{"id":6410,"date":"2026-09-12T09:49:31","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T09:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2026\/09\/12\/denzel-curry-and-kenneth-blume-are-back-to-basics\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T09:49:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T09:49:55","slug":"denzel-curry-and-kenneth-blume-are-back-to-basics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2026\/09\/12\/denzel-curry-and-kenneth-blume-are-back-to-basics\/","title":{"rendered":"Denzel Curry and Kenneth Blume are back to basics"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Denzel Curry has outperformed every other mainstream rapper in the last 10 years, and it isn\u2019t particularly close. Not only has Curry dropped consistently exciting projects at a staggering rate<\/a>, but he has also reinvented his sound and persona from the ground up on every major release. He has proven himself to be a top-tier lyricist and performer, all while having a near-perfect ear for production, consistently operating at a conceptual level and creating new worlds in every style he explores.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Curry clearly has a deep respect for all things hip-hop, both in his odes to its history<\/a> as well as his chameleon-like ability to execute upon a number of subgenres. His collaborations and homages never feel forced, and he has clearly matured as both an artist and a person throughout his career.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So when Curry and Kenneth Blume dropped ii,<\/em> a spiritual successor to their previous effort UNLOCKED,<\/em> there was a fascinating realization: Curry has never truly made a record like this. Despite the album having so many of the conventions that you would expect a rapper\u2019s rapper like Curry to be naturally drawn to \u2014 soul samples, boom bap beats, witty punchlines and dense rhyme schemes \u2014 it\u2019s never something he has tried. While it\u2019s his first attempt at a \u201cbars only\u201d album (largely without his DMX-style affectations, melodic hooks or hypnotic trap beats), Curry knocks it out of the park, just as he has done with all his previous work.<\/p>\n

Curry\u2019s growth as a writer stands out in several expertly penned verses. \u201cCANDLELIGHT\u201d combines Curry\u2019s typical wit with nuclear confidence, knocking out listeners with every lyrical trick in the book. Wordplay (\u201creadin\u2019 you pussies, that\u2019s hieroglyphics\u201d), alliteration (\u201choly man, heavenly saint, the Earth holdin\u2019 holy hands\u201d) and clever references (\u201cWon\u2019t follow commandments, but got a pocket full of stones\u201d) make the song so airtight it feels like Curry forgot to breathe.\u00a0<\/p>\n