Steve 'Flash' Juon“I got all this drip — look like a bird shitted.”
“Like Dat” was chosen at random off “Dlow Curry” as a place to start my review, and Dlow immediately started smacking me in the face with bars that made me cringe. “I can’t see these broke niggaz through these Carti(er) lenses.” He’s trying to rub his wealth in my face. “If I let you in my car, bitch just know you lucky.” Unnecessarily misogynistic. “Diamonds make her pussy wet.” For Dlow every female is a ho obsessed with his wealth. “I’m married to the money, I ain’t tryin’ to be your hubby.” Did he even need to say that out loud? I think you could have guessed he’s obsessed with money and has a low opinion of women just from the context. This makes his guest on the very next track ironic.
You may or may not be an Ice Spice fan, but she’s been enough of a viral success this decade to not need BossMan Dlow’s wealth (or anybody else’s). That’s obviously not what the collaboration is predicated on. It’s an attempt to make two viral artists go even more viral by working together — which makes it strange there’s not a music video for the song (yet). I’ve been trying to tease out why Dlow went viral though and it’s honestly a mystery to me. The video for “The Biggest Pt. 2” did over a million views in a month so I’m congratulating and not hating but to me at least the song isn’t special. The clip feels like a movie. It’s all sizzle no steak.
“Me being a broke nigga — baby, I never heard of that.”
Let’s back this up for a second. There are some positives on “Dlow Curry” I’d be remiss not to address. The Floridian rapper has a unique vocal pitch and an inflection that makes every word sound like a question. The production neither buries this underneath the bass nor masks it by adding unnecessary pitch correction. He does have a degree of self-deprecating humor at times which manifests in him talking about how fly and successful he is despite being overweight. The late Notorious B.I.G. is clearly a muse for him and on some songs he even paraphrases him. I’m not saying they are in the same league but I am saying I respect that he acknowledges those who came before him.
To me the biggest drawback of “Dlow Curry” is not the problematic misogyny since as rap fans that’s par for the course, and bragging about how much money you make/have/spend is equally familiar. What really gets to me over the course of an hour is how much rap has lost since it became too expensive to clear samples. I’m in favor of saving a buck or two (although the way Dlow brags he could afford to pay clearances out of pocket) but songs like “Game Winner” and “Out the Mud” are interchangeable as fuck.
I’ll celebrate BossMan Dlow as a success. He went from rapping in the county jail to doing full length albums with features from the likes of GloRilla (another woman who doesn’t need his money) and Babyface Ray. In 2025 it feels as though hip-hop music is on the cusp of a revival where everybody has grown weary of emo rap and crooning. They have their place in the diaspora but they shouldn’t dominate the scene at the expense of all other styles. In that respect “Dlow Curry” does have its place. I wouldn’t even call it a bad album. Often boring or monotonous? Yes. Not BAD though. You should keep in mind that Mr. McCreary and BossMan Dlow are not the same person. The attitudes he expresses on this album don’t necessarily reflect the person he is in real life. I just want the fictional version of him to show a little more range going forward and get some more interesting beats.