If you’ve kept up in the rap culture even a tiny bit in the last decade, there’s a good chance that Denzel Curry’s name rings familiar. From well-acclaimed studio albums such as ‘Imperial’,‘TA13OO’, ‘Melt My Eyez See Your Future’, and most recently 2024’s ‘KING OF THE MISCHIEVOUS SOUTH VOL. 2’, Curry has become well-known by fans for both his consistency as well as his exceptional ability to create bodies of work in his career that highlight a wide range of club bangers and viral freestyles, all the way to thought-provoking masterpieces and melodic R&B hooks.
Curry is well known for holding rather impressive performances across his tours as well as his one-off festival appearances alike. His previous headlining tour in Phoenix was March 2022, also hosted by The Van Buren, for his studio album ‘Melt My Eyez See Your Future’ in which he performed the album in its entirety, but also scattered with significant hits amongst his discography throughout the set.
Curry has embarked on the North American leg of ‘The Mischievous South’ tour as of March 31, 2025, and Phoenix was lucky enough to host the very first stop. Not only that, but he was welcomed into town by an eager sold-out crowd. This time accompanied by rappers new and old, Clip, 454, and Kenny Mason, it wasn’t long before the Van Buren began to crowd up along its walls with people packed shoulder-to-shoulder. And after much anticipation, Curry quite literally sprinted into his set, full speed ahead.
Opening with the track ‘ACT A DAMN FOOL’ off of the recently released Deluxe Edition of ‘KING OF THE MISCHIEVOUS SOUTH’, you could immediately witness the excitement on display from the crowd as everyone in the room began roaring, chanting lyrics, and jumping up and down in unison. Quite fitting for the track ‘HIT THE FLOOR’ which came shortly after. The energy was dominating.
Curry progressed with his hit track ‘Walkin’, a song that dominated the space upon its release and acclaimed much praise for its well-thought-out and lyrical bars with a slow, steady flow alongside a beautiful vocal sample and bass line, and a phenomenal beat switch. From the front row to the back, this crowd continued to show off their enthusiasm as they chanted the lyrics alongside Curry. This was a particular highlight for me. Something else shown off by Curry was some of his A-list feature catalog.
Curry in recent years has garnered significant notice for his strong verses in collaboration with artists across genres. He treated The Van Buren to the track ‘GOATED’ from Armani White, ‘Twistin’ by Lil Ugly Mane, as well as Lyrical Lemonade’s ‘First Night’ also featuring Teezo Touchdown and frequent collaborator of Curry’s, Juicy J.But the treats kept on coming…
Curry surprised the crowd with his recent redux of his track with Kenny Beats, “DIET_”— this time, accompanied by the Mustard beat made famous by Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX”, “tv off”. This redux made headlines shortly following the release of “GNX” when Curry released a video in accompaniment…and frankly put, it slaps. Seeing this performed live was something that took the energy in the room up a whole extra level, and made way for a phenomenal last-half of his setlist. Curry concluded his set with performances of more major hits, ‘ULT’, ‘HOT ONE’,‘STILL IN THE PAINT’, but most notably, the tracks ‘Ultimate’ and ‘CLOUT COBAIN | CLOUT CO13A1N’. To say the least, Denzel Curry put on a masterclass of a rap show, and he’s not stopping anytime soon. If you have the chance to see him in concert one day, don’t skip out.
‘The Mischievous South Tour’ continues across the USA – more dates available here.
