CURREN$Y Verde Terrace 8.23.11 JetLife Recordings / Warner Bros. Records
Hip-hop artists who need help figuring out their live show, talk to Spitta. Philadelphia Weekly
New Orleans weed-rapper Curren$y has built a large following over the past few years for his mellowed-out rhymes and spacey instrumentals, releasing a string of solid albums and mixtapes at a nearly inhuman rate. Riverfront Times
"You also can't argue against the fact that Curren$y's both prolific and consistent, a rare quality if there ever was one." PrefixMag.com
"There is not a week that goes by, where his name isn’t either buzzing or trending online, something new drops on the radio, or there is new material available on iTunes." stupidDOPE.com
Verde Terrace doesn't break any new territory for Curren$y, but "new territory" isn't really part of his M.O.-- he is digging a groove, one into which he settles more comfortably each year…Curren$y is refining the contours of his tiny universe so that it resembles no one else's. Pitchfork.com, Verde Terrace review (7.3 of 10)
Curren$y understands the formula to creating a cult following: consistent, high quality music delivered frequently…Spitta offers an album full of his standard weed, women and clothes that made him the cult icon and fan favorite he is now. Off Beat Magazine, album review
Curren$y’s the paradox in the microwave rap argument. Ology.com, mixtape review (3 of 5)
With that, Curren$y and his Jets crew add to his ever-growing discography of mixtapes. Jets, where haven't they done yet? MTV.com
Real talk: if all of us were this productive while smoking tons of weed, the world would practically run itself. Pitchfork.com
Curren$y is one of the more hard working artists in the game. FreeOnSmash.com
CURREN$Y Weekend at Burnie’s 6.28.11
Weekend at Burnies features Curren$y’s descriptive word play, comical one liners, and visually- stimulating storytelling – and, although the album only clocks in at just a little over 40 minutes, Curren$y makes the most of his time by rhyming effortlessly over Monsta Beatz. Allhiphop.com, ―The 2011 Playback: AllHipHop.com’s Top 40 Albums of 2011 (#30)‖
With it’s polished production courtesy of Monsta Beatz, Weekend At Burnie’s was an exception to the norm. Curren$y likewise keeps the features to a Jet Life minimum, and in the process highlights the crews’ strengths while downplaying their lack of subject diversity. Spitta’s relevance certainly doesn’t rest in the hands of critical success, but it’s nice to know he’s got it in him. HipHopDX.com, ―Top 25 Albums of 2011‖
Nobody worked harder behind that microphone than the best rapper from New Orleans. You can have one lane Weezy or Jay‖ One song a year‖ Electronica, but my money is on Spitta Planetill.com review - ―2011: The Year of Revolt – The Underground Has Overcome: The James Brown Hardest Working Rapper In the Biz Award‖
Currensy is all about the pleasure of submersion. A weed-obsessed New Orleans native with a chunky, molassesy drawl[,] he oozes into all available corners of a beat...On Curren$y songs, the rhymes serve as reassurance, quick jolts of focus that are a reminder of a world outside his proigious haze. Over the last two years, Curren$y has quetly built up one of the most impressive catalogs in hip-hop. New York Times
Save for a little hopping around, Curren$y was seated during the performance. Not everyone could kill a show from that position, but with his relaxed delivery, trippy beats (courtesy of producers including the Alchemist and Monsta Beatz) and subject matter that often revolves around getting high, the laid-back format worked well. Washington Post
In 2011, Curren$y released his fifth solo album, ―Weekend at Burnie's,‖ which is by far his best album to date. With his strong southern drawl, the New Orleans-based rapper has a laid-back demeanor that works well with the melodic tracks, produced mostly by Monsta Beatz. Chicago Daily Herald - Featured in ―It’s not too late to discover overlooked 2011 gems‖
―#JetsGo‖ illustrated how Curren$y and his crew, the Jets, enjoy videogames, other men’s girlfriends and an endless amount of weed with a relaxed coolness in place of the typical braggadocio of hip-hop. Billboard
The "Hot Spitta" is one artist to watch. EbonyJet.com
