Fans don't know what they want. Fans are like, 'Oh, I want the stuff that you did in the last album because I really liked it, and if you don't do that, I'm not going to be your fan no more.' Or they'll be like, 'I didn't like that project. He doesn't sound like him on it,' or 'You're wack. You're mainstream now.'
— Denzel Curry
I like being regular.
When I go on heavy rants, or I retweet too much, everybody unfollows me.
Melody wins every time. Melody is always gonna win.
I'm a veteran at this point; I ain't no up-and-coming rapper. Up-and-coming been happened.
I've been a fan of grime for a while - I used to watch the battles on YouTube when I was younger.
I think I sound like the apocalypse destroying the Earth to the sounds of trumpets skating across the heavens played by angels.
You've got to know your surroundings.
No matter who you are, you're gonna feel alienated by somebody.
I'm very skeptical about everything. That's how I've always been.
If I went to a major, you never know - what if they don't like the stuff I do? I could just get shelved. And then I'm stuck in a contract, and I can't leave. And if that happens, you're gonna realize, you're going to start hating it, so the power with being indie is you could do whatever you want.
I watched people blow up after the XXL cover, and I watched people drown - you know what I'm saying? And that's not what I'm trying to do.
I really don't think I have a genre, honestly, 'cause I make such different music even though it is rap.
I'm just going to express my opinion and try to change the way people think with the stuff I write or try to get deep into stuff that other people haven't got deep into.
I remember when 'Nostalgic 64' first dropped, and it became popular, Shady wanted to sign me at one point.
I have people to keep me grounded. That's very important. And I like the fact that I have people to keep me grounded. I'll never switch on them, they'll never switch on me, and that's what it's going to be.
Love is always gon' be where home is, but it's also where hate it as well.
That's what you gonna get with me: the dark aspects of life. Of course, you've got to have some type of light in there, but if it was all light, you'd be blinded. You've got to balance them out.
I think about death a lot.
There's such a thing as good stress and bad stress. Bad stress is when somebody else stresses you out, and good stress is when you stress yourself out over something you want to accomplish, which makes you want to perfect it.
I want to master every style of music. I want to master every way of performing. I want to master every artsy music video style and just be the greatest of all-time.
I'm just an artist.
My upbringing and my daily day-to-day struggles and emotions make up most of my music.
My artist name is actually my real name - Denzel Curry.
I just want to build awareness for my city. But if it wasn't for Carol City, I wouldn't be the person I am today.
I'm a weirdo, but everybody's weird in some kind of way.
The fact that I'm finally getting recognition for what I do is always a blessing, you know?
When I went on tour with The Underachievers, I didn't know how to perform. I just had the energy.
I don't judge nobody.
I did karate.
I draw my own stuff. I do my own cover artwork.
I ain't gonna lie: I have dude fans; most of my fans are dudes.
I grew up, like - since I had a lot of brothers, I grew up listening to Hot Boys, Goodie Mob, OutKast, basically all the southern albums, like Silkk the Shocker, Master P, Soulja Slim, and then it just elevated on when I started getting into music and I started listening to Nas and Jay Z and stuff like that and Lupe Fiasco and whatnot.
The reason I like Sagittarius is because they're like an Aquarius in a fire sign.
Life is dark.
The more I pay attention, the more I'm in tune with my fans and myself. It's how I keep raising up.
When I was just straight-up rapping, I feel like everyone wasn't paying attention as much, but the moment I started singing - case in point, 'Clout Cobain' - it affected more people.
We're expressing ourselves through references to anime and things like that, but SoundCloud music is just music that happens to be on SoundCloud.
I like the way punk people perform better than rappers, because rappers suck at performing - no offense.
I rap about life in general, particularly my life, unless telling a story.
Carol City crazy, man, but it's home at the same time.
I've seen a lot of people come out of Carol City, but I had this distinct vision for Carol City, just me coming out of there, because my music is so different from anybody else who came out of there.
As an Aquarius, I was born an outsider. I'm awkward at social events. I can be social, but I feel like nobody truly understands who I am.
Everybody wants freedom. You don't want to be shackled, especially as an artist. Nobody wants to be shackled, at the end of the day.
People want to see what you going to come with next, and I gotta keep evolving.
The reason why I put out the '13' EP is because I got bored. I wanted to supply my fans with something.
I'm not going to be the next anything. I'm going to be the first me, and someone's going to follow, and then they'll be the next me.
The fans, in their minds, they think once you signed a deal, you sold out. So, in staying independent, I keep my freedom, and I'm not selling out.
'This Life' definitely! That's my favorite song off 'Imperial,' period.
Once you get to a certain part in your career, the hate is gonna come.
