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Denzel Curry – Manchester Academy 2 – 12/12/18
8/10
Following the release of his third studio album in July, TA13OO, which Genius have declared their 2018 album of the year, Denzel Curry embarked on a world tour to bring his heavy, hard hitting, often dark and twisted music to audiences across the globe. The TA13OO world tour arrived to Manchester on the 12th of December, and after months of touring, Denzel doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of fatigue whatsoever.
There was a unique energy in the Academy 2, even before Curry had come on stage. Mosh pits were already being made at the DJ set before Curry’s performance, so right from the get go it was obviously going to be an intense night. The lights went down and the intro to TA13OO started to play, with Curry emerging from backstage. This dark and ominous song felt like a calm before what would ultimately be one hell of a storm to come.

A Denzel Curry show is a very diverse journey. There were times where I felt like I was stood calmly watching someone like Jay Z, and times where I felt like I was being torn limb by limb watching Slayer. The versatility of Denzel’s discography allows him to perform calm (by his standards) lyrical story telling rap songs, then change the mood completely and bring out Zillakami and JPEGMAFIA for ‘VENGEANCE’, a song which sounds like Black Sabbath and DMX had a baby then left it to be raised by wolves in the woods. Rock isn’t dead as long as artists like Denzel Curry are still making music. His music is the direct merging of punk rock and hip hop, and his live performance only makes this truer. He even had the crowd do a wall of death when he performed ‘Ultimate’. Let me end this review by saying simply, if you get a chance to see Denzel Curry live, please don’t miss it, for your own sake.