Curry left Raider Klan in 2013, releasing his debut studio album, Nostalgic 64, in September of that year, while still in high school. He has since released three extended plays: 32 Zel/Planet Shrooms in 2015, 13 in 2017, and UNLOCKED (a collaboration with Kenny Beats) in 2020, and four studio albums: Imperial in 2016, Ta13oo in 2018, Zuu in 2019, and Melt My Eyez See Your Future in 2022. TA13OO, ZUU, and Melt My Eyez debuted at numbers 28, 32, and 51 on the Billboard 200 chart, respectively, with Melt My Eyez returning at number 17 after the release of an extended edition. All of his projects have garnered significant critical acclaim.
In 2012, he released his second mixtape, titled King of the Mischievous South Vol. 1 Underground Tape 1996, which caught the attention of fellow American rapper Earl Sweatshirt and other members of Odd Future label.
Curry's third mixtape, titled Strictly for My R.V.I.D.X.R.S., was released after the death of Trayvon Martin, who also lived in Carol City and went to the same high school as Denzel Curry. His rap style on this mixtape was inspired by 2PAC. On June 9, 2015, Curry released his first double EP, titled 32 Zel/Planet Shrooms. His first release in 2016 was the single "Flying Nimbus".
His second full-length album, titled Imperial, was released on March 9, 2016, then re-released later on Spotify as the deluxe version on October 14, 2016. In June 2016, Curry was featured on a cover as one of the XXL's 2016's Freshmen Class.
On May 13, 2017, Curry uploaded a track entitled "Hate Government [demo]" to his SoundCloud account. In the weeks that followed, he released two more demos for songs entitled "Equalizer [demo]" and "ZELTRON 6 BILLION ft. Lil Ugly Mane." After these releases as well as a series of cryptic posts on social media (seemingly portraying another alter ego called Zeltron), he released an EP entitled 13 on June 25, 2017. All of the demo tracks were included on the EP as well as two other new songs. On August 18, 2017, Curry released another song called "Skywalker." Later that year, on September 22, a remastered version of 32 Zel was released, including a remix of "Ultimate" featuring Juicy J.
On April 2, 2018, Curry released the lead single off of Ta13oo titled, "Sumo" on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio show. On May 24, 2018, Curry released the second single off the album titled, "Percs". Curry then released the third single titled, "Clout Cobain", on July 13, 2018, and announced that his album TA13OO, would be released in three acts: The first act, Light, was released on July 25, followed by Gray on July 26, and Dark on July 27. Each previously-released single represents one of the album's acts, as "Sumo" represents Light, "Clout Cobain" represents Gray, and "Percs" represents Dark, which comes together cohesively to form TA13OO. TA13OO features guest appearances from GoldLink, JID, JPEGMAFIA, ZillaKami and more.
On January 5, 2022, the official trailer for Curry's fifth studio album, titled Melt My Eyez See Your Future, was uploaded to his YouTube channel. It was revealed that the album would contain guest appearances from artists such as T-Pain, 6lack, Slowthai, Rico Nasty, J.I.D, and Thundercat, among others. Curry said the project would feature a new, more mature sound, different from his previous works: "Y'all are not going to hear the same type of Denzel anymore." On January 24, a single titled "Walkin", along with a Western-inspired music video directed by Adrian Villagomez, was released. Curry also said the album "is made up of everything that I couldn't include on Ta13oo or Imperial because I was going through depression and anger issues", and would take inspiration from traditional hip-hop, drum and bass, trap, poetry, and jazz. The same day, a North American and European tour promoting the album (with guest acts Kenny Mason, Mike Dimes, Redveil, and PlayThatBoiZay) was announced. On February 24, Curry released another single from the upcoming album, "Zatoichi" featuring Slowthai. It was accompanied by a music video also directed by Adrian Villagomez. On March 18, Curry announced the album would be released on March 25. On March 21, a third single, "Troubles" featuring T-Pain, was released along with a music video. The album was released on March 25, 2022. It debuted at number 51 on the Billboard 200 chart, and at number 23 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Curry recorded a song featuring rapper Reason, "1st Quarter", as a contribution to Apple Music's "collection of exclusively commissioned new songs from Black creatives", titled Juneteenth 2022: Freedom Songs. He commented: "It's an accomplishment to make it through the first quarter of my life. Especially as a Black man in America".
Curry's song featuring PlayThatBoiZay, "Let It All Hang Out", was included in Elvis—a biographical movie about Elvis Presley that premiered in June 2022—as well as on the movie's soundtrack album.
On June 24, 2022, a collaboration between Dot da Genius, JID, Curry, and Kid Cudi, titled "Talk About Me", was released, along with a music video directed by Cole Bennett. On June 29, 2022, Curry performed an NPR Tiny Desk Concert. On July 21, he performed "Walkin" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
On September 30, 2022, Curry released Melt My Eyez See Your Future (The Extended Edition). The album features reimagined versions of songs from the original album with live instrumentation performed by the Cold Blooded Soul Band, which performed with Curry on his NPR Tiny Desk Concert and The Tonight Show performance.
Widescreen
Denzel Curry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
About how I traded my soul to get a skeleton
Of Lucifer, so a nigga can mount it on his wall
Hella high, hella high so an angel can never fall
Smoking on the mystical chronic from a shaman
Disguised as Andre Young with razor blades under the tongue
Hopefully his speech impediments might call upon, petchulants
So he can rip the wings off Cosmo, and Pegasus
Kamakaze, jeepers creepers, read the power, ate his tonsils
Threw it up, gave it to an asthmatic
Swapping spit with crack addicts, Complex magazine and mathematics
Dilated with the ganja and peripherals
I look at things as cynical, I put the fun in funeral
A misty, mystic, mischievous one
Burning papers of the book, Fahrenheit 451
Can you see, what I see?
