[INTERVIEW] DENZEL CURRY DISSECTS 32 ZEL/PLANET SHROOMS

Interchangeable and intergalactic, the results are a trippy balance of trap music and funk with lyrics as hard as the hoods in Miami. On 32 Zel, Curry is the best of his contemporaries at voicing the frustrations of the black male youth. Meanwhile on Planet Shrooms, splitting a blunt in half with a lightsaber is possible. Curry wants listeners to understand that it isn’t just ‘Cloud Rap’, the messages of self-respect, awareness and police brutality are most important. The MC’s no holds barred approach may seem controversial to Earthlings, so Viper gave him the chance to tell the stories behind his limitless lyrics by dissecting each track on the EP…

’32 Zel’ “Were not on Planet Shrooms yet. This record is a tie between reality and spirituality.” — Denzel Curry

’32 Ave (Intro)’

Produced by Poshstronaut

Denzel Curry: ’32 Ave’ is also the ending of ‘Nostalgia 64’. I’m out of high school, this record is from 2013 to 2015. ’32 Ave’ is the story of me chilling on the block and things around that time that were happening. This kid ended up getting shot fifteen times around a neighbourhood called the Bahas. I would be in that neighbourhood at my friends’s house, smoking all day and listening to the radio. Seeing violent stuff like that happening in my environment, I just choose to write about it. It’s talking about how everybody wants to be goons and gangsters until something happens, until they get killed or go to jail by following in those footsteps.

‘Chief Forever’

Produced by Rem
DC: Chief Forever’ is talking about Carol City. Carol City is represented by the chiefs. That’s what high school I went to, if you’re from Carol City you’re a chief. This song is just giving props to the city that raised me.
Viper: But it’s kind of a double edge sword because although you’re giving props to the city that raised you, there are some news clips in there about the frustrations that people in the ghetto feel about police brutality.
DC: Exactly. It’s funny because you’ll hear shootings but no one will be dead. When I say, “These crackers don’t know about when a nigga shooting out,” overall it’s protection. The cops come through and circle the block and antagonise all of the kids there. They’ll just pull up on you in Chevrolets and Chargers and say ‘Hey what’s your full name, what are you doing, we heard that there was a break in.’ How would I be breaking in? I was just walking when you stopped me.
V: The track takes several turns. It’s kind of like you’re walking down the street minding your business and the police come harass you then you go to your friend’s house — you can totally tell that you are walking through a few different neighbourhoods.
DC: Exactly. In Carol City there are several neighbourhoods. You have Zone 3, Zone 4, The Bahas, Zone 2. [In the song] I was also talking about my friend who passed away two years ago. I was grieving over my homie’s death. I went to her funeral on mushrooms and that’s what generated the idea of me creating Planet Shrooms. Even though I was talking about it for years I had never experienced it. I wasn’t doing drugs when I was a teenager because I knew my parents would kill me. When I turned 18 that’s when I started experimenting with psychedelics and marijuana. We went to her wake on shrooms and we rode in the same truck that we were all chilling in just before she got murdered.

‘Envy Me’

Produced by Ronny J
DC: I was being hated on by people I used to be in a group with. When people would ask “What’s up with you and such and such?”, I would either say some off the wall shit like, “I don’t fuck with that nigga” or I would just move on. ‘Envy Me’ is for the people who were trying me.
V: How do you deal with career jealousy?
DC: I just brush it off. I’ve been blessed with something you’ve been blessed with something, maybe I surpassed you. I’m just trying to be a better me. If somebody is better than me, I’m going to fuck with that. I’m not going to get jealous, that just means I have to go harder. After my brother died, niggas started showing their true colours. [But] we used to be in a group together and I admired your work. Now you’re hating on me?
V: I like the Ms. Doubtfire quote.
DC: (Raps) “In the hood just Robin like Williams / Let’s hope that they never Doubtfire.”
V: What’s your favourite scene?
DC: I never seen that movie. I used the Robin, for breaking and entering and the Doubtfire because you shouldn’t doubt that someone will dust your ass.

