Bay Area rap legend from Antioch dies in car crash Monday morning
Curtis “Young Curt” Denton. Photos from Twitter.
By Luke Johnson
East County rapper Young Curt has died at 27 years old. According to the Contra Costa County Coroner’s office and the Eastern Contra Costa Fire Protection District he was killed in a solo-car crash on Byron Highway, early Monday morning. (See ECCFPD BC MAJOR INCIDENT SUMMARY 062920)
When California Highway Patrol arrived to the scene at Clifton Court Road in Byron a little after 2 a.m., officers said they found Curtis Denton’s (Young Curt) body on the side of the road and his 2019 Dodge Charger flipped upside down.
According to CHP, Denton was speeding southbound when “he drove off the roadway and collided into the dirt shoulder causing the vehicle to roll over several times.” Officers believe Denton wasn’t wearing a seat belt and was subsequently ejected through the sunroof of his car.
“He suffered major injuries and was transported by ambulance to Kaiser Medical center in Antioch but was unfortunately pronounced deceased at the hospital by emergency personnel,” the CHP reported.
Denton was from Antioch and Pittsburg. He rose to fame with his song “It’s the Mobb” — which was released in 2008 while he was attending Deer Valley High School.
Young Curt during studio session. Screenshot of video posted on Twitter by The Yoc.
Another single from 2009 regained traction earlier this year on viral video-sharing app Tik Tok.
Many musicians and entertainers — such as Tyga, Kehlani and Iamsu! — took to social media to pay tribute to the fallen rapper.
“The era of music birthed from Curt, and the industry at that moment, created a pinnacle in not only the 925, but the entire Bay Area music scene,” said rapper Pok’Chop. “Curt played an integral part in my career. I recorded my first song in Curt’s studio back in 2006. We challenged each other to the point of success — it was healthy competition.”
The CHP report said it is unknown if drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash, but it is being investigated. On Denton’s Instagram page Sunday night, he posted on his story of what appeared to be a video of himself holding a bottle of prescription cough syrup.
If anyone witnessed this collision or the events leading up to it, they are asked to contact Contra Costa CHP in Martinez at (925) 646-4980.
the attachments to this post:
Screenshot of Young Curt in studio session from Twitter
Young Curt photo cover
Curtis Young Curt Denton from Twitter
ECCFPD BC MAJOR INCIDENT SUMMARY 062920
