Denzel Curry’s Decade, in His Own Words

Denzel Curry has experienced a lot in the past decade. From joining Raider Klan as a 16-year-old, to releasing viral hits like "Threatz" and "Ultimate," to making critically-acclaimed albums like TA13OO and touring with Billie Eilish, Curry's career has taken a series of twists and turns throughout the 2010s.

"I grew as an artist over the years," he says, reflecting on his ability to stay relevant throughout the decade. “I just kept changing. Not with the times, but I learned how to change what I was doing. I changed the format of what I was doing. If I kept making underground shit, where would I be? Still in the underground. If I kept trying to make pop, I'd probably fall the fuck off. So, I just found a middle ground where I can still give you that raw shit, and I can also make it appealing to the masses."

In some ways, Curry feels like he's just getting started, though, and he's already looking toward the 2020s. "In the next 10 years, I want to be richer than JAY-Z," Curry says. "In the next 10 years, I'm going to be rich—close to JAY-Z status or above. Mentally, I'm going to be a genius. I'm going to create a lot of jobs that people can benefit from. I'm going to be one of the best martial artists of all time. I also want to raise a family. I want to have the best relationship of my life. I'm going to be the healthiest person on Earth. Period. I'm just going to have stacks and stacks and stacks of Grammys, and I'm going to be with the same team that helped me accomplish it all in the first place."

As the 2010s draw to a close, Denzel walked us through each year of his decade, from the time he started rapping seriously in 2011 to present day. This is Denzel Curry's decade, in his own words.

Highlights: Became one of the first members of Raider Klan and released his first mixtape on DatPiff.

I was 16 years old. My brother was going to college, one of my brothers was in and out of jail, and my other brother was doing backyard fighting stuff. It was just me and my father at the house, because my mom left when I was 16 years old. I also got kicked out of art school and was forced to go to my home school, because art school didn't want me there anymore. A lot of things were happening around that time.

What drove me to join Raider Klan was mainly because I felt like nobody was taking me seriously at all.

2011 is when I really started taking music seriously. I got introduced to SpaceGhostPurrp's music through a friend of mine. Well, he's not really my friend anymore, but a cat named Mike Dece put me on to SpaceGhostPurrp. I put out a mixtape on DatPiff called King Remembered Underground Tape 1991 - 1995. Originally, it had six tracks on it, then Mike Dece told me to take it down and add more. It ended up catching Purrp's attention after I put twenty-something tracks on it.

Eventually, I joined the Raider Klan. I felt like my family split up, so I needed a family of my own. Nobody took me seriously when it came down to rapping. Nobody took me seriously when it came down to art. Nobody took me seriously, period. Girls weren't taking me seriously. The guys on the block were making fun of me because I was a nerd and I was into other stuff that they weren't into. Nobody really understood what I was doing at that time, and the type of person I was. They thought I was just that weird jit on the block, that was nice to everybody. I was supposed to be like everybody else. What drove me to join Raider Klan was mainly because I felt like nobody was taking me seriously at all.

Highlights: Released his debut studio album Nostalgic 64.

2013 was a very transitional year. Around that time, Raider Klan was blowing up because of the feud with ASAP and us bombarding the industry. Everybody was jacking our style, how we were dressing, and what we were doing with the Raider hieroglyphics and stuff like that. Everybody was jocking our sauce. It was transitional because a lot of things were happening at that time. Purrp was spotted by 4AD, and that was the first time I ever went out of town. I went to Cali for the first time, and we did an underground show with Xavier Wulf, who was Ethelwulf at the time, Chris Travis, Eddy Baker, and Bones. This was before they became Seshollowaterboyz.

In 2013, I was really ambitious. I wanted to make something that Miami had never heard before with Nostalgic 64, and that's exactly what I did.

Then I met JK the Reaper for the first time. It was like my real introduction to seeing how the underground was. "Threatz" was blowing up at my school and it got on MTV RapFix. All the kids were like, "Yo, we seen you on MTV, man, talking to Waka Flocka. That was epic." I became a popular kid at school. It was crazy, because "Threatz" was the biggest song in Klan, so everybody was fighting for that song and trying to take it from us. Like, trying to take it from me and Mark. But they didn't give us the studio, and didn't write the song or think of the hook, nothing. It was us against them, because they felt like we was fucked up for wanting to keep this shit for ourselves, but we spent all our time working on it.

