“Ultimate” rapper Denzel Curry’s new Melt My Eyez See Your Future is one of the best hip hop albums of this year.

This album sees Curry at his most transparent. The production ranges from major names such as the groundbreaking jazz pianist Robert Glasper, the eccentric bassist Thundercat, experimental JPEGMafia, and jack of all trades Kenny Beats.

“John Wayne” touches on gun violence and briefly references the unjustly slain Ahmaud Arbery. The track appears to be an illustration of the anxiety felt growing up in a lower income neighborhood.

With all the amazing tracks on this album, “The Smell Of Death” is no exception, but it feels like it’s so short of a track despite having much going on. 

“Zatoichi” is the most animated and fierce song. The drum and bass rhythm pattern is intense and hard-hitting. Curry says “I’m Zatoichi leading the blind,” which may contextualize the title: It seems he titled this song after this fictional blind man saying he’s “leading the blind” as a way to say he’s leading younger generations and people in general who are lost while also seeking for answers himself.