Denzel Curry, Speedboat | Track Review

Rapper Denzel Curry packs a serious punch on “Speedboat,” the banging second single from his highly-anticipated 2019 LP, ‘ZUU.’

There’s good reason to salivate over “Speedboat,” the second single from ZUU (follows “Ricky”), the forthcoming album by Denzel Curry.  The production, courtesy of Rugah Rahj, is a great starting point – a sight to behold.  Rahj gives Curry a badass backdrop to spit over, period.  Some features of the production that standout include the piano lines and unsurprisingly, the beat.  Of course, it is Curry that makes “Speedboat” the superb record that it is.

Following a dramatic intro, he unveils the simply glorious chorus that slaps the first time you hear it:

“Big talk, speedboat

Pray to God I don’t get repo’d

Didn’t go to college for a free throw

People gettin’ killed through the peephole

Have your money up before you go to war

Put the mask on like a luchador

My dawg didn’t make it to 21, so I gotta make it past 24.”

One of the most notable lines from the chorus references the late XXXTENTACION who was murdered at just 20 years old in 2018.  Beyond the chorus, Denzel Curry continues to bring the heat over the course of two verses.  He reflects on his life and his come-up.  “Gas, all in my brain, it fumigating my thoughts,” he raps on the second verse, continuing, “Thinking ‘bout intricate plots / To get out the hood, that’s when I started to jot.” Prior to the awesome chorus, the pre-chorus sets things up: “Jesus, please deliver us form evil / Please pray over all my people / What you see in life’s illegal / I don’t wanna use my desert eagle.”

Final Thoughts

Denzel Curry is on fire on “Speedboat.” If the second single is any indication, his album ZUU should definitely be a treat.  “Speedboat” checks off those ‘hip-hop’ boxes – great production and tight bars.

Denzel Curry • ZUU • Loma Vista • Release: 5.31.19

Photo Credit: Loma Vista