzel Curry really didn&#8217;t have any verses on the original (mainly the pitched vocals from &#8220;So.Incredible.pkg&#8221;), and Arlo Parks is added into the remainder of the track.<\/p>\n<p>Then there&#8217;s &#8220;Cosmic.m4a&#8221; which has The Alchemist on production, and it has this grimy old-school Toonami promo sound, fitting perfectly within that aesthetic, and Joey BadA$$ deserved solid bars in his verse.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"747\" height=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JRdWB3WLJFE?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Gun cocked, make a nigga lung stop<br \/>\nGot my middle finger to the ceiling, screaming, &#8220;Fuck cops&#8221;<br \/>\nTrigger finger start itching when the fun stop<br \/>\nFiends at the bus stop, eyes looking bloodshot<br \/>\n<a class=\"referent referent--yellow\" href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Denzel-curry-and-kenny-beats-cosmic-m4a-the-alchemist-version-lyrics#note-22301659\" data-id=\"22301659\">Ugh, stop your bloodclaat crying<br \/>\nThey killed my dawg, now everybody&#8217;s dyin&#8217;<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Another personal highlight on this EP is the Jay Versace version of &#8220;Lay_Up.M4A&#8221; as it has that sampled, slowed-down vibe you often get in most of Versace&#8217;s production catalog and man, this hits hard as hell in 2 minutes. We also get two versions of &#8220;Take_It_Back_v2&#8221; with the first version being from Charlie Heat who provides a 90s street-hop vibe, and the latter one being a remix from GODMODE950\/GAME666 which fits in the drum &#8216;n bass territory with the warbling effects and futuristic-tinged production.<\/p>\n<p>While &#8220;DIET_1.5&#8221; may not have a new beat behind it (the only one that remains in Kenny Beats&#8217; hands), there is an added guest feature from none other than Benny the Butcher, bringing a tight 16 bars to the track. Of course &#8220;Pyro,&#8221; one of my favorite tracks off the original EP, is remixed here with a beat from Sango and a new verse from Kenny Mason. and points to him with a decent verse on here as well.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a class=\"referent referent--yellow\" href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Denzel-curry-and-kenny-beats-diet-15-lyrics#note-22360381\" data-id=\"22360381\">All these racks in the ceiling got rappers back in they feelings<br \/>\nTreat the game like Trump voters did the Capitol building (Hahahaha)<\/a><br \/>\nIn a 600 Maybach, the only passenger in it<br \/>\nAin&#8217;t got no cash for the dealer if don&#8217;t no stashes come in it (Huh)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em>(Pyro) &#8211; Kenny Mason verse:<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Big angel in the projects, the greatest prospect<br \/>\nRoughin&#8217; mangy, but I&#8217;m God&#8217;s pet, nothin&#8217; far-fetched<br \/>\n<a class=\"referent referent--yellow\" href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Denzel-curry-and-kenny-beats-pyro-sango-leak-lyrics#note-22362227\" data-id=\"22362227\">Seatin&#8217; four-deep in the 404, yep<\/a><br \/>\nForties a four on four, up<br \/>\nHomie&#8217;s a ho&#8217;, this home up<br \/>\nFour feet and swore he grown up<br \/>\nHoly D-O-G<br \/>\nPatrol the whole three with no leash on us<br \/>\n<a class=\"referent referent--yellow\" href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Denzel-curry-and-kenny-beats-pyro-sango-leak-lyrics#note-22368547\" data-id=\"22368547\">My little woadie, go Broly on anyone that show up<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"747\" height=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GUesnBbQ4yI?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>All-in-all, this has been a fascinating project from top to bottom with the different spins on the production and the added verses from our guests. I already enjoyed the first <em>Unlocked<\/em> project very much, but this elevates my enjoyment higher than ever, being a project where the remixes elevate the original tracks. It&#8217;s definitely worth checking out.<\/p>\n<p><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>FINAL VERDICT: Buy It.\u00a0<\/strong>You have unlocked hidden material that is fire. But also, get the original version if you haven&#8217;t already.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><b>UNLOCKED 1.5 is on PH Recordings\/Loma VIsta Recordings (Concord). It is available on digital download and streaming services. It is also available on cassette via his <a href=\"https:\/\/denzelcurrymusic.bandcamp.com\/album\/unlocked-15\">BANDCAMP.<\/a><\/b><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"747\" height=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nTs1Hi3PqW4?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s been a while since we had an album rollout from Denzel Curry. However, it doesn&#8217;t mean he was slouching around in 2020 \n<a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/2021\/03\/09\/review-denzel-curry-kenny-beats-unlocked-1-5\/\"> [...]<\/a>","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":7603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"yasr_overall_rating":4.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"yes","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"MusicRecording","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12],"tags":[1063,1224,503,1584,1067,1586,1587,18,1588,1585],"class_list":["post-7602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-denzel-curry","tag-ep","tag-hip-hop","tag-kenny-beats","tag-loma-vista-recordings","tag-ph-recordings","tag-remix","tag-review","tag-unlocked","tag-unlocked-1-5"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.surrealresolution.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/https___images.genius.com_ed7ab80827b65d84ab73f210dcc1a582.1000x1000x1.png?fit=561%2C561&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8GYHU-1YC","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7602"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7608,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7602\/revisions\/7608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}