Currensy "Fear & Loathing in New Orleans"

With tape number four in “Spitta’s Monthly Mixtape Takeover” (his name, not mine) he shouts out his home and a classic book about a wild drug fueled journey. I’m sure Fear & Loathing in New Orleans was fueled by as much chronic smoke as any other tape Currensy has released, but he isn’t one to rep for much else - he even goes so far as to say on the intro he doesn’t “pour anything up.” Regardless of what ingests, he has delivered a pretty good project this time around, maybe the first of his tapes I could see myself going back to as a whole project.

He introduces the tape over Kool & The Gang’s “Summer Madness” before jumping into the title track sounding great over a smooth jazzy beat that I swear I’ve heard before but can’t place. He is talking about his home here, he talks about the hood, friends passed, and his first rap that was “full of bullshit and lies” about doing dirt. I can dig this.

The tape kinda falters for a sec after with a couple ho hum joints. “Murda” comes and goes with Spitta talking about how he can take out anyone with his bars while “Movie Writers, Bussiness Men & Gangstas” features a terrible beat with no life for Currensy and Mr. Marcelo to talk about nonsense, and some contrived connection between the three. Well I guess their could be, but they don’t capture it in the slightest.

He and Roddy take “We Major” into “Sky Barz” talking about their typcial Fly Society type shit about just how fly they get and over a Neptunes industry beat he talks about “World Class Bitches” who love him. He sounds good over the Neptunes baby making tune, and he keeps it light and funny throughout, he just wants to get highed up with the fly ass chick who snuck the planes into the club.

Many of the tracks on this tape only feature a verse and a hook. This isn’t a knock against the tape, one of the flaws in the previous ones relates to how they could drag on. That being said, it’s an easier task to write a hot 16 over a hot beat, coming with a complete idea is a whole different task. Of course he has proven today he has no problem being creative, if anything these days the guy is being too inspired... nah, no such thing.

“Lost In Transit” is one of the best Currensy song I’ve heard in my going through the discography. Over an awesomely spacey beat that features very mellow drums just playing in the background, whoever played the synths on this tack wins big in my book, I want more! Currensy gives us some high talk about rappers being parents to kids who’s biological don’t bother, education getting you killed, and of course he has a couple lines about how dope he is.

He raps about being new age technology, tell dudes how to get on in this new Internet driven rap biz. He rocks over Ski’s Camp Lo classic, continually demonstrating the chemistry they have goes deeper than just knowing Dame. He pulls on Ced Hughes for an awesome track in “Calm Down” and reminds me why I interviewed dude, why I hate that I don’t have the audio any longer, and just how dope he is. He has a much more precise flow next to Spitta, but they compliment each other here awesomely well.

Fear & Loathing in New Orleans has some gems. Like most mixtapes it’s not flawless, that’s ok. Like all of these proects it’s free and it’s another notch in Currensy’s belt. He wasn’t dropping these tapes to make people believe he was the dopest on the mic but to prove that he could rap and you should listen to him. What he lacks in lyrical dexterity he makes up for with charisma and a knowledge of rap that only the biggest of heads would put on display. He rocks “Intergalactic” like it was his own. Enough said.

Download the tape here.