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Image via houseofhiphop.nl
Denzel Curry is starting his rap career independently, in every sense of the term. He left a promising crew to pursue solo efforts, he’s not signed to a major or mini label and after the shows are over, he goes back to the Miami neighborhood he grew up in. At age 19 he is one of the most promising and creative rappers in the industry. He mixes the rawness of Pac with the uniqueness of Outkast and the freshness that only a millennial can exude. After talking to him about everything from being robbed to having split personalities and the current state of young Black America, it’s obvious that if his rhymes don’t earn him success, his charisma and wit will.
Catch Denzel live in New York City on Friday, October 24 at Webster Hall for the Move Forward Music x Pigeons & Planes-presented show.
Who are you listening to?
Lil Herb. That boy raw. I saw Lil Bibby live at SXSW, he did his motherfucking thing. I seen him twice in one day. I seen him in the morning because we both had to go talk to Sway, then at SXSW my show was upstairs his show was downstairs. I killed my show upstairs then came downstairs just to watch his show.
What’s your label situation?
I don’t have a label. I’m doing everything independently right now.
Not being on a label and performing at SXSW five times at 19, that’s got to feel great.
To me it’s just shocking. Niggas who you don’t expect to know you, know your ass. Other up-and-coming rappers, other big rappers that you expect not to know you, know you. I don’t like to call them fans. I call them people that believe in you. I believed in them first, then when I started doing my thing, they started noticing a nigga.
[Yells “what’s up!” to someone in the background]
Sorry, I’m walking down the street right now.
Where are you at?
I’m on 207 coming from my crib on 32nd ave walking to another friend’s crib.
So you came home straight from touring and now you’re kicking it as usual?
Yeah, I’m kicking it as usual. I still stay in the hood, don’t nobody know that, but yeah, I still stay in the hood. I walk around with no problems. If I get killed by somebody that’s known in the hood and he gets caught, he’s gonna be known as fuck nigga of the year. People believe in me, that’s why niggas haven’t robbed me now. I almost got robbed the other day, but my homie who was in the car with us, he knew the niggas who was about to rob me so he stopped them from robbing me. He was like, “No, I know them,” so we were good and they left.
Were you in a part of the hood that you didn’t know? How did that happen?
The shocking part about that shit was, I wasn’t even in the hood when that shit happened. It was just hood niggas in a suburban area.
You don’t have to be in the hood to get robbed anymore.
You don’t have to be in the hood to get robbed anymore, that’s the thing now. I was talking to my homie and he said make sure you know where you are and your surroundings because if that would have happened, my homeboy is real big under that shirt so shit would have got real, real quick. You never know what could’ve happened.
Your music is a representation of what’s going on right now. With that being said, where do you see yourself in five years?
Truthfully, I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next five years. Shit just happens on a day-to-day basis. That shit that happened the other day, that was just niggas that like to rob. I was thinking that I could’ve got got, but hey, that shit didn’t happen.
Do you feel like you are living a double life?
Of course. I live more than a double life honestly. I have so many personalities, I live more than a double life. Not like schizophrenia or anything like that, but I think that shit could lead to schizophrenia. If you create more than one person in your mind, you could be schizophrenic as fuck. I create characters in my mind and shit and then portray them into my music. When I was working on Planet Shrooms, I had to act like Denny Cascade, I had to actually become him and that ended up getting me pussy and shit.
Is Denny Cascade a mixture of characteristics from people you know or characters from movies? Where does the inspiration come from?
No, not even from people I’ve seen in movies. You know how people have a soundtrack to their lives? Music that shapes their whole world and everything around them? I just listen to a whole lot of hippie shit. Then when Denny Cascade was born, I created that track off an acid trip. Then after that I just ran with it. I made that song Denny Cascade on acid. After I got done with the album I was just thinking about Denny Cascade.
When did you record Planet Shrooms?
I recorded it in one day. We were just making simple beats, but it was coming out good. Then I met up with Freebase who is Chris from Metro Zu and I was like, “Yo let’s make some shit for Planet Shrooms.” We brought a big bag of weed, the dude who sold us the weed hooked us up. We chilled for a day or two. We were in Florida. We worked on all the beats together, then we recorded most of it off an iPhone then we took it to Mark, he picked the ones that he liked. The other ones we just kept in a vault.
Where is Planet Shrooms?
Planet Shrooms is the thirteenth rock, in another galaxy.
The only thing I can hear is “Slum Beautiful” playing.
You think about “Slum Beautiful” when you think about me saying that Planet Shrooms is the thirteenth rock in another galaxy? That’s hard.
I was reading an interview where you named Outkast as a huge influence on your music.
They were, there was not one ear in my house that was not listening to Outkast.
Who else were you listening to?
Goodie Mob, Young Jeezy’s Thug Motivation because my brother used to play that shit. Dedication 2, Tupac. I was listening to a lot of shit when I was younger, Big L and shit. My brother Mook was listening to Bob Marley, my homie William was putting me up on game about reggae before he passed away. In Miami you can listen to a lot of shit, reggae down to reggaeton, Latino music, there are a lot of different ethnicities. I grew up listening to a lot of shit but mainly in the house is was just rap and R&B.
What artist do you have the most verses memorized?
It have to be out of André and Goodie Mob back when Cee-Lo was in it.