‘Ultimate’

Produced by Ronny J
DC: ‘Ultimate’ was an experiment that went viral. It’s on the ’32 Zel’ part of the album because it’s a premonition of who I will become. ‘Ultimate’ is me, forever. I wrote it to no beat. After I met Andre 3000, I cried. It was one of the biggest accomplishments of my life. He told me “Never get bored.” That set me off. Since then I’ve changed my hair, I’ve changed the way that I think, I’ve changed the way that I eat. I started working out. I took the golds out because the golds are not me at all.
Ronny J was staying at my house for a minute and we were working on some shit when he played the beat. I’ve been wanting to make a song called ‘Ultimate’. The thought was already in my head. With this beat it just fit. [Raps] “Ultimate, alternate you are opposite/ stop this shit / chop your oesophagus.” It’s showing people you can’t fuck with me. It’s about living a different lifestyle.

Lord Vader Kush II’

Produced by Smoko Ono
DC: The first weed I smoked was called Luke Skywalker OG. I was chilling with Smoko Ono and I showed him the the pre stuff off ‘Planet Shrooms’ and he was fucking with it. We went to Chicago and he played me the beat, I fucked with it and started writing. The whole song I was talking about how it is in Dade County and how it is in Chicago. I was talking about police brutality. It’s bad enough niggas is killing each other and you have these other motherfuckers wiping us out too. We need a general understanding of how this happened. Where did we go wrong?
V: Betcha Rozay never eva heard no shit like this.
DC: Yea Rick Ross, he’s from Carol City he’s from my city. At the time he wasn’t paying attention to the shit. So we are going to make enough noise to the point where they are like, “Ok we hear about these niggas.” It ended up happening because Trick Daddy replied to something I said during an interview. Still Ross has not said a word. Every other rapper said something but not Ross, somebody that’s from the same city that I am from didn’t say a word. Nothing. So that’s why I said, “Betcha Rozay never eva eva heard no shit like this.” It’s going to get to a point when he’s going to hear it and say “Damn, you’re right, I’ve never heard no shit like this.”

‘Ice Age’ ft Mike Dece

Produced by Keenanza
V: How do you show love to women that you’re into?
DC: Why beat around the bush when you can be straight up? Why wouldn’t you go up to a girl and say, “Look, I’m not trying to beat around the bush, I’m trying to fuck.” The only thing they can really say is “No.” ‘Ice Age’ isn’t meant for women who are independent. It’s a song for women who wants niggas to be straight up and to say what’s on their minds. It’s also for niggas who have trouble doing that.
Then you have ‘Delusional’.

‘Delusional Shone’ ft Twelve’len

Produced by Nick Leon
V: What do you want out of Black women in your generation?
DC: More independence. Be strong. Don’t fall for a nigga just because of what he’s got. Fall for a nigga for his soul, for who he is as a person. I know most girls are not going to fall in love with a nigga who still lives with his mother. But if y’all vibe, it doesn’t matter where he lives. He could live in a cardboard box.
V: The end of this track is the ride from ’32 Zel’ into ‘Planet Shrooms’. It’s very funk influenced at the end.
DC: Yes. At this time I was getting into George Clinton and the Psychedelics. The had different personalities and it’s influenced me to have different personalities. Sonically I want the listeners to travel. I don’t want them to be stuck in one place.
‘Planet Shrooms’ I can recall the first time I did shrooms, I really did feel invincible. I was hearing and seeing things clearer. In reality no one is invincible. People pray to God a lot and ask, “Where’s God?” Look at yourself. You fix your own problems at the end of the day. — Denzel Curry.

‘Past The Wudz (Intro)’ ft Big Rube

Produced by Rem
DC: This is an ode to OutKast, the song ‘Over the Woods’ on ‘ATLiens’. ‘Past The Wudz’ is how I picture the future. Going past the woods. There is over the woods, so let’s see what happens when you go past the woods. It’s a new era, it’s the introduction of a new era. ‘Planet Shrooms’ is not cloud rap, it’s not about drugs. It’s a prediction of the future.

