Miami’s Denzel Curry has been making all kinds of noise ever since he branched out of the infamous Raider Klan collective founded by producer/rapper Spaceghostpurrp. The young rap prodigy has dealt with a lot in his life, from close family and friends losing their lives to the streets, to eventually making the inevitable decision to move out of his parents’ household to further pursue his music career. With his remarkable debut album, Nostalgic 64, receiving nothing but positive critical and fan acclaim, his follow-up double-EP, 32 Zel / Planet Shrooms, seems likely to render him even more attention.
Overall, Denzel has a good head on his shoulders. Alongside his C9 support system, the future truly seems glorious for this one. With that said, our meeting at his new C9 headquarters was insightful. Upon entering his home, I was not only greeted by the man himself and his two comrades (one of which was producer Ronny J—responsible for Curry’s biggest hit, “Threatz”), but his two AR-15 assault rifles—to which I was not-so-surprised to see after driving through this rough Broward neighborhood. Curry informed me of this need for protection in such an environment, by explaining that he was nearly robbed twice following his initial move-in. Despite that his exterior might be rough, Denzel is very grounded and earthly. He has a raw enthusiasm and genuine honesty that makes him special—and it’s evident throughout our talk.
Citrus Rap: Were your parents okay with the the song “Parents?”
Denzel: My dad thought it was funny. When I asked my mom what she thought, she said “It sounds good, but the way you are [in your music] is tyrannical—you sound like a tyrant when you’re rapping.” I’m like, “I’m a fuckin’ emperor,” [Laughs] When I die, I’m gonna become a dragon—a sexy dragon.
Fire-breathing, and all?
Hell nah, nigga, I’m just gonna be a dragon inhaling the fire—blowing smoke instead of fire!
What was it like moving out of your parents house?
I don’t know, I was just like, fuck it, I need to begin my life. It was right after the European tour. I took the initiative and told my dad I was moving out. That’s when me and Shane [his current roommate] was like, “Look, we finna move in together, get jobs, and pitch in to cover for rent until we’re on our feet.” That’s how it worked out.
So did you get a part-time job to pay rent?
Nigga, my job is my life! [Laughs]
If it’s safe to say that higher education is not foreseeable at this point for you, then what would have been your major if you did choose to attend college?
Probably art—but then I realized that I got kicked out of art school, so fuck that! I probably would’ve went to school for music engineering, or psychology. I’m pretty good at talking to people, whether you’re a gangster or nerd.
Good choices. Alright then, what’s it like rapping as a full-time profession?
It has its ups and downs: sometimes it can be stressful—you have to deal with release dates, managers, and things to say and not say. For instance, in this interview, if i say some stupid-ass shit, you’ll probably put it in the headlines, like, [in a jokingly dramatic voice] “Denzel Says, [blank],” totally disregarding everything that I said before. But yeah, the job can be demanding, but it can be fun at the same time.
These are facts. Don’t you find it less stressful having a team covering for you?
Hell yeah, I love Georgia peaches! [Laughs] I’m fuckin’ with you. But nah man, the whole team is great. Mark—that’s my day-one-nigga, you know what I’m saying? He pretty much helped mentor me and had the patience to sit with me and create albums and videos. He just keeps me organized. The team is just one energy within itself because everybody fucks with each other and there’s no disloyalty. Everyone will one hundred percent tell you how it is right to your face—straight up.
Who are some of these other guys on the C9 team, and what are they up to?
Well, we got Mike Dece, out in LA doing his thing, recording with Speak! and Mike G from OFWGKTA—he’s also the homie. Then, we got Yoshi [Thompkins]—he just dropped his latest single, “Gucci Mane.” If you didn’t hear that shit, listen to that shit. You have SDotBraddy working on Private Sessions. The only song he dropped from that was “Darius”, which was featuring me. JK The Reaper is working on Digital Tears right now. We have producers Ronny J, Poshtronaut, Rem, and I’m producing now, too.
You started producing?
Yeah, me and Freebase produced most of Planet Shrooms using Reason, sampling, and composing. Reason is the shit—it’s easy as fuck to use. I want this to be special for the fans.
Tell us about the other people behind the scenes making moves for you, like Mark?
I can’t tell you—only C9 knows. Another person behind the scenes is God. I think most of this shit wouldn’t be possible without him. Now, I don’t know about other spiritual entities helping God, but there probably is something happening there.
You have stated in your music that your generation is lost. How so?
Is this one of those statements that’s gonna bite me in the ass? Well, I’m not gonna beat around the bush. Man, I feel like people aren’t stepping their game up. Our generation hasn’t come up yet. It’s going to get to the point to where we all came up, but right now, the people before us are still trying to hold on. That’s why I feel like we’re lost.
Watching you perform had me noticing the amount of fans that find themselves on your stage. Your reaction to this is not that of an Action Bronson or Afroman. Explain what your thoughts are on the whole fan-stage-intrusion craze?
[Regarding Afroman’s recent incident] Me personally, I wouldn’t hit a girl myself—I love women. [The fans] want to get body slammed. I experienced that effect. Like, after I jump-kicked someone on stage, everyone wanted to get jump-kicked off stage. I was like, damn—I don’t want to get sued. When someone comes on stage, I just throw ‘em back—the crowd will catch ‘em. If they don’t, they are fucked up.
You definitely tend to have some wild mosh pits at your shows—especially if there isn’t a stage at the venue. Did you ever envision having mosh pits at your shows or did that just manifest itself? Were you or are you a fan of metal, punk, or hardcore?
