Artists on record : Denzel Curry, Kiddo Marv, Rick Ross, Ice Billion Berg, Sam Sneak, Playthatboizay, Tay Keith
Denzel Curry : ZUU Year Released : 2019 Produced by Charlie Heat, Fabio Aguilar, Keanu Beats, Tay Keith, FnZ, Mickey De Grand IV, Ronny J and Rugah Rahj Label: Loma Vista Price Range: $45-55 AUD Speed: 33 1/3RPM Album Before : TA13OO (2018) Album After : Melt My Eyez, See Your Future (2022) Further Listening : Unlocked : 2020 mixtape with Kenny Beats LP : 1 x Black LP Mood for enjoying: This record by Denzel Curry is a really fun listen and can be used for a variety of moods. Could be used as a pump up track on a run or after a bad day at work. Track Listing:
LP Side A
ZUU - 2:06
RICKY - 2:27
WISH - 3:12
BIRDZ - 3:24
AUTOMATIC - 3:02
Side B SPEEDBOAT - 3:42
BUSHY B INTERLUDE - 1:05
YOO - 1:04
CAROLMART - 2:44
SHAKE 88 - 2:27
BLACKLAND 66.6 - 0:49
P.A.T - 3:00
What's in the Sleeve ? Gatefold with 1 x Black LP in paper/poly sleeve and large photo of Denzel Curry in the middle instead of lyrics.
"First they mockin', now they hoppin'. All on the wave, 'cause they see me poppin'. Big-big large pockets, they start flockin'. Here's what I say when they ass keep knockin' ~ RICKY - Side A
Welcome to Spin #9-Denzel Curry : ZUU
Straight out of Carol City this week with Denzel Curry's album 'ZUU'! I love rap/hip hop, especially when going for a run because the beats seem to match each stride you take. It's very motivating and uplifting and 'ZUU' would have to be one of those albums I came across and loved instantly. I can remember exactly where I bought this one from because it was only available in a store roughly 50 minutes away from where we lived at the time. The trouble was I had our son who would have been between 6-8 months old and planning the trip with him around feeding times was fun. We basically got there, walked in and purchased and then had a bottle of milk before making the trip back home. #vinyladventureswithdaddy.
For this review I once again used the set up in our front room on the Marshall Woburn II (check it out if your looking for a decent speaker with Bluetooth capability and no compromised sound). The Audio Technica turntable has also been a really nice addition and didn't break the bank getting it. I have listened to 'ZUU' through my headphones before and would have reviewed this time through them but our daughter wanted to listen while she played on her blanket. If you haven't heard of Denzel Curry before reading this then I hope that you will enjoy this fun and easy flowing record. Sit back as the stylus gets dropped on this one and soak some R'nR!
Drop the Needle (of course means place the stylus nicely on your wax):
I place the LP on the Audio Technica BT turntable and make sure the speed is at
33 1/3RPM before pressing the start button. The platter starts spinning and the tonearm slowly moves across to the outer edge of 'ZUU'. The first track on Side A is called 'ZUU' and yes everything is in capitals on the track listing. Curry sings "305, we in the house" with his voice all distorted before the song flows into a sample style intro. Once the beat comes in and Curry is singing "Boy, We comin' out the Zuu, Zuu, Zuu" you will start to see yourself bopping along. The pressing has no issues at all during playback and I turned this one up to hear the quality in production (But not too loud, little ears are around). If you have a really good set up with large Bass, then this will not disappoint.
It's a nice start to the album that flows into the second song, 'RICKY'. If this was regarded as one of the strongest albums in 2019, then this is probably the strongest song. The flow between the songs with the small skits always works well on rap and hip hop albums (see Kendrick Lamar and NWA albums for reference).
'RICKY' has some of the catchiest lyrics on this album and I do find myself singing them quite a lot. This song is about Curry growing up and the advice he received from his parents. The rest of the album is a homage to his hometown and you can feel the passion and pride coming through on every track. This track has plenty of replay value and it doesn't stop there. I just wish that whilst playing this record that we had a bigger set of speakers that we could turn up to the max. Check out the music video for 'RICKY' here.
