Our newest feature, Rap Song of the Week, breaks down and talks about the rap and hip-hop tracks we just can’t get out of our head each week. Check out the full playlist here. For our first installment, Denzel Curry returns with his first solo release in over a year.
With one of the most versatile and technical flows out there, Denzel Curry has a multitude of ways to approach production like G.O.O.D. Music affiliate Charlie Heat’s lowrider beat on “The Game.” Choosing a carefully measured flow so listeners can hear every word, the Carol City rapper assesses the current state of hip-hop culture and tips off his contemporaries to lessons he’s mastered over time.
Zel comes in hot from the start, setting the record straight to people who call him a sellout (“I told the hood that I’ma come back, just get me out first”) while pointing to the hard work it took to make it out of the hood. The former Raider Klan member continues by urging rappers to avoid the trappings of a flashy lifestyle and focus on their music first. “We lookin’ up to junkies and shit, then mimic they lives/ N****s go and get the some new tats, wear the same chains,” he raps. “You don’t need to brag or dress up when all your shit flame.”
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However, if there’s one main takeaway from “The Game,” it’s uplifting each other. Denzel makes a call to end petty beef and support women in hip-hop like Megan Thee Stallion and Noname, while stating the obvious: there’s room for all types of rappers. Despite the song’s being recorded for the Madden ’22 soundtrack, Curry makes every second count.
For now, it should keep fans satisfied until he drops his fifth studio album, Melt My Eyez, See Your Future, expected to arrive later this year.
