Unlocked was met with critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 81, based on 7 reviews. [18] Trey Alston of MTV wrote that "Unlocked (the soundtrack) has eight tracks that range from angry, futuristic screaming bars to mid-'90s, boom-bap, DMX-like snarling that Curry's clearly having a good time doing." [24] Salvatore Maicki of The Fader wrote that Unlocked is "a frenetic and saturated endeavor into two minds at the top of their game," singling out the track "DIET_" as the LP's "most savage peak." [25] Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic stated that, "the set is a thrill to experience and begs for further collaboration." [19]
Alphonse Pierre of Pitchfork commended Curry's contributions but wrote that Kenny Beats' production work on the album was "too neat." [15] Pierre added:
Unlocked feels like it was made out of convenience—like going to Chipotle instead of the corner Mexican spot because it'll save you 20 minutes. It's good, sure. Curry is rapping his ass off. But Kenny Beats' production isn't anything new. There are no imperfections, no colors outside of the lines, and with that, it misses some of the heart that makes regional rap special. [15]
Publication | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Spin | Spin's 30 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year | N/A |
The album was accompanied by a 24-minute short film, which follows the rapper/producer duo on their journey to retrieve the missing Unlocked audio files after they were leaked. [11] [12] [13] Each track from the album is represented by a different visually stylized world in the short film. The film featured both live-action and animated segments. [12] Portions of the animated visuals were done in claymation. [16] Curry stated that he was influenced by various media from his childhood; he expressed wanting to do something "Gorillaz style" for "DIET_". [7] Curry went on to state that Cowboy Bebop served as the base inspiration for the "'Cosmic'.m4a", and that the horror manga Uzumaki influenced the style for "Take_it_Back_v2". [7]
All tracks are written by Denzel Curry
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Track 01" | 1:29 |
2. | "Take_it_Back_v2" | 2:49 |
3. | "Lay_Up.m4a" | 1:45 |
4. | "Pyro (leak 2019)" | 1:21 |
5. | "DIET_" | 2:23 |
6. | "So.Incredible.pkg" | 3:16 |
7. | "Track07" | 2:03 |
8. | "'Cosmic'.m4a" | 2:46 |
Total length: | 17:47 |
Unlocked 1.5 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Remix album by | ||||
Released | March 5, 2021 | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 21:43 | |||
Label |
| |||
Producer |
| |||
Denzel Curry chronology | ||||
| ||||
Kenny Beats chronology | ||||
|
On March 5, 2021, the remix album Unlocked 1.5 was released, including guest appearances from Smino, Joey Badass, and Benny the Butcher, among others. [27]
No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "So.Incredible.pkg (Robert Glasper Version)" (featuring Smino and Robert Glasper) |
| 1:29 |
2. | "Track07 (Georgia Anne Muldrow Version)" (featuring Arlo Parks) | Georgia Anne Muldrow | 2:24 |
3. | "'Cosmic'.m4a (The Alchemist Version)" (featuring Joey Badass) |
| 2:54 |
4. | "Take_it_Back_v2 (Charlie Heat Version)" | Charlie Heat | 2:51 |
5. | "Pyro (Sango Leak)" (featuring Kenny Mason) | Sango | 2:44 |
6. | "Lay_Up.m4a (Jay Versace Version)" | Jay Versace | 2:05 |
7. | "DIET_1.5" (featuring Benny the Butcher) | Kenny Beats | 2:24 |
8. | "Take_it_Back_v2 (GODMODE 950 Version)" | GAME666 | 3:08 |
Total length: | 21:43 |
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [28] | 33 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [29] | 133 |
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [30] | 82 |
Irish Albums (IRMA) [31] | 87 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [32] | 38 |
US Billboard 200 [33] | 100 |
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