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Many of us know and have become familiar with the Bored In The House TikTok wave as the platform continues to grow. Lots of us know and associate superstar rapper Tyga with it. But the real talent behind it is an up and coming Detroit rapper, Curtis Roach. Hitting his breakthrough after creating a sound similar to Dreamville’s, he’s been placing raw vocals and old school flows over choppy rough beats since 2017. All leading up and culminating to his Bored In The House mainstream track, a lot of credit goes to TikTok for allowing artists like this to catch some limelight that in the case of Roach is not only well deserved, but well overdue.
Truly creating his own lane, Roach is one of the few artists in the underground that’s able to go to a mainstream, traditional rap sound these days with what’s often referred to as “real rap” by many. One track that highlights this is Anxietea, having dropped in2017 and dove deep into heavy-hitting topics like anxiety and mental health issues with getting through each day. It's a gray, gloomy vibe where he pours out his soul singing “my heart will go hyperactive whenever I see your face.” Not many rappers are willing to make a song without referencing the usual big three of cars, clothes, and women, (the Gucci or Pradas of the world) especially while on the come up. Curtis takes the extra step too, saying he feels “displaced” due to his “social anxiety” talking to people with “eyes vibrating [and] “body shaking.” The track shows massive potential all around for such a new artist.
In 2019, his stardom continued to build with the drop of Lellow, Roach’s first album and a true masterpiece that certainly hasn’t received the attention it deserves. On I’m Good! we hear Curtis rap about being good saying if you “don’t like what you got, don’t like what you see[then] go for what you want.” Then he goes in to state emphatically “wait a minute I’m off the collard greens,” as the kick drum enters warning “little youngin’ I’m hottest on the scene.”
Finally, the song we all know about Bored In The House has come out the gates blazing hot and reaching nearly 30 times as many plays as his biggest track, currently at almost 30 million streams on Spotify alone. Its important to realize that Roach’s recent ascension is a product of tons of hard work, such as Curtis’ latest drop in EP LuvBug (coming just before the huge hit in Bored In The House) that’s been almost covered up by how much insane traction this single got. I encourage you to listen to all of Curtis’ music and see how much massive potential is here beyond just his mainstream hits.
From huge TikTok hits, to deep R&B, and more Curtis Roach has you covered on your music fix for any setting. Make sure to follow him @curtistootrill on Instagram and as always check us out @engmtcent on all social media for more up and coming talent.