No matter what direction Denzel Curry takes his sound in, it always amazes. From his early sounds on “Imperial” to exploring his voice on “TA13OO” to the sensational Kenny Beats produced “UNLOCKED,” he conquered everything in front of him. After a quiet two years since his last project, Denzel is back and ready to deliver the sounds he’s always wanted to, first teased by a surprise album trailer, and followed up with the release of “Walkin’.”

“I like traditional hip hop, I like drum and bass, I like trap, I like poetry, so a lot of that is going to be interwoven in this album including jazz and a lot of genres that I came up on as a kid and just being in my parents’ house,” Curry said. “This album is made up of everything that I couldn't give you on TA13OO or Imperial because I was going through depression and anger issues.”

“Walkin’” appears to be just an anecdote of what’s to come. Kal Banx delivers masterful production, as he has done so often over the last two years while becoming one of my favorite producers. The first half of the track is a groovy drum and bass instrumental, highlighted by a melodious sample, in which Denzel attacks capitalism and the ways it has set Black people up to fail. It gives insight into what the title of the forthcoming album, Melt My Eyez, See Your Future, is alluding to as he raps, “They ready to set us up for failure, it's systematic / But when I felt it, my eyes melted / The selfish are constantly profitin' off the helpless.”

‍A beat switch to end all beat switches seamlessly carries the original sample onto the second half, while creating a louder, bass driven instrumental. It begins with a chorus where Denzel describes how the capitalistic, racist society we live in limits opportunities for Black people. His first lines of the second verse, “Walkin' with my back against the sun / I been runnin' all my life, that's way before my life begun” displays how his feelings have changed from the first verse, where he began with, “Walkin' with my back to the sun, keep my head to the sky / Me against the world, it's me, myself and I, like De La / Got in touch with my soul.” He goes on to deliver an introspective verse as he reveals his struggles with anger issues, depression, reliance on substances, and becoming trapped in endless cycles. It ends with the message that he has to keep going and work to improve himself so he can provide a better future for his children.

In the old western set video, directed by Adrian Villagomez, we see Denzel embark on a journey through the desert, eventually killing his enemy, John Wayne. This act symbolizes all the things he has confronted over the past two years, cementing that he is ready to move forward once and for all. The end of the video sees Denzel walk off into the distance – where he is heading we will have to wait and see. In the meantime, listen to “Walkin’” while we all await Melt My Eyez, See Your Future, coming soon.

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