Denzel Curry - King of the Misfits 2 review

Restoring the feeling of the RVIDXR KLVN era one polished song at a time

The early 2010s were the peak of the blog era for rap, a time where rap music was less constricted to streaming services, YouTube views and marketability.  True innovation in the genre was all online, with mixtapes spread through sites like Live Mixtapes and DatPiff and, an entire scene on its own, SoundCloud. It was the start for online collectives that started underground and blew up over the course of the decade like Taylor Gang, Odd Future and the A$AP Mob.  

Still, one crew never quite got its chance to shine, at least not on a big stage like Wiz Khalifa, A$AP Rocky or Tyler, the Creator. South Florida’s own Raider Klan (spelled correctly: RVIDXR KLVN) was a collective of rappers and producers assembled by the legendary, though controversial, SpaceGhostPurrp. The posse produced messy, southern, raw rap music combining everything from chopped and screwed sounds from H-Town, the funky flow of Memphis rappers like Project Pat and a horror-themed distorted aesthetic centered around knives, hockey masks and old-school hip-hop.  

RVIDXR KLVN never fully took off due to internal conflict and a chaotic beef with the A$AP crew (who were members at one point). Still, the sound and the group’s internet-based workflow with artists around the country is still sending waves through the art form. Almost 10 years after the crew was considered mostly dead, one of the most famous former members of the KLVN has taken the sound that South Florida championed and polished it for an ode to a critical development point for underground rap. 

Denzel Curry’s King of the Mischievous Thieves Vol. 2 arrives 12 years after the first volume, although Curry himself said the decision to name it that wasn’t made until this tape was finished. Still, the project echoes back to 17-year-old Curry’s original distorted, gritty roots with beats reminiscent of SGP’s work from back in the day as well as the overall sound of South Florida artists of the 2010s. As, inarguably, the most successful rapper from the KLVN besides A$AP Rocky, it was only right Denzel resurrect the mixtape sound and restore the feeling for a mainstream audience. 

The opener, ULTRA SHXT, is lo-fi and hard-hitting simultaneously, opting for mixing that puts Denzel and Key Nyata (another former KLVN member) on the same level as the beat. It’s more than a reference-fest, though, with Curry’s rapping leagues ahead of his former self while sinking comfortably back into double-time, Memphis inspired flow about gunplay and dope. Curry’s fast-paced performance and gift of gab are used for tough talk, stories from his childhood in Carol City and shit talking at its finest as he stacks cash, disses his vague and unnamed enemies one-by-one.  

KOMTS Vol. 2 takes the blog era sound of the past and upgrades it to a studio album level of quality. Rather than posse cuts from KLVN members or other on-the-rise Soundcloud rappers, the tape opts for a mix of glitzy but appropriate features alongside some blasts from RVIDXR KLVN’s past like Key Nyata and A$AP Rocky. The Houston influence of Curry’s past is held up to high regard with features from That Mexican OT and Maxo Kream, obvious additions to the tape that match Curry’s energy on their more aggressive tracks. Although fitting for the theme, many of the features do seem to be a list of who’s popping in hip-hop and the south rather than direct references to the blog era. There’s no Robb Bank$ (although his girlfriend shows up for a track), no SpaceGhostPurrp, no Xavier Wulf or any of other big names from that time besides Rocky and Key. 

In a way, the features list and glitzier production makes the album feel more like a Hollywood adaptation of secondhand tales about the era, or rather Curry’s vision for what could have been for the KLVN, than a direct remastering of the South Florida blog era. Kingpin Skinny Pimp, a Memphis rap icon, even narrates the album like it’s a theater production. Tia Corine, 2 Chainz and Ty Dolla $ign showing up doesn’t seem to make much sense for the theme either but all show up to do the job given. Project Pat’s feature was a welcome surprise, dropping one of the tighter verses on the album while accepting his role as the reason tapes like this exist. 

Still, tracks like Wishlist and Cole Pimp seem more like Curry experimenting with R&B, including a Ty Dolla $ign feature of all things, rather than related to the rest of the project. Besides the casual misogyny related to nothing in particular on both tracks, the two songs weigh the project down by feeling like late additions made to pad the end of the album. As the album plays the Memphis rap samples, snippets from the real KOTMS and other mood setters fade away by the time Hit the Floor comes on, which feels like it was pulled from the late 2010s during the featured Ski Mask the Slump God and the late XXXTENTACION’s bass boosted Member’s Only heydey.  

By the time Kingpin Skinny Pimp gives us his last snarky, dark monologue before the tape ends, KOTMS 2 feels like it did its job of recalling the vibe of the 2010s without sticking to the script totally, which isn’t totally a problem. At this point, Curry has moved far beyond his 17-year-old self with his previous album themes ranging from tales of depression and anxiety to recalling his experience as a black man post-George Floyd to bar fests about flexing with no message in sight. He’s versatile, but refuses to sink all the way into a particular vibe for a whole project. It would be odd to suspect anything else at this point.

There are some sonic diversions from what made South Florida what it was in 2012 but they’re well-planned for the most part. Still, going from KOTMS to KOTMS 2 feels almost like culture shock. One is a bass-boosted, distorted, hardcore work of art made by kids inspired by other eras to honor their troubled upbringing. The sequel is equivalent to a fantasy, with the original artist reaching heights he may never have imagined while attempting to honor his own memory of that period with all black attire and horrorcore leaning lyrics.. Curry has 2012 in the rear view mirror, with the passion he has 12 years ago set on the future of rap and playing with its current trends. 

Favorite tracks: ULTRA SHXT, BLACK FLAG FREESTYLE, G’Z UP, HOODLUMZ