The album has more of a low-key summer weekend feel to it than the chaotic weekend of corpse chaperoning featured in the film. Spitta doesn’t stray from his element, cruising through Monsta Beatz’s spacey, woozy production in his signature Louisiana drawl. While his delivery comes out sounding effortless, his rhymes are in fact riddled with descriptive lines and obscure, comical references…This prolific rhymer has added yet another project to a continuously growing catalog, and it’s one sure to please anyone who flies those Jets. XXLMag.com
His delivery is more an unhurried run-on that hits various ideas and images along the way without pounding any of them home. Though the music on his albums has changed, his slippery delivery really hasn't, and it's remarkable how completely at home he sounds on just about any form of beat that he attempts… This guy is still on a very serious roll, and it doesn't seem to be anywhere near over. Pitchfork.com
Though his subject matter is pretty one-dimensional, when he attacks a beat, he leaves no part of it unused, sometimes seeming to have no regard for couplets or even rhyming. Combine that with his ear for spacey, soulful soundscapes, and you've got a sound that gives classic hip-hop stylings a millennial edge. Village Voice
New Orleans rapper Curren$y’s output might be misfiled as stoner rap—ten seconds spent with his Twitter account (@CurrenSy_Spitta) reveals a workmanlike devotion to getting high—but there’s nothing sluggish about his flow. He’s a verbose, funny, hyperaware rapper, giving shout- outs to everything from Family Matters to perennially hot Tribeca eatery Bubby’s. Time Out New York a solid release from a blossoming star… The Daily News
[Weekend at Burnie’s] provides the smooth and soulful production fans are used to, and the lyrical content that has made him one of Hip-Hop’s most consistent and entertaining voices. Allhiphop.com
Spitta’s most successful when he crafts melodic, laid back tracks, smooth enough to make fans lean without being under the influence. HipHopDX.com
Curren$y delivers quality in full with his Warner Bros. debut LP, making the game seem effortless, and retaining the reputation he proclaimed in the Fear and Loathing in New Orleans mixtape takeover era. Though this is Spitta’s third release of the year, there seems little reason to place him in the club of fast-food rap. Spitta works with an uncommon efficiency at an especially uncommon rate, and the recommendation of caution is unnecessary, as whatever he’s doing is working damn well. Ology.com
Spitta works with an uncommon efficiency at an especially uncommon rate, and the recommendation of caution is unnecessary, as whatever he’s doing is working damn. Ology.com
In an age where the single rules supreme Curren$y has actually put together an album that’s best listened to as an album, whose effect can really only be felt after a top to bottom listen. So maybe ―background music‖ isn’t such a dirty term. This is lifestyle music, and if your lifestyle involves a lot of sitting down and not talking much, there are a lot worse places to spend a weekend at than Burnie’s. DJBooth.net
Curren$y distinguishes the Jet life from the average rappers extravagant existence by blending the perfect amount of swag with a touch of sophistication. Instead of ignorantly boasting about how much money he has (like many of his peers) Curren$y chooses to take his lyrics to another level by painting elaborate pictures of his regal routine. iHipHop.com
[Weekend at Burnie’s] brings Spitta’s normal flow to the forefront on another impressive piece of art. Respect Magazine review
The New Orleans native has dropped the tightest, most focused album the genre has had in year. We know nickel-bag schwag when we hear it: Curren$y only brings the stickiest of the sticky-icky. Burnie’s exhibits an artist that has mastered his mediums. Cowbell review (3.4 of 5 stars)
The high-life testimonies (―You See It‖), illicit and indistinct rhymes (―JLC‖) and breaths of a woman in love with lust (―She Don’t Want A Man‖) commend the way Weekend At Burnie’s rolls through images and ideas, a throwback compliment to Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 2 and hip-hop in the mid-90s’. Blare Magazine
"You See It," the song bolsters a breezy laid-back production, alongside a very catchy hook which compliments the braggadocio lyrics quite nicely. Ballerstatus.com
Take it, add it to your audio storage unit, get high to it, whatever you see fit. The possibilities are endless….Curren$y makes great ―day-off-of-work‖ music. The Smoking Section
Flying directly in the face of most pothead clichés, he is also one of the more prolific rappers working today...He’s a frontrunner for the rapper of the Twitter age, as evidenced by album opener ―#jetsgo‖. So far, he’s kept a high quality to go along with the high volume of his releases, and Weekend at Burnie’s is no exception. Consequence of Sound (3 of 5 stars)
