This wasn’t easy. Denzel just dropped one of the best albums of 2018, nearly every track
was great, and I’ve gotta try to narrow it down to a handful of picks for the best
songs. But I’ve managed to do it, so today that’s what we’re gonna talk about. If
you wanna see how my twin first reacted to this album, that will be linked in the description
below, as always we share the exact same thoughts on the album, almost like we’re the same
person. But with that being said, this is CDTVProductions, and let’s look at the best
songs from Denzel Curry’s TA13OO album.
7 - VENGEANCE | VENGEANCE (feat. JPEGMAFIA & ZillaKami)
Going into this track I didn’t know this combo would work so well, but oh my god everyone
on here killed it. Straight from the second the hook kicks in, you can tell this track
is just gonna be full of raw energy, and it doesn’t disappoint. Denzel comes in with
this maniacal delivery, JPEGMAFIA gives us a great verse, cynical as always and taking
a few more shots at Drake which is also fun, and ZillaKami definitely ramped up the anger
on here a notch or two, literally barking his lyrics by the end of his verse. It’s
a brutal track, and it’s great.
6 - BLACK METAL TERRORIST | 13 M T
This is easily one of the angriest tracks I’ve heard from Denzel, and the psychotic
energy he exudes here is insane. Just that contrast between the chorus of this track
and the verses makes it all the more explosive, going from Denzel rapping normally to him
suddenly firing out his aggression over some extremely heavy 808s. It’s really fitting
for this to be the final track too, it brings it full circle as the album starts pretty
positively but by this point it’s just fully descended into darkness. It’s a crazy, energetic
song, and it’s one that makes me really wanna see a Denzel concert at some point in
my life.
5 - CLOUT COBAIN | CLOUT CO13A1N
In terms of the message, this could honestly be the most important song on the entire album.
It speaks to the state of the rap industry, where most people have to portray a fake caricature
of themselves to gain some momentary fame. This can be seen everywhere
in rap, with people doing increasingly dumb stuff for some recognition because that’s
what people want, but Denzel also touches on the fact that this could be destructive
for the mental state of people chasing that fame. It’s a song that really covers the
struggles of fame, trying to achieve it, and struggling to trust people once you have it.
On top of that, it’s just a banger that shows Denzel’s versatility, as there’s
very little rapping throughout this track. This song looks like it’s doing big things
for Denzel’s career, and he genuinely deserves it.
4 - SUMO | ZUMO
This was the first single released from this project, so I thought I would’ve cooled
down on it by now, but if anything it’s a track I bump even more after the release
of the album. Thematically, this track is almost a more exaggerated and braggadocious
version of Cash Maniac, the track that it comes after. Denzel is just flexing on this
track, whilst preparing us for the harder sound of the tracks on act 2 of the album.
This track doesn’t quite reach the aggression levels of Black Metal Terrorist, but it’s
still insanely hard hitting. Denzel is right at home on that bassy, ruthless production,
delivering his lyrics in such a bloodthirsty way that it’s impossible to not bang your
head when you hear it.
3 - SIRENS | Z1RENZ (feat. J.I.D)
A lot of rappers have given their views on the politics of America right now, and this
is Denzel and JID’s track for doing that. Denzel’s goes in on both of his verses,
with this amazing metaphor on the first one that essentially represents the relationship
between minorities and America. And then, well then there’s JID’s verse. He absolutely
murdered this. He did so well that Denzel said he actually went back and wrote another
verse for this song because JID did so damn well, originally the track was just JID’s
verse and Denzel’s last verse. He basically makes the entirety of his verse
an extended metaphor, comparing America to a girl, and that’s great because it means
you can go through his verse and look at every line to see how it applies to this metaphor.
On top of that, his flow is just crazy and he has one of his fastest verses on here (lemme
know if you wanna see a video on that). It’s always interesting for me to hear songs about
the state of America because as you can tell, I don’t live there, and that’s what
this track delivers.
2 - BLACK BALLOONS | 13LACK 13ALLOONS
This song really stood out to me, as it’s pretty much one of the most upbeat sounding
tracks on here, and I think it really exemplifies the “Light” segment of the album. Don’t
get me wrong, the topic Denzel is talking about still has dark tones to it as the song
is all about pain, the emotion that the black balloons represent. However the song does
display hope that these black balloons can pop, and eventually your pain will pass, so
there is a very uplifting side to it, which is really amplified by the lighter production
and beautiful chorus. It’s a song that definitely sounds like it could have a lot of commercial
appeal whilst still talking about serious topics and issues. Not to mention, we have
a great guest verse from GoldLink, who really fits in on this beat with his smooth, melodic
tones. I just really love the symbolism of this track, and I could see it becoming one
of the most popular from the album.
1 - PERCS | PERCZ
And just like Sumo, I thought this song might’ve lost a bit of its impact by the time the album
dropped cause I’d heard it so much, but it really hasn’t, it’s still one of the
best Denzel songs overall in my opinion. The song acts kind of like an analysis of the
hip hop scene in 2018, with Denzel speaking on drug use, meaningless rap songs and rappers
becoming a slave to their labels. He makes it clear in the second verse though that he’s
not necessarily trying to hate on these rappers, he’s just saying what he doesn’t do. It’s
got great flows and an incredibly catchy rapped hook, making sure it’s a song that’ll
stick in your head. It’s a great look at what mainstream rap is like right now, and
Denzel’s thoughts on it. I absolutely loved it when it dropped, and it’s a song that
just isn’t getting old for me. And that’s why this song is my favourite
from TA13OO by Denzel Curry.
(Outro)