Both Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats would find equal success as showrunners over at Comedy Central's Adult Swim if either musician were to ever quit the music industry, as they made apparent with their hilariously-clever new animated musical short titled UNLOCKED.
Operating more like a visual album — it actually might be based off the tracklist-themed credits — UNLOCKED is so many things packed into one that each deserve separate praise. The animation alone is top-level expertise into the many eras of anime, paying homage to the Spy vs. Spy black & white era, the borderless minimalist approach perfected on Samurai Jack and of course the classic 2D drawn together style inspired by the gang of Scooby Doo just to name a few standout examples. The music is the main point that carries you throughout the almost half-hour-long short, but it's an overall impressive way to launch anything new when you have something this cool visually to accompany the rollout.
Watch the full UNLOCKED short film by Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats below, in addition to the credits as listed via YouTube:
Lead Animators:
Desktop Intro (8 Bit): Mike Manor
01. Track 01: Sam Hochman
02. Take_it_Back_v2: Joey Prosser
04. Pyro (leak 2019): Forrest Whaley; VFX by Justin Johnson
03. Lay_Up.m4a: Chaz Bottoms, Malik Bolton, & Rachel Headlam
05. DIET_: Chaz Bottoms, Malik Bolton, & Rachel Headlam
06. So.Incredible.pkg: Chaz Bottoms, Malik Bolton, & Rachel Headlam
07. Track07: Chaz Bottoms, Malik Bolton, & Rachel Headlam
08. 'Cosmic'.m4a: Borboev Shakhnazer & Asekov Tilek
