Denzel Curry’s TA13OO is a record about being unbothered. Across thirteen tracks, he moves through horrorcore, trap, and everything in between, refusing to sit still long enough to be pinned down. The album runs 43 minutes, and almost every second of it earns that time. This is Curry’s clearest statement yet: he is not just a rapper who sounds angry, he is a rapper who understands anger, fear, and the digital chaos that feeds both.
TABOO Opens the Record
“TABOO” sets the tone immediately. It is a warning, a declaration, and a mission statement rolled into one track. The production is sparse, almost skeletal, and Curry’s delivery is unhurried, letting the weight of the words land before he moves on. It is the kind of opener that announces the arrival of an artist who knows exactly what he wants to say.
BLACK BALLOONS Through SUMO
“BLACK BALLOONS” and “CASH MANIAC” are less about the music and more about the mood. Both tracks lean into the horrorcore template Curry built his early career on, but they feel like warm-up exercises rather than full statements. They establish the setting without adding much new to it.
“SUMO,” on the other hand, is where the record starts to stretch. The beat shifts, Curry’s flow changes, and the song feels like a deliberate attempt to break the pattern that surrounds it. It is one of the tracks critics singled out for a reason.
SUPER SAIYAN SUPERMAN to MAD I GOT IT
“SUPER SAIYAN SUPERMAN” is a short burst of energy, all hooks and menace. It is not the deepest track on the record, but it knows exactly what it is doing. “SWITCH IT UP” follows and is the album’s first real standout. The title says it all: Curry switches up his approach, and the result is one of the most memorable tracks here.
“MAD I GOT IT” closes the middle stretch on a high note. It is a confident, swaggering track that shows Curry at his most relaxed, even when the lyrics are anything but.
SIRENS Through VENGEANCE
“SIRENS” and “CLOUT COBAIN” are the album’s quiet center. Neither reaches the heights of the tracks around them, but they serve a purpose: they let the record breathe before the final push. “THE BLACKEST BALLOON” is the exception. It is dark, brooding, and one of the tracks critics singled out for a reason. It is also the moment the record’s central tension—between the digital and the physical—comes into sharpest focus.
“PERCS” is a short, sharp interlude, more mood-setter than statement. It is the kind of track that could easily be forgotten, but it holds the album together by giving the listener a moment to catch their breath.
“VENGEANCE” is the closer, and it is the album’s thesis in sound. It is slow, heavy, and relentless, and it makes the case for why Curry’s brand of horrorcore matters more than ever. It is the second track critics singled out for a reason.
BLACK METAL TERRORIST Ends the Record
“BLACK METAL TERRORIST” closes the album on a note of defiance. It is a fitting end to a record that spends its runtime pushing back against labels and expectations.
| Track | Length | Critical Reception |
|---|---|---|
| TABOO | 3:17 | Opening statement |
| SUMO | 3:47 | One of the best |
| SWITCH IT UP | 2:55 | One of the best |
| THE BLACKEST BALLOON | 2:55 | One of the best |
| VENGEANCE | 4:00 | One of the best |
Final Word
TA13OO is Denzel Curry’s strongest work to date. It is an album about identity, online culture, and the spaces where those two things collide. The weaker tracks are not failures—they simply exist to support the stronger ones—but they do not elevate the record the way the highlights do.
Curry has spent years building a reputation as a rapper who refuses to play by the rules, and TA13OO is the clearest proof of that refusal yet. It is messy, sprawling, and occasionally repetitive, but it is also consistently interesting. The tracks that work—“SUMO,” “SWITCH IT UP,” “THE BLACKEST BALLOON,” “VENGEANCE”—are some of the best of his career.
This is a rap album that rewards attention. It is not a record you put on in the background; it is a record you engage with, track by track. That engagement pays off again and again.
- TABOO | TA13OO3:17
- BLACK BALLOONS | 13LACK 13ALLOONZ3:30
- CASH MANIAC | CAZH MAN1AC3:18
- SUMO | ZUMO3:47
- SUPER SAIYAN SUPERMAN | ZUPER ZA1YAN ZUPERMAN2:12
- SWITCH IT UP | ZWITCH 1T UP2:55
- MAD I GOT IT | MAD 1 GOT 1T3:52
- SIRENS | Z1RENZ3:56
- CLOUT COBAIN | CLOUT CO13A1N3:51
- THE BLACKEST BALLOON | THE 13LACKEZT 13ALLOON2:55
- PERCS | PERCZ3:06
- VENGEANCE | VENGEANCE4:00
- BLACK METAL TERRORIST | 13 M T2:41