In 2013, I was really ambitious. I wanted to make something that Miami had never heard before with Nostalgic 64, and that's exactly what I did. The sound ended up shifting in another way from the Tricks and your Trinas, and your Rick Rosses. When I made Nostalgic, none of those songs on that project sounded like anything they ever made. That was around the time where Raider Klan broke up. I chose to leave Raider Klan after Xavier and them left, because it was always a dispute for "Threatz" against my management and their management. Purrp didn't kick me out or nothing like that. I left the Klan because we were at odds with each other already at that point. I didn't think a contract would mess up everything. I was just like, why do I got to sign a paper to be loyal? I was loyal without it for like two years straight.

Highlights: Released '32 Zel/Planet Shrooms' featuring "Ultimate," began working on 'Imperial,' toured with Joey Badass, and met XXXTentacion and Ski Mask the Slump God.

In 2015, I was finishing 32 Zel/Planet Shrooms, and I created "Ultimate" at this point. I didn't realize how big "Ultimate" was going to be until people like Carnage and all these guys kept hitting me up like, "Yo, that 'Ultimate' goes off. When is the full version going to drop?" Mark didn't really believe in "Ultimate." Shane, at work, was like "Yo, why your friend don't listen, man? He didn't like the song." It was just like, "Yo, I don't give a fuck what Mark's talking about. This shit hard as fuck." He didn't understand it until everybody else was asking about it. They were asking about it more than the single that they put out. I only put out that song for the fans. I felt like they were holding my shit, and my buzz was dying down. So I was like, "Nah, bro," and I just put it out.

As for the actual making of "Ultimate," I remember being at the house. It was dark. It was me, Ronny J, Astro, and Gizmo, and we were all in the house together. Ronny had been bouncing from couch to couch, so I said, "Ronny, just move in. Don't worry about the rent. Just pay bills and work with me on this music." He set up a back room and he ended up living there. Ronny was playing beats one day, and when the "Ultimate" beat came up, I was like, "Oh, shit. This shit hard!" And he was like, "Bro, I sent you this like three years ago." I checked, and come to find out, he sent that beat the same time he sent the "Threatz" beat. The beats for "Threatz" and "Ultimate" were in the same e-mail. That was wild as fuck.

I was experimenting, because the atmosphere in East Miramar was like little Jamaica. I'm not Jamaican, but me and Shane grew up in Carol City, which is nothing but Jamaicans. Jamaicans and Bahamians. So I wrote the flows before I even heard the beat. And then I was like, "Wait, I actually wrote something the other day. Let me see if it goes with it." He played the beat back and that's when I was like, "I am the one, don't weigh a ton, don't need a gun to get respect up on the street." It was supposed to sound like a Jamaican song, but it was so lo-fi it ended up sounding like punk.

Joey Badass also took me on tour in 2015. We toured everywhere, even going overseas. We were on the same festivals, so it felt like an extended tour, and we were just hanging out. That's where my relationship with Joey kind of blossomed, alongside all the Pro Era guys. I went on tour with the Underachievers before I went on tour with Joey Badass, so technically, I was already familiar with the Beast Coast guys. They inducted me into Beast Coast on the first tour I went on. Even on that tour, me and Nyck Caution got into it in a battle and shit and he destroyed me. I ain't going to lie. [Laughs].

The beats for "Threatz" and "Ultimate" were in the same e-mail. That was wild as f**k.

At that time, I was working on Imperial because me and my girl broke up. I went crazy for a little while. I told Ronnie, "Ronnie, I'm going to Home Depot." "Why?" "Because some shit just happened and I just need to fucking get my mind free right now." So, we picked up some paint, picked up some markers, and I painted my whole room. I told everybody who was in the house to set up recording equipment in my room. I put the mic in my closet and put a blue light in there. I painted the room and waited until it dried, then I drew all over the walls and invited people to draw on the walls. I put my bed in a corner. I set up a desk. We put a little chair in the side corner, and before you knew it, the room was born. The ULT house was born. We kept saying we was all on this ultimate shit, so we ended up creating ULT.

