Denzel Curry: King Of The Mischievous Florida

I knew that I was about to attend a Denzel Curry show before I even entered Jannus Live in Tampa, Florida. 

As I walked towards the venue, I saw a line wrapped around the block filled with people wearing what I could only describe as fire, dark streetwear fits. Like I said — I could tell I was going to a Denzel Curry show just by the fashion alone. Inside the venue, many fans were already eagerly lined up at the merchandise line and barricade, clearly ecstatic to see the 30-year-old rapper perform. 

Something about the crowd felt extra thrilling: perhaps Curry’s fanbase is just hype like that, or maybe it was the fact that he was about to perform in his home state.

Curry had three amazing openers that hyped up the crowd before he even came on. They were truly one of the loudest crowds I’ve heard —  jumping, waving their arms, and screaming enthusiastically at every single song performed by the openers CLIP, 454 (fellow Florida native), and Kenny Mason. All three rappers have appeared on Curry’s tracks and were all known among the fans in the audience. They definitely warmed up the crowd before the man, the myth, the legend himself came out. 

After the openers finished their sets, it was clear that the crowd was eager to see Curry perform. The fans, many of whom were wearing their newly-bought King of the Mischievous South tour merch, chanted his name for a few minutes before the lights dimmed and the music began to play, sparking a deafening roar from the crowd. 

The King of the Mischievous South brought the heat as soon as his foot touched the stage, running from each end of the stage while rapping the lyrics to “ACT A DAMN FOOL.” The hype from the crowd and Curry himself brought a smile to my face as I attempted to capture the very quick Curry making his way across the stage. 

The energy was absolutely electric, even from the first song alone, and there was no denying that the night would be a memorable one. 

Curry seamlessly transitioned into “RICKY” and “HIT THE FLOOR.” But when a sample of Keith Mansfield's “The Loving Touch” came on, the crowd went absolutely wild (including me); after all, it was the intro to one of his most iconic songs, “Walkin’” off of his fifth studio album Melt My Eyez See Your Future. 

He spoke a few words to the crowd, asking them to show some energy and hype (which they definitely were). He continued with “COLE PIMP,” “BLACK FLAG FREESTYLE,” “G’Z UP,” and a few other songs from his older albums. 

A few songs later, Curry brought on Kenny Mason to perform “SKED” and 454 to perform “ANOTHER LATE NITE.”  

He also brought on a fan to rap a song with him.

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At this point, I was at the balcony watching the show from above, and I could confidently say that the crowd had already moshed for every single song Curry performed so far. It was incredible how much energy the crowd had this far into the set. 

“Open it up, open it up!” Curry yelled into the microphone. Then, spotting two peculiarly dressed fans in the crowd, he laughed, adding, “Let’s get Spiderman on one side and Jesus on the other.”  

The crowd obliged, and a fan dressed like Jesus Christ and another wearing a full Spiderman bodysuit took their sides of the mosh pit. 

“Jesus side, make some noise!” Curry exclaimed. The right side cheered, and the Jesus fan flipped a specific finger on both hands to the Spiderman side. 

“Now, Spiderman side, make some noise!” The left side cheered, too. 

“Man, I can’t even take this seriously.” Curry chuckled. Then, he rapped “STILL IN THE PAINT,” and the mosh pit went crazy. 

After performing his “last” song, Curry yelled over the audience’s cheering:  

“If you don’t know my name, I go by the name Denzel motherf*cking Curry! I’m from Miami Dade County, Florida, and we out this motherf*cker,” he said in true King of the Mischievous South fashion. 

But, of course, that wasn’t really his last song; like clockwork, a few seconds later, his voice echoed throughout the venue: 

“You wanna hear one more song?”

The crowd roared in response. 

“Are you sure?” 

The crowd screamed again, and Curry came out and performed one last song: “JPEGULTRA.” 

Overall, this was one of the best shows I’ve ever been to.  Everything about the night was electrifying, and I also met a few other fans who were very kind and cool. Some complimented my shirt (I was repping Childish Gambino), asked about my photos, or just started some nice conversation with me. It was good energy all around, and I left the show feeling incredibly fulfilled and happy. 

Denzel Curry knows how to put on a show, and his fans definitely know how to enjoy a show. For the night, he wasn’t just the King of the Mischievous South: he was the King of The Mischievous Florida. 

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