EP Review: Unlocked 1.5
Denzel Curry is one of the most “can’t miss” artists in the world right now, genre be damned. Curry has not had a sub-par release since Zel/Planet Shrooms and even that has its supporters, along with one of the most viral songs of 2016 in “Ultimate.” He made his way onto the scene through his voracious rapping style that matched the similarly aggressive-sounding production. Heavy bass accompanied loud, bombastic drums. However, Curry showed a different side of himself with his biggest release to date, TA13OO. The album saw him take a successful wack at a concept album that explored three different sides of his personality. With themes of fame, topics considered taboo, and growing up poor only to become wealthy, Curry showed us his potential in a truly masterful way. Since the 2018 release, he has put out four projects. The weakest of these is a twelve-minute mix-tape that you can’t even find on streaming. Even that mix-tape is still a very fun listen that does a lot of the things Denzel fans know and love him for.
We gather here today though, to talk about that fourth release. The project up for discussion here is Unlocked 1.5. This project is a remix of the original Unlocked project that sees Denzel Curry team up with producer Kenny Beats. The duo dropped an eight-song LP of pure fire in the pre-Covid times of February 2020. The EP landed at the number three spot on my favorite projects of the year. It's a short, hard-hitting, dynamic piece of music that made my skin tingle and my balls quiver. This updated version of that EP acts as a new and all-inclusive version of that. There are no new tracks, in fact, one of the original tracks did not make it onto this album, instead, there are two versions of the same song in its stead. Because of all that, this review is going to be structured a little differently. Instead of ranking these songs on their own and evaluating them as such, I want to compare them to what came before. If the songs all got worse and more boring then this project would have to be considered a blatant failure. Spoiler Alert: they didn’t and it isn’t.
The intro track from Unlocked is the absentee song from this album so we can skip that. The first track on Unlocked 1.5 is “So.Incredible.pkg [Robert Glasper Version feat. Smino].” The track takes the almost tropical sounds of the original and substitutes it for an unhealthy amount of groove. There is this heavenly vocal sample that leads the pacing of the song. Glasper does the things he is best at and brings this jazzy feeling to the track. There is a Smino verse added onto the back end of the song and it fits perfectly. Smino brings it and the intro track shows that improvements can be made from the original.
The next track we get, because this EP is completely reorganized, is “Track07 [Georgia Anne Muldrow Version feat. Arlo Parks].” The original version of this track was one of the lowlights for me, as it was essentially just an interlude, but not one that felt important. This track takes that one, makes it weirder, adds an Arlo Parks verse, and that's about it. The vocals are more messed with and the beat is more memorable but overall this track still does nothing for me.
Next, we get the best track on either album. “‘Cosmic.’4a [The Alchemist Version feat. Joey BadA$$]” gets a complete Alchemist treatment. The beat becomes this spacy, glitchy masterpiece that seems to flow through the track as effortlessly as either rapper going over top of it. The beat is almost eerie in a way that accentuates the lyrics perfectly. As for the Joey verse, it’s just an extra layer of perfect. He matches Denzel’s energy perfectly and he’s just an excellent rapper. The verse single-handedly made me go look up rumors for his next release because part of me forgot just how brilliant he is.
Now we have to go over the two different versions of “Take_it_Back_v2.” One version is remixed by Charlie Heat, the other is done by GOD MODE 950. One of these two versions is very good, the other is kind of just here. Charlie Heat and Denzel Curry have worked together before have made some very fun music. That trend continues on his remix of “Take_it_Back_v2.” The glitchy lead of the original is replaced by this chopped-off vocal sample in the new version. The drums hit harder and Charlie clearly knows the types of beats that work best for a Curry track. The GOD MODE 950 version is a little wilder, has some very unique vocal manipulations on it, and it's interesting, but for me, it feels superfluous on the album. It is by no means bad, but it doesn’t do enough to warrant two versions of the same track on the album when one is vastly superior.
The next track on the new album is probably the worst. “Pyro [Sango Leak feat. Kenny Mason]” just misses the mark. Denzel’s verses on this track were so hard-hitting and on the original, the beat matches this. The booming drums paired with the crazy bass made this song my favorite off the original album. The new version is completely muted and the beat just feels slapped on. The beat is smooth and spacious and fits the vibe of the new project a bit better but it completely misses the mark. The beat is too clean for these lyrics. That being said the Kenny Mason verse that got slapped on the end of the track is actually very good and if Mason made a whole song over the beat with a new Denzel verse I would be all over it.
“Lay_Up.m4a- Jay Versace Version” is the penultimate track to discuss here as the GOD MODE 950 remix of “Take_it_Back_v2” is the actual last track. The song is good but ultimately falls short of expectations. The beat is again too clean. However, this time it’s also just not very interesting. The beat lacks any feeling or substance in the way that most beats Curry picks do. I really have nothing else to say about this barely two-minute track. It’s just kind of boring.
Lastly comes the “DIET_[Feat. Benny the Butcher],” and this song is killer. Thought that's because it is just the original song with a Benny feature on the front end. This is the only song on the album without a completely new beat. The only change is the replacement of Denzel’s opening verse with Benny’s. That being said, the original song cracked my top ten songs of 2020 list and this maybe makes it better so I am not complaining. The Griselda stable absolutely cannot miss right now. Benny is my favorite of the bunch and I want the rumors of a joint album with the two to start here. Denzel Curry and Benny the Butcher together in the studio for one month just cranking out a nine-track project is my new wet dream.
I adored the original Unlocked. It made my heart happy in a time that was very poor for me, not to mention the impending pandemic. I have nothing but fond memories of the way this album made me feel. To have a new one was completely unnecessary, but I will never turn down new Denzel Curry music, especially when it comes attached to some of these names. The biggest downfall of this EP is that it is simply not the original. It misses some of the harder punches that made the first one so great. For that, Unlocked 1.5 has a ceiling. As much as I want to give this album a better grade than I am going to give it, I can only justify giving it something that is above average. Again, this album is still good and deserves many listens, but barring the three tracks here, I would just rather listen to the original.
The Grade: B-