One morning, I remember telling the guys, "I feel like throwing a party today." It was around when we were working on Imperial, and I was free to do whatever the fuck I wanted. I didn't have no girl. I was just in my zone. The party was invite-only, but we just started seeing random motherfuckers pull up. Ski Mask the Slump God showed up and he was like, "I'm here to perform." I'm kind of drunk, mind you, so I'm like, "Perform? Who the fuck told you that?" I didn't know who the fuck told this nigga that he was going to perform. I looked at Ski, and he was like, "So, do we need to go?" I was like, "Nah, ya'll can chill, man. Just respect my crib. Ya'll feel free to play games and stuff like that."

After that night was over, this dude Malcolm—they call him Chief Pound—he came to my house like, "Bro, play this shit right now. You know these niggas, man. There's this dude, his name's XXXTempation or something like that, and the other dude Ski Mask the Slump God." I was like, "Nah, I don't know them niggas. Pull up a picture. I'll bet I don't know them niggas." He pulls up a picture and I'm like, "I don't know them." I was looking at X. Then he played this song called "Fuxk." I'm like "Oh, shit. This shit kind of hard." Ski went in and X went in. I'm like, "Damn, this shit actually is dope." Usually, when motherfuckers play their music, I'll be like, "Yeah, whatever." But this shit, I genuinely liked. The next song was, "I Love It When They Run.'" I can tell you, I played that shit maybe 20 times that whole day. X skated on that shit. He floated on that shit.

Later, we went to a Kodak Black show, and I see X, Trunks, Ski, and all their homies. I was like, "Yo, I love your tracks, them shits are hard." They had to go to Denver, but a few days later, they came back to our house. We got straight to the point, like, "Yo, we want you guys in ULT." X was like "Bro, I don't fucking know you. So, is this a business decision or is this a friendship?" At the time, I was like, "It's both, you feel me?" The majority of the people I was working with were already my friends. So they ended being part of ULT and announced it on Twitter and everything. Then Ronny J, Yoshi, and X made a song called "Hit The Dirt."

Highlights: Released 'Imperial,' moved into ULT House, beefed with Spaceghostpurrp, became XXL Freshman, and participated in the most-watched XXL cypher ever.

X ended up staying at the house after Ski asked me. We were taking photos for Imperial, actually. He was like, "Yo, can X stay here?" because X got in some trouble and shit. I'm like, "Yeah, he can stay here. I don't mind." I just gave him the same treatment that I gave Ronny and them. As long as you pay bills, you're good. So X stayed a couple nights here and there on his own couch.

Around that time, we were beefing with Spaceghostpurrp. X joined in because it was bringing clout to his own name at the time. Me helping him was one thing, but me and him beefing with Spaceghostpurrp was another thing. He was doing it to really bring attention to what the fuck was going on with him, you know? That was really what happened. He didn't have to involve himself in my beef, but he chose to because he felt like, "Nigga, we ULT. We gang. I ride for you nigga. I kill for you." That's the type of nigga X was.

Imperial came out in 2016. That was the real sequel to Nostalgic 64, because I felt like I strayed a little too far left when I was making 32 Zel/Planet Shrooms, and it wasn't really received well with my fans at the time. Nobody really liked what I had to offer. Everybody just thought, "Oh, Denzel's mainstream now. I can say fuck him now." That's fucked up. Ya'll the same niggas that was riding for me. You know what I mean? I felt a whole bunch of anger at that time. Anger with Purrp and anger with my fans. Me and my girl wasn't getting along and shit. Everybody kept trying me. I was just like, "Nah, fuck this shit. I'm just over it."

I was watching 21's reaction, Kodak's reaction, Uzi and Yachty's reactions. All of them had the same reaction when I went, because none of them n****s wanted to go first.

The majority of the references for Imperial, we made at my house. Then we went to Jim Jonsin's house where I met Finatik N Zac, who were Jim Jonsin's producers and produced mad hits for Rocky and Wiz Khalifa. They just recently did Kanye West stuff on Jesus Is King. They ended up taking Ronny's beats, tweaking them, and making them sound bigger. They made me sound way better. That's when the whole ULT anthem came about.