[Raps Cee-Lo’s verse from Goodie Mob’s “Goodie Bag”]
First of all, I stand a little more than five feet tall
But we can still brawl nigga, I ain’t scared at all
I guess you niggas don’t know or can’t see
That it ain’t even wise stepping to me incorrectly
But yet still when niggas feel they can deal
I will split your ass up for real, ’cause we the maniacs
With the chunky goodie sacks, so I don’t carry an ax
But I still swing low with the lumber jacks
Tracks are being made by Organo-I-Z-E
Why we cooling in the shade
Ain’t getting paid
I remember Dedication 2 Lil Wayne was just ripping shit on this track called “Dedication 2.”
[Raps]
Wake up motherfuckers it’s Weezy, you got a problem?
Heads to them Katrina victims, we still mobbin’
Shiny black coupe at night look like a goblin
AK on the back seat
No Ceilings was raw too, No Ceilings was better than everything else.
Now that you are making music as a rapper, do you still listen to new rappers?
Yeah, of course, because you have to be aware. I listen to Robb Bank$, not only because he is a South Florida native but that’s my homeboy I listen to him frequently. I listen to most South Florida rappers.
How do you feel about the N-word rapped back to you by white people?
I don’t give a fuck as long as they are not saying “nigger” aggressively, then I’d have to kick some ass. I mean, don’t make it a habit but I’m cool about it. I’m sure white people were doing that to Tupac when he was doing concerts.
Your music reminds me of Tupac in the sense that he would make his music fresh and dope but it was like a social commentary—telling people what’s going on in the hood, screaming for truth. Do you feel any responsibility to do that or is it something you would have been doing regardless?
Something I would have been doing regardless, no question. I say real shit and know how to portray stories of real shit. Most of the stories happened to me, some I know have happened and some could happen, that’s why I keep rapping different ways every time.
Is that what can be expected from Planet Shrooms?
Of course. Planet Shrooms is dedicated to my friend Tiara, she died two days after I chilled with her. She was murdered. I went to her wake, but I couldn’t even go to her funeral because I had to do a show the next day. But when her birthday came around I went to her grave.
Can you elaborate on why Planet Shrooms is dedicated to her?
Me and her are alike. We knew each other since middle school and she was also an Aquarius. We adapt and we like listening to new shit as long as it’s not garbage. So from that perspective, from one Aquarius to another, I know she’s going to like this shit and she would bump it.
Okay, so it’s music for her more than dedicated to her.
Exactly. I’m dropping two tapes the same day. I’m dropping Planet Shrooms and 32 Zel.
When will that be?
I don’t know, I haven’t planned it out yet I’m not going to limit myself because if I do it’s only going to fuck me up.
What does 32 Zel stand for?
32 Avenue Denzel Curry. In Florida, in Carol City, niggas go by four-seven this or three-seven that. I stay on three-two so I’m three-two Zel. My brother is three-two Mook.
Have people in Florida been doing that or is that a new thing?
No, we have been doing it. Most people do it but I’m bringing the newer generation of Miami to the forefront. This just shows the nitty down to the gritty Carol City shit. I gotta really show it cause Ross ain’t doing it, so I’m going to do it. Ross did do it back then when he was representing, but now it’s time for me to represent, to bring it to the forefront so it can spark another mind and they’ll do the same shit. I’m dedicating this tape to my brother who recently passed away. I’ve seen a lot of shit, I’ve seen niggas shooting in McDonalds and shit. I’ve seen a lot of shit man, throughout my whole life.
Do you have nightmares?
Hell no. Why would I be scared? I know that there are places out here that are worse than Carol City so I’m not even tripping.
You are not scared of anything?
I fear God. If my time comes, my time comes. I say fuck everything else. Don’t get me wrong, I’m kind of afraid to die, but hey, if it happens the shit happens. I’m going to try my best to avoid it but once that day comes and I know that I can’t avoid it, I’m just going to accept it.
That’s a profound thought to have for someone who’s only 19. Why do you think you have that? Is it because you have seen so much death around you?
I’ve seen so much death in my family in only a few months that, it’s to the point where if I go, I go. Fuck it. If it’s my time it’s my time. I got to at least make an impact before I go, that’s when God will take me.
I was reading this interview that you did and you said, “Niggas need to learn how to stick together and learn that at the end of the day, we’re a minority and they want us to do this shit. They want us to fuck up!” Now that you see the problem, what’s the solution?
Every problem has a fucking solution but I don’t know this one. I think that if everyone settled their differences, right then and there and scrap that shit out and be dead with it that’s it. Real niggas need to fight that shit out.
As opposed to what?
As opposed to shooting niggas. Fight that shit out. Niggas don’t have to take out guns and shit. I talk about guns a lot in my music because that’s what I was raised around, but my dad taught us to throw hands first. If you throw hands that shows you are not pussy and if you get beat, that’s that. You can go home. If someone can’t go home and accept that they lost a fight, what does that tell you about them?
Have you ever lost a fight?
Hell no. I never lost a fight a day in my life.
With N64 already out and Planet Shroom and 32 Zel on the way, what are you inspired by to keep rapping?
The people who want to see me succeed. You got people who want to see me fall now. Soon as I’m successful, that’s a blow to them. You kill them with success.
In the long run, what do you want to do?
I want to do more than rap. After I’ve said what I have to say rapping I’m going on to do different shit, keep my money and keep building it, work behind the scenes and help other people come up. I can’t just be out here rapping, I know that one day I’m going to be played out.