Mark it as another successful outing for Curren$y…his construction of songs still exerts a slickness and quality that some of the more accomplished rhymers are in need of. Productions on hand are sublime, metaphorically sending listeners on their own cloud far away – and when switching to the cruising vibes, equally compositions are as effective… Weekend At Burnies reassures Jets fans that the N.O free spirit is dopeness personified. Soul Culture review
Curren$y’s rapping style is unlike that of many mainstream rappers but, for fans of the underground, weed-loving hip-hop scene, Weekend At Burnie’s is a home run of variety and talent. The verses are meticulously crafted and each song seems to transport you to the ―jet life.‖ With the high number of releases scheduled for Curren$y, keep an eye on the horizon for more successful albums like Burnie’s. Live Music Guide review
Curren$y rhymes are delivered with a slow drawl that will make every one of your muscles relax…dude’s flow isn’t so much a flow as it is a Buddhist Om that change pitches. CollegeNews.com
Tracks smoothly ooze into the next, creating an album that flows so naturally you’ll hardly notice the seams…pick any part of this record, pull it apart and you’ll result with a borderline flawless, shapeless mass, set to jump to the top of your most played list. OneThirtyBPM.com
Curren$y Covert Coup 4.20.11
When the Jet Life rapper meets the genius of Alchemist, it‘s a strong showing on Covert Coup, a continuation of Curren$y‘s good collaborations from 201…Coup accomplished.
―The 2011 Playback: AllHipHop.com‘s Top 40 Albums of 2011‖ (#36)
Good production and flow will always be welcome.
―Favorite Albums of 2011 (#16),‖ 12.27.11
Few up-and-coming artists had a better 2011 than Curren$y. Verde Terrace and Covert Coup were both prototype-like examples of what ―stoner‖ rap can be, and it was impossible to decide which one deserved a place on the list. I didn‘t want to have tapes by the same artist holding two spots, so I took the lazy way out and gave this one to both of them. Covert Coup‘s production, provided entirely by The Alchemist, is easily the better of the two, but Curren$y‘s bars are at their best on Verde Terrace. You can‘t go wrong with either. If you‘re a fan of smooth as butter hip hop, or you‘re a smoker, they‘re both mandatory listening
―Top 10 Hip Hop Mixtapes of 2011‖
Curren$y‘s penchant for weed, sneakers, and muscle cars may deter purists from delving into the leader of the new cool‘s THC-powered rhymes, but at closer examination, one can find depth within the herbiage… Classic themes associated with the high life remain constant throughout the duo‘s first collaborative effort, but listeners who can withstand the saturation of smoke will be blessed with clouds of aural euphoria—a super high.
(4 of 5 mics) a rapper who had a healthy balance of arrogance and humility, mixed with sharp-shooting lyrics that came from the laziest sounding voice I‘ve ever heard. However, the rhymes were there. I finally understood why he was nicknamed ―Spitta.‖
Weed-rapper Curren$y has one of the smoothest, most playful flows in the game and is one of the most unexpected stars to emerge from the dirty South - he‘s a former Young Money Entertainment and No Limit soldier, but his lyrics are all classic and ultramagnetic.
Formerly known by his suffix Tha Hot Spitta (or just Spitta, if ya nasty), Curren$y has surfed the crest of some of Southern rap‘s most powerful movements, as a one-time signee of both No Limit and Cash Money Records; it is his evolution into the unfazeable rap Lebowski of today, however, that is the most remarkable. Dedicated to high-grade weed, fine women, and vintage muscle cars, Spitta‘s lifestyle tunes ooze a rare Devin the Dude-esque cool, while his wordplay and flow are damn near peerless. Jets… fool.
Covert Coup hits its mark, behind a producer-rapper match made in the clouds. CC delivers, it‘s quality outshining its quantity. Short but sweet.
(XL of XXL)
It's a different kind of weed-rap, one Curren$y hasn't really tried to do. And yet he slip-slides through it with the charming, effortless ease that's become his trademark. Nothing fazes this guy… There's plenty of zoned-out atmosphere on the tape, but it's a strong, focused, unified piece of work, not just a lava-lamp soundtrack. It stands on its own.