I also became a XXL Freshman in 2016. I remember going in that day and seeing all my peers. Me and Uzi knew each other from SXSW. When I saw him, my face lit up. He's like, "Oh shit, what's happening?" This was like happy Uzi. Not dark, evil Uzi. Me and Yachty knew each other because Yachty came to the show where me, X, Ski, and Wifi were stage all on stage performing before Uzi got on.

Originally, they were going to put me in a cypher with Dave East and G Herbo, but it changed last-minute. I didn't have the beat, and I didn't know what to spit. Then I was like, fuck it let me try this verse. I ended up doing the rest in power shit. Like, "Rest in power, it's all about power, squeeze two lemons together and really all you'll have is sour, diesel..." I was just watching 21's reaction, Kodak's reaction, Uzi and Yachty's reactions. All of them had the same reaction when I went, because none of them niggas wanted to go first. They were like, "So, who's going to go first?" Uzi looked at Yachty. Yachty looked at 21. 21 looked at Kodak. All of them looked at me. I'm like, "Man, fuck it I'm going to go first."

Highlights: Released 'TA13OO' and "Clout Cobain" music video.

2018 is when I really started coming into my own. I was on tour with ASAP Ferg and "Sumo" was being praised a lot. Everybody was like, "Yo, what was that song he played at Flog Gnaw?" I didn't know "Sumo" was going to blow up like that, because when I played it for people, they were like, "Okay." But then I put out a snippet, everybody was like, "What song is that? That shit is crazy."

In the middle of the tour with Ferg, it got canceled because he got sick. I was mad. I was literally mad that it got canceled, because that was one of the best tours I've been on. It was ASAP Ferg, and that was the first time I'd seen some shit like that. All the openers were on one bus, and we were all having a good time. It sucked because it was just like, bro, this is a chance for me to shine. I felt like obstacles were making it harder for me to shine. I was tired of being on the back of the bus, man. I remember saying, "Bro, I'm going to go back to L.A. and I'm going to finish TA13OO. I'm going to make sure I'll be bigger than Ferg." Those were my words. Since that happened, I was like, "I'm going to make sure I'll be bigger than Ferg. Period." Just bigger than anybody. It wasn't just about Ferg. It was about everybody at that point, because I felt like I was being tried by everyone. That was just the tip of the iceberg. I was like, fuck this, I'm going to go in. So I went back to L.A. and started working on it.

"Clout Cobain" predicted the future. I know that sounds crazy, but it did.

I had recorded "Clout Cobain" in late 2017. I originally sent it to Trippie Redd's manager, but he did some fuck shit so, fuck him. He didn't even give it to Trippie at all, so I ended up doing it myself. Everybody was telling me, "That one's the one." I didn't know what they saw in it. Then they linked me with Zev [Deans]. They were saying, "Hey man, we're going to do this video, and we're going to make you a clown." I was like "What the..." I thought they was trying to make some blackface shit, you know? They were like, "No, no, no we're not trying to make you blackface. That's racist. We're not going to do that. We're actually going to put you in clown face." So I'm like, "Clown? OK, let's see what the fuck you're talking about." It ended up being that we would have a big circus. Mark and them were coming up with the ideas. I was like, "All right, lets do this shit." We were basing it around what people do today, the culture, and how it's being affected. Then, at the last minute, they asked me, "Do you want to kill yourself in the video?" I was like, "Fuck yeah!" I can't do it in real life, so fuck yeah, let's do it. I wanted to shock people with the "Clout Cobain" video. And I actually got what I wanted, because it did shock people.

Around that time, me and X was talking about putting everybody together. Me and him got on good terms. It took a three-hour conversation for us to really talk about our problems with each other. He was like, "Yo, OK, now we're both ready." He hit up Shane, he hit up Yoshi, and he just wanted to be around the guys that didn't want shit from him in the first place, just to make sure his well-being was straight. Me and him would often have conversations like that. He was like, "Yo, if I'm tripping, just tell me I'm tripping." The last time I talked with X, he wanted to do something big for Florida, where all the Florida artists got together. Me, him, Ski, Pouya, everybody. Then, unfortunately, he passed away.

