The South Is Alive: A Night With Denzel Curry
Self-proclaimed “Black Metal Terrorist”; Florida Rapper/Songwriter Denzel Curry is a man of many sounds and many names. While he himself may not be “Black Metal,” it’s hard to deny his leniency on the sounds of hardcore and metal influences through his unique rapping style that can be described as nothing short of aggressive.
Displayed in Detroit on April 24th at Royal Oak Music Theater, Denzel Curry played his music to a rambunctious crowd full of mosh pits, crowd surfing, and over-the-top crowd/performer interaction that for rap, is really as punk as it can get. First active in 2011, Curry first displayed his talent through the hip-hop collective “Raider Klan.” The collective boasts members such as Space Ghost Purp, Xavier Wulf, Black Kray, and many others. In 2012, Raider Klan was highlighted by ‘The Guardian‘ as one of the leaders bringing back Hip Hop Crews. The basis of this collective consisted of a dirtier sound than others in the 2010’s, opting for a more lo-fi and grittier sound with not-so-subtle influences from emo, hardcore, and horrorcore.
While originally created in Carol City, Florida, the group’s sound would take heavy inspiration from Memphis, Tennessee’s early hip hop group Three 6 Mafia. Curry would begin to separate himself from Raider Klan by leaving the group in 2013 and embarking on a solo career, one that aimed to continue the Southern sound he once occupied, but with a much broader sonic scope, greater elaboration upon his grunge roots, and higher fidelity.
Curry would find success through his breakout single “Ultimate,” which was released on his first double EP, “32 Zel/Planet Shrooms.” The song would become a staple on the video hosting service Vine in 2016 and spread across the internet like wildfire. This led to the song gaining an RIAA Gold certification and well over 200 million streams on Spotify to date.
Under his new popularity, he would continue to release EPs and Mixtapes on Soundcloud and other streaming services, along with five highly successful studio albums. Maintaining a consistent level of infamy in the rap world, he would also delve into covering Rage Against The Machine’s hit single “Bulls On Parade” for Australian radio station Triple J in 2019, a cover that many fans of Denzel and Rage Against The Machine describe as not only true to the original, but also furthering a display of his mastercraft of the punk/rap sound.
His highly successful career would bring the world to his latest mixtape release, “King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2”, and a tour that would follow. David Crone, writing for AllMusic, would state in his review of the album, “Taking notes from his original Raider Klan sound, the versatile MC uses this mixtape to return to styles he’s used throughout his career, evoking a specific nostalgia for the sound he first came up with.” On the night of April 24th, 2025, the attendees at Royal Oak Music Theater would see this nostalgia firsthand.
His over-an-hour-long performance delved into his latest release along with hits from his previous releases such as “TA13OO”, “32 Zel/Planet Shrooms”, “Nostalgia 64”, and “ZUU,” among other projects. During the run time of his set, the most notable thing was his interaction with himself and the crowd. Consistently throughout his set, he would command the crowd to join him in screaming the lyrics alongside him, breach the social wall between him and the crowd by leaping from stage to barrier, and offer the mic into the front row of the venue. While on stage, he displayed an almost unparalleled level of energy for a rapper, at times literally leaping across the stage.
The energy in the crowd was alive, during songs like “Ricky”, “Ultimate”, and “SUMO / ZUMO”, mosh pits broke out in the middle of the crowd that were a combination of push pits, a wall of death, and concert goers running into each other like a pinball machine. During the set, Curry also did a handful of covers and mashups, one of which was most notable was a mashup of Curry’s song “Diet” and Kendrick Lamar’s “TV Off”. This mashup done by X user “@spectre0799” gained attention from Curry himself when he added the song to his setlist mid-tour. During this mashup, the crowd was at its peak with fan interaction, an active mosh pit with almost the entire pit section jumping up and down with arms raised as high as they could go. A special moment that, while not outshining the rest of the show, was easily the most memorable.
One theme stayed consistent throughout the night: Denzel wasn’t there just to show he knows a thing or two about southern rap, but also that he intends to pioneer it. From the name of the tour, to his constant homage to Florida with 3d rendered scenes that reminisced on certain visual aspects of his early aesthetics, Curry wants you to know what he reps and how much his come up is still ingrained into him. He is certainly more than what he once was, but the south will never leave the untamed beast that is Denzel Curry.
Stream his latest mixtape ‘King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2,’ the rest of his discography on all streaming services, and be sure to catch him on his next run through of Detroit.