登泽尔·柯里

Denzel Rae Don Curry (born February 16, 1995) is an American rapper. Born and raised in the Carol City neighborhood of Miami Gardens, Florida, Curry started rapping while in the sixth grade and began working on his first mixtape, King Remembered Underground Tape 1991–1995, in 2011, which was influenced by underground Florida rapper SpaceGhostPurrp. The mixtape was later featured on SpaceGhostPurrp's social media, giving Curry attention in the local music scene and resulting in him joining the former's hip-hop collective Raider Klan (stylized as RVIDXR KLVN).

Curry left Raider Klan in 2013, releasing his debut studio album, Nostalgic 64, in September of that year, while still in high school. He has since released three extended plays: 32 Zel/Planet Shrooms in 2015, 13 in 2017, and Unlocked (a collaboration with Kenny Beats) in 2020, and four studio albums: Imperial in 2016, Ta13oo in 2018, Zuu in 2019, and Melt My Eyez See Your Future in 2022. Ta13oo, Zuu, and Melt My Eyez See Your Future debuted at numbers 28, 32, and 51 on the Billboard 200 chart, respectively, with Melt My Eyez returning at number 17 after the release of an extended edition. Two years later, Curry announced King of the Mischievous South, Vol. 2 which released on July 19, 2024.

Reviewers most often praise Curry's aggressive rapping style, energetic performance, lyrical abilities, and artistic versatility. He has been credited as one of the pioneers of the SoundCloud rap genre.

Early life

Denzel Rae Don Curry was born on February 16, 1995, in the Carol City neighborhood of Miami Gardens, Florida. He is of Bahamian descent. Curry started down an artist's path with early poetic ambitions in elementary school before he began rapping in the sixth grade. His time was spent at a local Boys & Girls Clubs of America chapter where he challenged others to rap battles. He attended Miami's Design and Architecture High School for two years before being expelled. Curry then attended Miami Carol City Senior High School, where he started working on Nostalgic 64 while still attending class.

Career

2011–2012: Early career and career beginnings

In early 2011, Curry's debut mixtape, titled Curry Wuz Here, surfaced on YouTube and the release date was claimed to be January 16, 2011. On September 24, Curry released his second and breakout mixtape, titled King Remembered Underground Tape 1991–1995. The mixtape being posted by Curry, was later included on SpaceGhostPurrp's page, which prompted the birth of Denzel's music career. Following the release, Curry became a member of SpaceGhostPurrp's hip-hop group, Raider Klan.

In early 2012, he released his third mixtape, titled King of the Mischievous South Vol. 1 Underground Tape 1996, a mixtape of which caught the attention of fellow American rapper Earl Sweatshirt and other members of Odd Future.

Also in 2012, Curry's fourth mixtape, titled Strictly for My R.V.I.D.X.R.Z., was released after the death of Trayvon Martin, who also lived in Carol City and went to the same high school as Curry. His style of rap and the name of the record were heavily inspired by Tupac Shakur.

Towards the end of 2012, Curry met his manager Mark Maturah, and under his guidance, released his first studio single, "Dark & Violent", featuring J. K. The Reaper and Nell, to SoundCloud.