Song three, 'WISH' featuring Kiddo Marv starts playing before you even realise with the quickness of this record. The beat and clarity of vocals once again shows the production quality of this pressing. Just sitting back and letting the big bass beat fill the room through the Marshall Woburn II speaker. I can visualise driving down the main streets of Miami in a convertible with this song playing loudly, very enjoyable. I was looking into up and coming rappers a couple of years ago and stumbled across his earlier stuff (Imperial and TA13OO to mention some) which really impressed me. I feel that with every album Curry is providing a more focused and polished product that makes him one of the best in modern times.
The next song, 'BIRDZ' featuring Rick Ross changes the tone of the album again with a darker and heavier use of samples and beats. It's more aggressive and you can hear Curry really giving it this one his all. "Don't start none, won't be none. Don't speak, don't hear, and don't see none. Only fear one, but now I fear none. And if you ain't God, well, I don't give a fuck". The finish to the song has a phone line / matrix feel to it and before you know it the start of 'AUTOMATIC' has started playing in your ears. This song has some memorable lyrics that made me laugh the first time that I heard this song ,"Word around town you were licked like a stamp huh". It's a song that wraps up Side A really nicely before having to flip the LP over to Side B. So far the record is as good as I remember and can't wait to press play on the first song on Side B.
I press start and watch the tonearm move across to the outside of Side B. 'SPEEDBOAT' starts with another skit before Curry rolls in with his catchy chorus, "Big talk, speedboat (Speedboat). Pray to God, I don't get repoed (Repoed).Didn't go to college for a free throw (Swish). People getting killed through the peep hole (Blah). Have your money up before you go to war (Hmm). Put the mask on like a luchador (Hmm). My dawg didn't make it to 21, so I gotta make it past 24". As I listen to this it feels like Curry is at the top of his game and putting out some effortless songs. The only negative so far is that the record feels kind of short but I will revisit this at the end.
The second track on Side B starts playing now and its called 'BUSHY B INTERLUDE'. A small snippet of music not big enough for a song but obviously Curry wanted to have it on the record. It actually flows well into the next skit which is called 'YOO'. Its pretty funny and not unheard of putting skits back to back on a rap/hip hop record. It's a recording of a conversation where the person on the other line responds with 'YOO' to everything. Probably the strongest song on this side is 'CAROLMART' which has a feature from Ice Billion Berg. The beats and use of vocal distortion (think Alvin the chipmunk style). Curry uses this on quite a few of his tracks to great effect. The beat is catchy and rolls nicely into the next song on Side B. (Which is flying by).
'SHAKE 88' feat Sam Sneak has Curry mixing up his flow with some stunted lyrics, fast flow and distorted voice used again. "Here's a little something 'bout a bitch like me. Rule number one, don't touch my weave. If I ain't pass, don't puff my weed. Niggas with money is all I need". Once again the song is over before you know it and 'BLACKLAND 66.6" starts like someone is playing with different radio stations and trying to find something to listen to. The skit works well because it makes the listener feel like we are listening to the radio in our cars waiting for the next beat to drop.
That next beat is the last song on the record, 'P.A.T' featuring PlayThatBoiZay. It starts and straightaway you can feel that it is a lot darker than anything on this record. Curry has a very raw style on occasion that I feel needs to be used on more songs. He used it well on his previous album 'TA13OO' and it features rarely on 'ZUU'. Not a huge fan of how this one ends and also the ending of the record. The use of the bass beats and heavy distortion works well but wished that Curry was the one singing last on this song instead of PlayThatBoiZay yelling "Riot, riot you don't want no violence". After looking back at Side A, I feel the start of the album was stronger. How about you as first time listeners or long time fans of Denzel Curry. Do you feel that Side A or Side B was stronger? Also have a guess at the runtime of this LP A) 35:07
B) 45:33
C) 29:02
D) 33:14
Ridiculously, its C and doesn't quite make the half an hour mark for runtime. I guess Denzel thought you can just keep replaying it over and over again. Hopefully his next album is a bit longer seeing the cost of vinyl isn't coming down anytime soon.
I really hope that you find some R'nR in these spins and if you liked 'ZUU' by Denzel Curry then check out his EP with Kenny Beats called 'UNLOCKED'. Don't forget to give this record a listen if you didn't get a chance today and add it while you can to your collection. Give us a like on our social pages and get involved in the Mid-Week Sneak Peek by putting a guess in.
Until our next Spin, Be Kind on the roads and Be Kind to your Wax!