‘Underwater’

Produced by Denzel Curry and Freebase
DC: ‘Underwater’ was one of the first tracks Freebase and I did. It’s talking about future Dade County and will it still be the same. My friend Dakota ended up getting killed on someone’s front porch. [Raps] “I got four niggas on the porch / Two niggas out the park / You better have your burner tucked when walking after dark.” The last verse, “There they go sticking again / There they go sticking again,” that’s an old Dade County song by Piccalo. [Raps] “Grab the ski / throw the keys / get the mac / cyberspace mask / doing drive-bys in hovercrafts. That’s the future of violence.” [Raps] “Call for 9–1–1 but there’s no one to help.” That’s confirming that the police look at these situations and think ‘Okay, cool. One less nigga dead.’ They don’t find any killers. Police don’t do their jobs and people end up dying because of that. You have to survive the cops and your have to survive the opposition.

‘Captain Sea Fonk’

Produced by Denzel Curry and Freebase
DC: This is Denny Cascade’s song.
‘Bwoii’ ft Nell & J.K. The Reaper Produced by Denzel Curry and Freebase
DC: This track is more political than the rest. This is showing how things work as a young black man. [Raps] “Radically rebellious to the fuckery and faggotry.” They are trying to kill us all. Planet of the Apes is nothing but niggas wearing Bapes. They put us in projects like animals and they treat us like animals. And I’m not just talking about black people. They are trying to put us all in cages. Once people figure out that we are all the same, that’s when drastic shit happens.

‘Planet Shrooms II’ ft J.K. The Reaper

Produced by Denzel Curry and Freebase
DC: This track is political too. [Raps] “What happens when murder gardens gets mixed in with Gallagher.” Gallagher is a game you play in the arcade and once you have too many people in the same area with hammers and iron, it’s not a game because you can get taken out too. I speak about Revelations because we are in the last days. I feel like we are in the last days, my parents were feeling like they were in last days because the same shit that is happening now was happening back then. This song is telling people don’t be too closed minded. [Raps] “Jobs closing / Now you dropping that brick in the ocean / All your life you haven’t Focused / Plus your mind wasn’t open / Face shine inside a box now it looks like you voted.” That means that you’re going to go to jail or you’re going to die. There’s no jobs because you lived like with the mid-set that you’re this or that. Now you can’t find a job and you’re forced to drop bricks in the ocean to get money so you can feed you’re family, not knowing when someone is going to kick in the door.

‘Smoke 2049’

Produced by Denzel Curry and Freebase
DC: This is a track declaring that everyone needs to chill and smoke some weed. At the time I wrote it, a lot of people were getting murdered in Carol City. I was thinking, damn people need to chill. It makes no sense why people are dying everyday over bullshit. So, when I say [Raps] “Ready to get that smoke, ready to get that smoke, smoke in my lungs.” I mean I’m trying to get high whereas other niggas are thinking about icing someone. I shouted out all the Miami hoods because none of the hoods are united.

‘Void’ ft Leonardo Safari & Fortebowie

Produced by Denzel Curry and Freebase
DC: You can tell by watching the news that cops are the only ones on the crime scene. They killed my brother when he was 27. [Raps] “So I’m coming at they scalp like Apache.” Apache is a type of Indian. That’s why I say, “Indians in the Benz down 32 ave.” It’s reverting back to ‘Chief Forever’ because of Carol City Chiefs. [Raps] “God damn nigga causing aftermath / What the fuck you know I could build and destroy / motherfuckers can’t feel that / I’m in that void.” Being in that void is being in that element of [perfection]. Back down before I take out your whole shit. Niggas talk shit but they wear corduroys. That’s talking about people talking shit but they can’t back it up. The other part is talking about the people who I thought were my friends but ended up turning on me.
V: What’s next for you?
DC: ‘Ultimate Denzel Curry’. The mixtape.

Buy 32 Zel/Planet Shrooms via iTunes.

Read our Spring 2014 feature on Denzel Curry here.

Words by Branden Janese

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