(7.9 of 10)
…embracing his creative-stoner, linguistically nimble self[,] Spitta manages to be captivating with a relaxed drawl, so smooth you almost don’t catch his clever turns of phrase and on-point references.
Over laid-back beats[,] Curren$y showcases an effortless rhyming style as well as a penchant for money, girls and weed.
Whether you share his passion or not, there's plenty to enjoy in Curren$y's music. Curren$y's appeal lies in his casual, laid-back, and somewhat goofy persona and rap style… He has the uncanny ability to take rap clichés and put his own interesting spin on them, spitting everyday tales of living the "Jet Life."
Covert Coup shows that Curren$y and Alchemist are nearly just as potent of a duo as Spitta has been with anyone else. Alc's soulful, murky soundbeds serve as perfect backdrops for Curren$y's elongated, smokey rhymes.
Covert Coup is a collaboration with the long-esteemed producer Alchemist, whose beats have a blunted, psychedelic grit you could just about curl up and take a nap in; matching them with Curren$y's mellow New Orleans drawl is an easy idea… it's built to smoke to: Just a solid ten- song block of underground head-nodding, uninterrupted by pop hooks, production shifts, or anything else that might break the spell.
Curren$y and Alchemist's new mixtape Covert Coup (hit the jump to download) might be one of the top drops to date in 2011. A high (no pun) producer-emcee blend in hip-hop has always proven to be a primary factor in a release taking the elevator rather than the stairs, and a simple listen to any track on the new tape show that Spitta and Alan tapped into that match-made relationship that produces pure success
Curren$y may be "new" to many people, but anyone who traces back through the rhyme-Spitta's history knows that this skateboarding, kush-loving, comedian has been around for close to a decade.
Spitta is continuing to blend up the different elements of his style into a concise globe with myriad arms of versatility branching out from it. If anything, Spitta's one of the most developed emcees over the past years since he got going, and it's continuosly exciting to see what kind of hip-hop he's going to drop as things move on
Despite the deficiency in spelling, New Orleans rapper Curren$y is an entrepreneurial at heart. Realizing that being an MC is about giving the fans what they want, the rapper has a plethora of releases in the works.
One of Hip Hop‘s biggest budding stars…
Curren$y cemented his status as one of SXSW 2011's stars with another charismatic and colorful set of blown-out, lush stoner rap.
NOLA stoner rap virtuoso Curren$y is a charismatic, exacting stage presence; it's impossible not to be won over watching Curren$y do his thing.
―The 10 Best Moments of SXSW‖ (#2)
New Orleans rapper has Cali slacker appear, as well as interesting flow and rhymes.
Fluidity is sort of Curren$y's thing. On his records, like last year's two great Pilot Talk albums, his elastic drawl bubbles and bobs through some truly lush, expansive production. At his best, Curren$y makes luxuriant stoner music, and that kind of sound can have a tough time translating live…Even with music as nonchalant as Curren$y's, a good chunk of the crowd was screaming along by the time he got to set-closer ‗Michael Knight‘, which just shows how a well-planned set can work.
Curren$y, the New Orleans-born, pot smoking Cheech to Wiz Khalifa's Chong, played his first of many SXSW sets at the Mohawk on Thursday. More energy than he has on record, the former Lil Wayne protégé lit up the crowd with singles Michael Knight and a few freestyles. He also threatened to kick out anyone not smoking a joint during his music.
A master of phrasing, cadence, and off-the-cuff freestyles. Fresh off a brand new contract with Warner Records, Currensy‘s holding the ball in this game now. He knows we‘ll be watching his moves regardless of the length.
If there was an award for the hardest working artist in Hip Hop, Curren$y Da Hot Spitta would be a shoe in for the award.
Mentored by Master P and Lil Wayne, rapper Curren$y (real name Shante Anthony Franklin) is the latest hot-as-shit hip hop artist to come out of New Orleans – beloved of critics, creeping higher and higher on the Billboard charts, and boasting a boatload of mixtapes under his belt along with several LPs.