Dear Curren$y (re: Pilot Talk)

It's a great day in music when, as an artist, you see your wildest dreams come to fruition and your music take on a life of its own. Curren$y, your album 'Pilot Talk' is the fruits of your labor growing into a mysterious garden of fresh rhymes, incredible production, and a strange stench of well-tended herbs. Spitta, you've come a long way. From proclaiming 'Where the Cash At' behind the ego of Lil' Wayne, to destroying a mixtape circuit where few are well-equipped and fewer make it out alive, to becoming the underground's green thumb, you've circled the block so many times, you might as well live there. Pilot Talk, though only your third album (with more on the way), is a culmination of sorts. Rather than digital releases and blog leaks, this work has a much more professional and personal touch to it, right down to the cover (see above). Damon Dash's reincarnation of Roc-A-Fella Records has breathed life into your already vibrant career, and I for one couldn't be more excited.

Around this time last year, I was fresh off listening to your juggernaut of a mixtape with Wiz Khalifa, 'How Fly'. Now, that was damn near a classic (by today's standards; don't get it twisted), but one thing stuck out to me: how juvenile, or better yet, unrefined it sounded. If a person wasn't a fan of you or Wiz, they heard this:

Weed, cars, sneakers, weed, girls, weed, flight metaphors, weed, random video game/sports/movie/music reference, weed, cars, weed, sneakers, girls, weed

That's a lot of marijuana references for someone who, I hope, doesn't wish to be classified as a stoner rapper. You and Wiz reek of excellence, but I doubt you want to be the next Cheech and Chong. You needed to step your game up, in a real way. You needed to show the world that the Hot Spitta is a pro at this, not just a good amateur with connections. In other words you needed to rise above the smoke. Pilot Talk is the work that, when we go back and look at your career, will be recognized as your turning point, or the takeoff point. The album is ridiculously well produced. Every beat sounds masterful, especially Breakfast (probably my favorite song of the past 3 months), whose horns and new guitar melody (it's a much deeper beat than the one I posted a while back) will put the most restless soul at ease. Your lyrics sounded effortless there, with more subliminal wordplay than most would know what to do with. Tracks like Prioritize, Roasted, The Hangover and Address show you haven't lost the edge that got you to this point. When you said you spit vicious, you weren't lying.

There's a supreme cockiness that I can hear in your voice, yet you rap about having your head on straight, investing your money wisely and being a workaholic. I guess Dame Dash has rubbed off on you, and his DD172 collective have done you well. There's tenable growth that people who haven't been listening might not see. Curren$y, there weren't any moments during the album that made me want to press skip. It was simply a good listen. The features were a highlight too. Mikey Rocks ripped his verse, Big KRIT and Smoke DZA surprised me again on Skybourne, and Devin the Dude played the perfect sidekick to your only truly weed-inspired song, Chilled Coughee. Spitta, I'm genuinely impressed and happy with this release. Blog rappers don't usually make albums that translate well outside of those blogs. Good to see something going right. Keep flying, Spitta.

#dopetracks:
Address
Prioritize
Breakfast
Example
Audio Dope

Loosies:
Curren$y - The Day (ft. Mos Def & Jay Electronica)
Rick Ross - Super High (Remix) (ft. Curren$y & Wiz Khalifa)

Wiz Khalifa - Kush & Orange Juice

Wiz Khalifa - Kush and Orange Juice

There are few times when an overt weed reference can bring Twitter down to it's avian knees. One of those times is the eventual day when it's legalized (it's much closer than people think). The other time is when a Curren$y or Wiz Khalifa mixtape happens to hit the interwebs. The latter happened this morning, with Taylor Gang general Wiz Khalifa aka MR. EZ-Wider dropping his highly anticipated 'Kush & Orange Juice' this morning. Wiz does exactly what you think he would do with this mixtape: talk about beautiful women, bomb herb, sneakers and his journey to the top. He also puts together a valiant musical effort with this one. The production is album-esque, which is what I expect at this point. Hell, he samples a track from the end of the movie 'Garden State,' and 'One Beer' from MF DOOM's 'MM..Food,' and rips both!! If I were to choose a perfect time to listen to Mr. Khalifa, it would be a sunny day, preferably a Saturday, with a group of good friends. It's only right. Wiz is unlike any other rappers (besides Curren$y and Devin the Dude) who can populate an entire tape with weed references and party music, and still keep it fresh and easy to listen to. I'll be honest. I think Wiz's lyrics took a small step back in terms of how much he fits in his bars. Because the tape is so long, there are points in it that I wanted to skip, but because it sounded so good, I refrained. I guess that's what weed does to the listening experience. Wiz makes the mixtape more than just lyrics and beats. Sonically, the tape is exactly what the title implies: an audio high and a refreshing glass of OJ to wash it down with. You won't regret this download, even if you don't smoke. Check out the download, tracklist/back cover, #dopetracks, loosies and videos...



#dopetracks:
The Statement
Spotlight
In the Cut
Visions
Pedal to the Medal
Glass House

Loosies:
Wiz Khalifa – Cabin Fever

Videos: Two older freestyles (I don't care) and Wiz talking about Jae Millz...