The last time I talked with X, he wanted to do something big for Florida, where all the Florida artists got together. Me, him, Ski, Pouya, everybody. Then, unfortunately, he passed away.

After that happened, I got hit up by my management. They were like, "Sorry for your loss and everything. Do you want to postpone dropping that video in the wake of his death?" I was like, "No, the world has to see this now, because my friend just died because of shit like this." Lil Peep died. X died. They really have to see this now, just to show you what's happening to the culture. I really believe this is a legendary video for me. Everything that ended up happening, later on, I predicted already. "Clout Cobain" predicted the future. I know that sounds crazy, but it did.

The project and the song were both received with critical acclaim. Everybody was talking about both. They were talking about the video, like, "It was so thought-provoking and it was so shocking." It even got to the point where motherfuckers thought I was a Satanist and shit. I was like, okay, this is what I wanted. I was just showing you reality in my way. Even with the album, I was talking about everything that I was going through, and a lot of people were going through it. I didn't have therapy at the time. I was just expressing what I was feeling at that time, because I felt alone. I felt like nobody understood me. I guess everybody felt that way, which is why it had so much critical acclaim. The only people that really wasn't fucking with it like that was like Pitchfork. But my fans understood it, and it just became a widespread thing. Then all the other artists started to notice. They would come up to me like, "Yo, that TA13OO was legendary." Even coming down to the hieroglyphics and the numbers, the 13 tracks, I really played on that theme.

Highlights: Released 'ZUU,' went on tour with Billie Eilish, made national TV debut on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.'

Around the time I was recording ZUU, I was feeling a lot of homesickness. I hadn't been back in Miami in some time, since X passed away. I felt homesick before, but I was really feeling it this time. When I was creating that whole thing, I had a mental breakdown. I started going to therapy. I wanted to see my niece. I wanted to see my brothers. I wanted to see my mom and everything. After TA13OO, I just kept recording. The grind didn't stop. I'm not going to stop until I get a Grammy. Even when I do get a Grammy, I want multiple Grammys, like Lauryn Hill or some shit. 

ZUU didn't really have a theme until we started piecing the lyrics and everything together. I started recording more content that really reminisced of old Miami-Dade County music. Mark was like, "Yo, you should name the album ZUU." Usually, I would disagree with Mark, but this time I was like, "Oh yes, that shit sound fire. Fuck it, lets do that." That was the most fun we ever had recording. Usually, when you record an album, it's serious and shit. This was the only time we recorded a record and got it done quick as fuck. We were having fun doing it, too. 

Most of these guys that you hear that are big as fuck—X, Ski, Billie, JPEGMAFIA, Marshmello—they were fans of mine before they even blew up bigger than me. That's why I feel like I'm a legend.

I toured with Billie Eilish this year. Me and Billie Eilish were friends back in 2017, which people don't realize. Billie was a fan. Most of these guys that you hear that are big as fuck—X, Ski, Billie, JPEGMAFIA, Marshmello—they were fans of mine before they even blew up bigger than me. That's why I feel like I'm a legend. All these people are doing crazy and critical things, but I influenced them. You can ask them yourself. I did influence a part of their careers. Period. I'm not going to sit here and just be arrogant about it. I'm telling you because I know it's true. They'll tell me that shit, so I'm telling you that shit. 

With Billie, I ain't going to lie, that was the only time I actually got nervous on tour. Because those fans are scary. I never thought I'd be intimidated by a whole bunch of little girls in my life. Oh shit, these motherfuckers, man. I had to tone it down a little bit, but I was received well. It wasn't bad. I didn't get booed or anything like that. Nobody threw tomatoes or no shit like that. I went in there, did my thing, had a good time, and they had a good time. Then Billie came on, and they really had a good time. The majority of those kids came in already knowing the songs from TA13OO, already. Then when "Ultimate" played, everybody's like, "Oh, he's the guy that made that song? Oh, he's great. Whoa!" Then "Clout Cobain" comes on, and they're like, "Oh, he made that song? He's the clown face guy! Oh shit! The clown face guy and the 'Ultimate' guy are the same guy!"