It just happened. Maybe because I go so hard when rapping live. I just turn into a totally different person, and that’s the result. When it’s stuff like “Denny Cascade,” they don’t mosh— they just vibe. But shit like “Threatz” and “Certified,” you could say, is punk rock to a certain degree. I just bought Metallica’s Ride The Lightning and Slayer’s South of Heaven. I used to watch Metalocolypse when I was younger. I would say Odd Future was also a major influence. They broke open the door—then Purrp came in. It was that same energy.
Do you feel like that energy is what bridges the gap between the coasts? I feel like the midwest cats have struggled with that, but you guys seem pretty successful with it.
It is kind of a bridge, though. It doesn’t matter what realm I’m in, I just bring that energy. I just feel like the South Florida sound needed to be more developed. It was always there—the steez, the style, the rapping. It just needed that development.
How do you plan on compensating for larger crowds you’ll be taking on in the future—as far as fan-artist intimacy is concerned?
Oh, I know I can pull that shit off. That’s what I’m working towards. It doesn’t phase me anymore. The shy stage is over. That was 2011, early 2012—then 2013 came, and it was that time to show my worth. I’m ready to do stadiums and arenas. I don’t care, people still gon’ mosh, people still gon’ go crazy, people still gon’ crowd-surf, people still gon’ vomit, people still gon’ get punched, people still will leave bloody, and it will still look awesome. I know the moshing is awesome and everything, but to keep it G with you, I want to do more shit for the females. I don’t wanna be that nigga performing for Garcia Sausages. We need some cats in there man. I thought about it—and it motivated me to do “Ice Age.” Women would come up to me and tell me that was their favorite song, because of the melody—and it’s a very straight-forward song. I don’t just make shit for niggas. You can’t put me in a box.
If you had to pick an instrument to master, what would it be?
Guitar—but that seems like the normal thing to play. I wanna learn percussion, too. Because I’m making beats now, I realized—everyone that’s tight at making beats has some form of music background.
You have toured with a lot of similar acts and peers of yours, but what about jumping on the road with a live band—or even recording with one?
Hell yeah! I wanna make a track and go on tour with Trash Talk, because I fuck with them!
Make it happen! You have also briefly mentioned that you partake in the use of marijuana. What is your preference?
I roll the loud. I prefer sativa. I like rolling with papers. Sometimes you gotta put a little Grabba Leaf in there. It will give you that harsh [flavor], but at the same time, it’ll all be okay. Joints over blunts.
Did you vote Yes on 2? Do you care about any legislation on the plant?
Fuck voting, hell no. First of all, why should I vote, when my vote just goes to the electoral college that only suggests that we get this person—and I might not even get the person I want in. Might as well say voting is a waste of time. When they legalize it, they’re just gonna tax it. That’s stupid as hell! I already get taxed for a fucking dub—a dub that possibly might be a dime!
If you were a rapper in 1998 with a deal in place with Nintendo to make an N64 video game, what would that look like?
Son, I will make the first ever Def Jam anime, nigga. Shit, I would have all my favorite rappers in there. It would be a mixture of Super Mario and Def Jam: Fight For New York. You end up in Harlem, you might have to battle Dipset, it’ll have a world with Busta Rhymes and shit. [Denzel proceeds to make a hilarious Busta Rhymes impression]
You spoke on throwing hands and fighting before, proclaiming that people should not use guns but rather throw hands and fist-fight it out. The problem I see with that is, these days you can realistically die in a fist fight – perhaps from head trauma from the way people tend to continually strike clearly passed-out defenseless opponents in the head. What are your thoughts on this?
I come from a fighting family. My brother who passed away was a fighter, and I never heard of him killing anyone in a fight. I’m not saying guns are the problem either, it’s the emotions. You should never shoot someone just because they want to fight you. People are sissies, man. Let them get the hate out and fade it out.
For Planet Shrooms, there is more of your Denny Cascade character displayed. How similar is the relationship between Denny Cascade and Denzel Curry to, say, a Madlib and Quasimoto?
Of course I heard Madlib, Madvillainy, and Quasimoto—I was just listening to Piñata—but I never really referenced it like that. It just happened. I was just like, “Yo, if I’m gonna be a character, I’d rather be this character.” I look at my idols, and they do that shit—like Outkast, for example. I always reference Outkast because I’m such a huge fan.
Have you had the chance to see Outkast live?
Nah, but I met Andre 3000, though. He was a cool guy.
Woah, what was that was that experience like for you?
It was epic. After I had a conversation with him, I just knew what to do. Then when I got home, I cried. I ain’t gonna front, like, nigga, I cried. I will tell this to anybody, bruh, because I’m not afraid to tell niggas, “Yeah, I cried when I met Andre 3000”. So-the-fuck-what? Travis Scott cried when he met Kanye West. Like, damn, you know what I’m saying? I felt like that was a huge part of my life. I asked him what kept him relevant, and he was like, “Yo, I just got bored with myself,” and I was like, “That’s it: you don’t have to stick to the same script.” He was like, “Nah, don’t be in a box.”
I literally can only imagine…so was he aware of you and your music?
I told him about one of the features I had for the tape, and it surprised him. He was like, “Oh shit, so, who are you?” I was like, “I’m Denzel Curry. You may not have heard of me now, but you will hear about me.”
Words by Christian H and Denzel Curry
Photos by Shawnee
