Colombo, SRI LANKA – Denzel Curry is one of modern day rap’s most talented and enigmatic figures. Over the past decade the Florida artist has released extremely consistent projects which – despite being ignored by the general public – are held in high regard by the hip-hop community as a whole.
His latest, King Of the Mischievous South Vol. 2 continues this streak with an extremely entertaining Mixtape that shows off Curry’s skills as lyricist and rapper.
Released July 19, King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2 is the sequel to Curry’s 2011 mixtape of the same name. As the title suggests, the project is a tribute to the American South’s long history with genre, starting with artists like the hip hop duo OutKast paving the way for the Atlanta Trap style that has become a mainstay in rap.
Somehow Curry manages to celebrate all of this in 35 minutes.
The production on this mixtape is excellent. Produced by a milieu of legends in the game, the production on the album is slick, deftly mixing trap and old school beats to great effect. These beats provide Curry the chance to show off his technical and lyrical prowess.
Another reason this project is so enjoyable is the quality of Curry’s lyrics. Throughout the album, he never drops the ball, bringing an eclectic energy to each song.
Curry’s lyrics on the mixtape are not exceptionally deep or metaphorical, but they are extremely intelligent and exude a certain braggadocious charm that is impossible to replicate.
Curry’s verses on the songs, especially on tracks like “Hot One” and “Hoodlumz” are by far the most memorable parts of the project, which is no small feat, considering number of features included.
King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2 is filled to the brim with features. These come from a variety of different artists; from some of mainstream rap’s elite like A$AP Rocky featuring on “Hoodlumz” to rising stars like That Mexican OT going bar for bar with Curry on “Black Flag Freestyle.”
These features bring different styles and flows to the project, while still keeping with the central premise.
But the vast number of features do encroach on the mixtape’s run time, with more than half of the album being featured.
Considering that Curry has by far the best performances on the project, it’s disappointing that he doesn’t have an entire track to himself, rather than a few verses on each song.
It doesn’t help that one of the tracks with the most involvement from Curry – “Wishlist” with Armani White – is by far the worst on the tracklist, with some of the poorest writing on the record.
Thankfully, this type of track is a rarity in Curry’s discography.
All in all, Curry manages to again deliver an extremely entertaining project which not only shows off his skills as a lyricist but is also a celebration of the South.
Jam-packed with excellent features and production, King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2 may not be Curry’s strongest project, but it’s still undeniably amazing.
Shanish Fernando is a Junior Reporter with Youth Journalism International.
