When I was in high school 20-something years ago, I would get up early every Saturday to watch Zatoichi movies on cable. One of Japan’s longest-running film series (seriously, think the Marvel movies but solely about the adventures of a blind samurai in 1830s and ’40s Japan), the movies were the equivalent of Saturday morning cartoons for me, but for the longest time, I felt totally alone in my love for them (I know I wasn’t — The Boondocks even referenced Zatoichi in the episode introducing Grandad’s feud with Colonel Stinkmeaner) but now, it looks like I have something in common with Florida rapper Denzel Curry.
Today, Curry, who has been promoting his upcoming album Melt My Eyez, See Your Future, dropped off the video for the album’s latest single, titled — you guessed it — “Zatoichi.” Apparently, he was also a big fan of the visually impaired swordsman, who he references in both the lyrics (“I’m Zatoichi, leading the blind,” he raps over an ambient drum&bass beat) and the video, which finds him training in the martial arts against a blind teacher on the banks of a sheltered, river in a verdant landscape. The song also features UK rapper Slowthai, who drops in to offer a spirited chorus.
Denzel’s Melt My Eyez campaign has so far also included references to space opera in the video for “Walkin” and Spaghetti Westerns in the trailer. He’s letting his movie geek flag fly in the build-up to the album’s release and I, for one, am truly enjoying it as a fellow cinephile.
Watch Denzel Curry’s “Zatoichi” video above.
Denzel Curry is going on the road. The Carol City rapper announced that he’s dropping a new single called “Walkin”. Curry will be hitting the stage at Coachella in April. The Miami Rapper then starts his USA tour in Denver and ends in Phoenix in July. He will be performing in his native Miami on […]
After teasing his new single “Walkin” a few hours before, Denzel Curry has dropped the video for the single. The video starts with Curry walking through a desert in solitude and through different parts of the world dressed like Jamie Foxx in “Django Unchained.” “Walkin” is the first single off Curry’s upcoming album “Melt My […]
Early in the new year, rapper Denzel Curry released a spaghetti Western-influenced trailer for his upcoming album, Melt My Eyez See Your Future. Stylized like a film preview, the credits promise a loaded list of guest vocal appearances from 6lack, Bridget Perez, 454, Buzzy Lee, JID, Rico Nasty, Slowthai, and T-Pain, plus production from Boi-1da, Cardo, Dot The Genius, Jpegmafia, Karriem Riggins, Kenny Beats, Powers Pleasant, Robert Glasper, Thundercat, and Curry himself. The new video for “Walkin” is a continuation of the trailer that expands into a deeper visual aesthetic well beyond the Western.
In the “Walkin” clip, Curry is coursing through a post-apocalyptic desert in a different galaxy. It feels like a barren planet from Star Wars, complete with incredible sand dunes, blasters, and nefarious villains trying to put the rapper to rest. “Keep on walkin, aint no stoppin, in this dirty, filthy, rotten, nasty world that we call our home,” he raps on the hook. Both the music and the visual give rise to a desperado mentality from Curry, and a story is clearly bubbling for the release of Melt My Eyez See Your Future.
Watch the video for “Walkin” above and check out Denzel Curry’s 2022 North America tour dates below.
04/01 — Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
04/02 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Complex
04/04 — Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
04/05 — Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
04/07 — Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
04/09 — Sacramento, CA @ Ace Of Spades
04/10 — San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
04/17 — Indio, CA @ Coachella Festival
06/14 — Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
06/15 — Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
06/17 — Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Festival
04/24 — Indio, CA @ Coachella Festival
06/18 — Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
06/21 — Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
06/22 — Miami, FL @ Fillmore
06/24 — New Orleans, LA @ Fillmore
06/25 — Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
06/26 — Austin, TX @ Stubb’s
06/28 — Dallas, TX @ Southside Ballroom
06/30 — Albuquerque, NM @ El Rey
07/01 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Carol City, Florida rapper Denzel Curry’s love for Japanese animation is well-documented but he’s apparently also a big fan of so-called Spaghetti Westerns, as evidenced by the new trailer for his upcoming album, Melt My Eyez See Your Future, he just shared on social media. The trailer features all the hallmarks of the beloved genre, from a sweeping desert vista to the poncho-clad protagonist silhouetted before its barren but beautiful horizon.
The end of the trailer features the album’s title spelled out anime-style, in both English and Japanese, and hints at the featured artists and producers making appearances on the project. The artists listed include fellow Floridian 454, Atlanta sing-rapper 6lack, buzzing underground singer Bridget Perez, legacy actress/folk star Buzzy Lee, Dreamville fireball JID, punk-rap rage machine Rico Nasty, grime rapper Slowthai, and hitmaker T-Pain. The production will be handled by Boi-1da, Cardo, Dot The Genius, Jpegmafia, Karriem Riggins, Kenny Beats, Powers Pleasant, Robert Glasper, Thundercat, and Denzel himself. Talk about your all-star casts.
Melt My Eyez See Your Future will be Denzel’s first full-length project since 2019’s Zuu, although he did release a joint EP with Kenny Beats in 2020 called Unlocked. Its release date has yet to be announced. Whether or not it becomes one of his final projects, as he previously promised to retire after a few more releases, remains to be seen. As the caption on the video’s YouTube page reads, the album is coming to a stereo near you, so stay close and check out the trailer above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
