Curren$y: Verde Terrace (2011)

(Datpiff)

By my count, Curren$y's put out five records in the last year -- two actual studio albums (Pilot Talk II and Weekend at Burnie's), and at least three mixtapes. Even for the obsessive fan, it's a lot to keep up with, and given how uninspired and redundant this DJ Drama tape is, it's tempting to scream something or other about OVERSATURATION. There is such a thing, you know.

But then you hear something like "Hennessy Beach," a glorious chillout that audaciously samples John Coltrane's "Naima" and is maybe the peak of Curren$y's recorded output so far. I think "Naima" is the all-time greatest piece of recorded music. So am I offended that it's now overlaid by lyrics about weed and precum? Fuck no. It's a thrill, really, and so is Curren$y's rapid-fire rant on "Smoke Sumn," his wind through the undeniably grand "Music to Ride To," and the sheer ridiculousness of "My Life Is a Movie." ("My life is a movie / So people be watchin' / Just to see if I still can get shit poppin'.")

I wish more of Verde Terrace had that kind of chutzpah and ambition. Curren$y remains an unfailingly good rapper; his jokes are tricky, his weed talk is amusing, and he seems to always be on point even at his laziest. When an artist is a machine like that, they live or die by the quality of the beats and sounds that surround their performances. This doesn't crackle and pop like Ski Beatz did, frankly. I can't help but feel that the best material from this and Curren$y's other 2011 releases could've made one killer LP along the lines of last year's brilliant Pilot Talk, still his best work thus far. As it is, rooting through his catalog to find the gems really feels like too much work at the moment.

(I also must register a complaint about the abysmal sound quality of Verde Terrace, but that's unfortunately a risk we run with free mixtapes. If not in musical quality, we certainly do get what we pay for at times. I hope we someday get a cleaner version of "Music to Ride To," at least.)

[SEE ALSO:]
Pilot Talk (2010)
Pilot Talk II (2010)
Weekend at Burnie's (2011)
with The Alchemist: Covert Coup (2011)