When Dr. Dre planted Chronic seeds into ears of Hip-Hop culture, he was only trying to depict a day in the life of Los Angeles, California. Fast-forward two decades later, “Stoner rap” has grown almost into a genre all to itself, thanks to Hip-Hop cannabis connoisseurs like Wiz Khalifa and Smoke DZA.
Although a few of these MCs have refuted their music being dubbed only “Stoner rap”, the common theme of weed nonetheless resonates immensely with a wide range of audiences, giving the stressed-out hustler, financially-struggling single mom, or even the 70-year-old flower child all something to fly to. Yet, after some of the smoke cleared, the buds of “Stoner rap” seemed to be cashed due to its lack of depth and redundant marijuana themes. But just when it seems like the popular genre is endangered of being a trend, leave it to Curren$y to find slicker ways on how to describe the high life.
For his newest release Priest Andretti (just in time for Halloween), Spitta inhales the classic pimp attitude of the Blaxplotation film era to blow out some of his most potent bars since 2010’s Pilot Talk. After catching some contact smoke with his Jet Life signees Trademark Da Skydiver and Fiend on the skippable “Contacts”, Curren$y fires the jets on haters who now want a cut of his current success on “Money Machine Part 2” (“JETS in the house B*tch, you ain’t help us move in / So why you got your hands out now stupid?/ Had you played your role, you would have got your credit at the end of the movie”)
On “Max Julian”, grooving bass and licking guitars send Curren$y on a braggadocios cruise that would have the original Max Julian who played in the pimp classic, The Mack, screaming “CHUUUCH!” Surprisingly, the Jet Life general also displays his No Limit roots on “Trip to London” and “Stainless”. The usually mellow Fiend’s impression of Mystikal is a little farfetched on “Trip to London”, but you almost expect to hear Master P’s trademark ad-lib on the piano keys and claps of “Stainless”.
Ironically, although Curren$y’s trademark laidback flow has some fine moments on Priest Andretti, it gets even more interesting when New Orleans MC gets a little more gutter. Dirty kick drums and echoing voices set a dark mood on “Talk My Sh*t”, as Spitta does just that (“B*****s on chemicals, moving bodies/ sensual, sexual, cynical/ Octop***y, kill the tentacles”).
When trading bars with Styles P and Noreaga on “Boss Dealings”, Curren$y outshines both of the vets with vivid schemes that makes it apparent that he is not the one to be slept on (“Pinky ring frozen/ Cuban link golden/ Only built for sh*t the n*ggas kill for/ Audio Dope, flyest as anything you never saw/ forever raw”). The wordplay only gets better on “Cleopatra Zones”, which finds Fiend struggling to keep up with Spitta’s game raps through lazy bass and soothing saxophones (“Style too cold to be stole, you’ll get frost bite/ I’m often imitated but they never copyright”).
It’s a shame that the only thing holding Priest Andretti back from being one Curren$y’s best works are the throwaway features from Fiend, Cornerboy P, and even King Chip who surprisingly disappoints on “For Seasons”. But don’t hate the player, hate the game. By keeping his pen-game hand strong on Priest Andretti, Curren$y once again proves that as long he keeps reinventing his strand of “Stoner rap,” his fans will keep coming back for a hit.
Rating: 7.5/10