The genre of Soundcloud rap has seen a myriad of successful artists emerge through that platform and era. A pioneer and one of the most impressive has to be Denzel Curry.
Beginning with poetry and releasing his first mixtape in 2011 at the age of 16, the Florida-born rapper has gone from strength to strength, and after releasing his sixth album at only 30 years old, he’s continuing to ride the success train with his Mischievous South Tour.
Arriving at a packed-out O2 Academy on the hottest day of the year, there was a feeling in the air from the moment the venue doors opened. Bemz opened the evening with a set filled with socially conscious lyrics and party anthems, and a heaping dose of gratitude for the already energetic Glasgow crowd.
Next up was DJ Babyface Gio, who proceeded to turn up the heat in the already sweltering room. Mixing old school and new modern hip hop, the crowd were at their peak for the main event to come. Shortly thereafter, Denzel Curry burst onto the stage to a bellowing crowd who’d already given up on any form of comfort for the evening ahead. Opening with ‘ACT A DAMN FOOL’ and following up with the highly energetic ‘Ricky’, Curry was already setting the tone for what his shows are all about.
In what felt like an absolutely breakneck performance, Curry went from song to song with a constant freneticism that refused to give the crowd any time to breathe, not that anyone in the venue was complaining. What is truly impressive is the absolute confidence that Curry carries himself with. It never comes across as cocky but always as assured and humble as he moved flawlessly through his fast-paced songs, never needing a break longer than a couple of words to the Glasgow crowd.
In what was already an impressive set, Curry took the energy to another level with his penultimate song of the night, his breakout hit ‘Ultimate’. Counting down the crowd for the drop of the song, the room absolutely erupted with Curry lapping up every ounce of energy thrown at him. Darting from side to side he belted out the verses, even proceeded to do the final verse of the song in complete a cappella with no backing track.
After leaving the stage, Curry returned for one final hit out with a cover of ‘JPEGULTRA’ to the delight of the crowd. Leaving sweat soaked and satisfied, Curry thanked the audience one last time. In what is already his seventh headline tour, the sky is truly the limit for this artist. Stadiums are probably the next step, but a part of me feels like the way to see the real Denzel Curry is in these smaller, more claustrophobic venues. The presence and the energy is electric, and Big Ultra is certainly not going away any time soon.
Photos by Joe Paolella
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