Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats Unlocked (Vinyl LP) * * *

Denzel Curry kicks off 2020 with a menacing and concise full length produced entirely by Kenny Beats. Unlocked is the product of a manic studio session following Denzel recording an episode for Kenny's show The Cave and it finds the duo mining sounds outside of what prompted their respective rises in recent years. While Denzel pulls influence from various members of The Wu-Tang Clan, Kenny taps into a sound inspired by Madlib, Dilla and MF Doom. Despite these classic touchstones, Unlocked also sounds like something completely new, with Denzel setting the tone for the new decade once again, just as he and Raider Klan did at the outset of the 2010's. Unlocked is supported by a half live-action, half stop-animation companion film featuring every song from the record.