Look at life, in 3D. (Widescreen)
Can you see, what I see?
Look at life, in 3D. (Widescreen)
Can you see, what I see?
Look at life, in 3D. (Widescreen)
Can you see, what I see?
Look at life, in 3D. (Widescreen)
Trying to achieve the same color as pawn tyler scalp forest
I see everything like I'm Horus
So watch man, like I'm into Rorschach
STD's and bullets, that's what happens when them guns clap
Wickedly sticking these bitches, g, I'm Ice Cube Jackson
5 fingers of death, I'm packing
Something that will make you feel like a paraplegic
Paralyzed when folks no habla murder thesis
Told based god I'd give him a virgin sacrifice
And stepped into a Pantheon and said "Yo, which one you like?"
Step to Aphrodite with an amethyst rock
Crystal, get it dog? nah that's a Shih Tzu
If you don't really get the moral of the song
Basically I see crazy shit, when I grip the bong
So maybe right now, you know what that means
My eyes are dilated, all 3 in HD
In Denzel Curry's song, "Widescreen," the artist delves into his contemplation about his past, present, and his unorthodox beliefs. He starts by speaking on selling his soul to Lucifer to get a skeleton for mounting on his wall, leading to him being elevated in the world. The artist goes ahead to smoke shamanistic chronic, with The Chronic as a distinct nod to Dr. Dre's album, under the tongue of an Andre Young impersonator. Curry then references Cosmo and Pegasus, alluding to their wings being ripped off by a figure before returning to a renegade's life, eating flapjacks with Captain K'nuckles. The artist goes ahead to suggest that he's at the precipice of novelty, which he indicates by saying he's preparing for his funeral. The song's chorus incorporates the song's name, "Widescreen," echoes several times before transitioning to the second verse.
In the second verse, Curry speaks about his desire to achieve Tyler the Creator's hair color, likening it to matching the scalp of an African-American forest. He goes on to say that he witnesses things like the predatory bird Horus, and he watches the world as if he's Rorschach from Watchmen. Curry moves on to address the world's evils, such as STDs and bullets, which he says result from clashing bullets. He also mentions Ice Cube Jackson, a reference to Samuel L Jackson's and Ice Cube's role in the movie "XXX: State of the Union." Curry functions as if he has five fingers of death on a firearm, as he points out his capability of making you feel like a paraplegic, but he does not conform to allowing such things to create trauma. He suggests that there's not much truth behind the myth of a virgin sacrifice to base God, which doubles to prove his scepticism in these unorthodox beliefs.
Line by Line Meaning
Yesterday I had a talk with my reverend
I spoke with my religious leader yesterday
About how I traded my soul to get a skeleton
I made a deal with Satan for a skeleton
Of Lucifer, so a nigga can mount it on his wall
I wanted the skeleton of Lucifer to hang on my wall
Hella high, hella high so an angel can never fall
I wanted to be high enough to never fall, like an angel
Smoking on the mystical chronic from a shaman
I am smoking powerful weed from a spiritual guide
Disguised as Andre Young with razor blades under the tongue
My guide, disguised as Dr. Dre, has hidden razor blades
Hopefully his speech impediments might call upon, petchulants
I hope his speech issue will summon spirits for us
So he can rip the wings off Cosmo, and Pegasus
I want him to summon spirits to rip the wings off mythical creatures
Eating Flapjacks with a cannibal Captain K'nuckles
I'm eating with a cartoon character who is a cannibal
Kamakaze, jeepers creepers, read the power, ate his tonsils
I'm referencing violent and creepy things to show my mindset
Threw it up, gave it to an asthmatic
I vomited and gave it to someone with asthma
Swapping spit with crack addicts, Complex magazine and mathematics
I'm involved in unappealing and intellectual things
Dilated with the ganja and peripherals
I'm high and my senses are amplified
I look at things as cynical, I put the fun in funeral
I'm pessimistic and enjoy life's tragedies
A misty, mystic, mischievous one
I'm mysterious and cunning
Burning papers of the book, Fahrenheit 451
I'm burning a book about censorship
Can you see, what I see?
Do you understand my perspective?
Look at life, in 3D. (Widescreen)
View life from a broader perspective
Trying to achieve the same color as pawn tyler scalp forest
I'm attempting to mimic a specific hair color
I see everything like I'm Horus
I have the vision of an Egyptian god
So watch man, like I'm into Rorschach
I pay close attention to details like the character Rorschach
STD's and bullets, that's what happens when them guns clap
Guns lead to STDs and death
Wickedly sticking these bitches, g, I'm Ice Cube Jackson
I relate to Ice Cube's tough-guy persona
5 fingers of death, I'm packing
I am carrying a deadly weapon
Something that will make you feel like a paraplegic
I have something that can paralyze someone
Paralyzed when folks no habla murder thesis
People are shocked when I talk about murder
Told based god I'd give him a virgin sacrifice
I made a promise to a rapper to offer him a virgin sacrifice
And stepped into a Pantheon and said "Yo, which one you like?"
I went to a temple and asked the gods which one they preferred as a sacrifice
Step to Aphrodite with an amethyst rock
I offered a rock to the goddess Aphrodite
Crystal, get it dog? nah that's a Shih Tzu
I make a pun about the word crystal
If you don't really get the moral of the song
If you don't understand the message
Basically I see crazy shit, when I grip the bong
I have vivid and unusual thoughts when I smoke weed
So maybe right now, you know what that means
You may understand my behavior now
My eyes are dilated, all 3 in HD
My pupils are enlarged and I perceive things clearly
Contributed by Jayce M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.