Denzel Curry / Chicago, IL
- Raymond Kao
- May 2
- 2 min read
What a time to be in college - 2016 was peak Vine (old TikTok for the youth) and everyone was dabbing, hitting the running man -- and most importantly -- flipping half empty water bottles to Denzel Curry’s “Ultimate”. That trend turned many (like me) into fans of his music, and now I was presented with the opportunity to cover his concert.
Clip started off the night, a rising star from New York. The artist radiated energy and introduced us to our first mosh pit of the night. She had strong vocals, but it felt like there was holdback from her being able to highlight them as much during her live performance.
454 came out next, a more experienced rapper hailing from Tampa. He had good stage presence, but what caught attention, was more by ear with the juxtaposition between his flow and some of his beats. He has a modern flow- choppy, less reliant on wordplay, and sound pairing, but the songs where the beats had a backing vocal and sampled from an older era of hip-hop just felt sweet.
Kenny Mason, an established artist in his own right, and a long-time collaborator with Denzel Curry, set the stage for the man himself. His flow and lyricism were reminiscent of Joey Bada$$, and the rock influences showed in his music. He opened another mosh pit to get the audience to lose themselves in a good time, but urged them all to remember to look out for one another. The crowd definitely got along with his performances of “Stick” and “Angel Eyes”.
Denzel came out of the gates blazing with “ACT A DAMN FOOL” and “RICKY”. His performance of “ULT” highlighted a surgical control over his flow and his insane lyricism -- his biggest strengths as a rapper. To spice things up, he threw in a few mashups (for example he mixed "DIET_" with "tv off" by Kendrick Lamar) and brought out Kenny and 454 for their respective collaborative songs. Curry even had a cover of "Hard in the Paint" by Waka Flocka Flame.
The entire performance was high-octane and there was not a moment where he took his foot off the pedal. A lucky fan even got to come up to sing Tia Corrine’s part on “HOT ONE”. Fans should keep an eye to see if the tour is coming to their area—anyone not going will regret missing this concert.
Gallery and Review by Raymond Kao
