2005. Curren$y had it all going for him. Guest feature on Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter II album. One of the original artists signed to Weezy’s Young Money imprint. He was scheduled to release his first album Music to Fly To and he also found the time to co-create a clothing label with celeb bad-boy skateboarder Terry Kennedy called “Fly Society”. Whether due to impatience or a falling out with both Weezy and Terry Kennedy, Curren$y left both Young Money and Fly Society respectively to jump start his own career. Fast forward to the present, and the artists that did manage to come out under the Young Money’s umbrella, Drake and Nicki Minaj, just so happen to be the highest charting rappers in the game. Meanwhile, Terry Kennedy’s Fly Society clothing line happens to be one of the most sought after street wear brands, he has his own reality show on MTV and just so happened to appear in a video game or two. How did Curren$y fare, leaving behind these cash cow franchises to do things his own way? As his latest album Pilot Talk 2 can attest to, pretty damn well.
With song titles such as “Michael Knight” (referencing the lead character from the Night Rider TV series) and “Montreux” (referencing one of Marvin Gaye’s greatest performances ‘Live at the Montreaux’) you know you are in for a different listen with Pilot Talk 2, than most the offerings from other young MCs. Curren$y has built a niche for himself, aligning himself with like minded artists such as Wiz Khalifa and Fiend and creating music for the young heads that think they are old heads. I mean young heads that listen to Jay Z’s Reasonable Doubt like it came out yesterday, pin movies like American Ninja and Death Wish to their Netflix instant queue, and still go ape shit over the latest Jordan Brand release. He found the perfect producer to compliment his subject fodder, Ski Beatz of Camp Lo fame and the aforementioned Reasonable Doubt. Ski handles the bulk of the production, providing warm, dynamic, jazzy atmospheres that compliment Curren$y’s flow. The way Curren$y navigates the beats are akin to piloting a jet, almost always beginning in a smooth take off, reaching a comfortable altitude with smart, witty rhymes, touching on some turbulence here and there with some rapid fire Weezy esque punches, and safely landing the listener/passenger with a comfortable hook.
Pilot Talk 2 will be one of the original albums you hear this year. It may fly under the radar, releasing the same day as Nicki Minaj’s and Kanye West’s new albums, but that just might be where Curren$y is comfortable piloting his record. He has hit his artistic stride. He has found a legendary producer that he has developed incredible chemistry with. And now, he is free to make the music and touch the subjects he is comfortable touching without having to conform to the pop demand that he would have to subjugate himself to had he remained with Young Money. Do yourself a favor and upload this to your IPod or car stereo, buckle your seatbelt, tilt the seat back, and trust in your Pilot to get you where you need to get to safely. It will be a pleasurable flight.
Pilot Talk 2 receives a PARL
Rating:
P…Horrible
PA…Tolerable
PAR…Good
PARL…Kinda Great
PARLÉ…Classic
Curren$y “Michael Knight” music video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gqojr91bAEY&playnext=1&list=PL61762A71EB7C9934&index=32
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