No false modesty here: »It’s my best album, period.« That’s what Denzel Curry, sympathetic figure of contemporary US hip hop, proclaimed shortly before releasing his fifth record entitled »Melt My Eyez See Your Future«. And because the good Lord is particularly fond of loud-mouthed sympathisers, Curry is completely right in his statement. Never before has an album by the rapper sounded as balanced, thoughtful and perfectly produced as this one. Which allows Denzel Curry to shift his style in an even more relaxed way than usual. In »Troubles« he just pounds his lines into space, »Walkin«, by contrast, blows out most of the words into the world at an exaggerated speed but far more mechanically and in »Melt Session #1« Curry’s lines just flow over the beat. The sound as it is, is owed by the world to two important influences. Denzel Curry named them himself during a Q&A: Soulquarians and Kanye West’s »Graduation«. (And Outkast, of course, remain an important reference in Curry’s sound.) There are also set pieces from Japanese pop culture and references to De La Soul on »Walkin« and MF Doom on »Sanjuro« do their bit to create the overall impression. However, »Melt My Eyez See Your Future« is neither a genuflection nor an homage. Influences are just influences here. Rather, the 27-year-old US rapper moves in the direction of the sound his guests create like Robert Glasper or Thundercat. In doing so, though, he draws them into his narrative. The sound of this album pulsates like this and lives, sloshes and rumbles, is simply there and sustains. Denzel Curry talks about himself and the world, about the USA, about life. With these fourteen tracks, Curry proves that he is currently one of the most exciting artists in the genre. Also because of his variation in style. The way his lines merge with the sound – hardly any other rapper can do that these days. »Melt My Eyez See Your Future« is his best album to date. With potential like his, it could well be that he will claim the same again on his sixth album.
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Aigner’s Inventory: September 2022
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