Throughout his career, Curren$y has kept his collaborations organic, bypassing flavor-of-the-month rap features. And on his upcoming Warner Bros. album The Stoned Immaculate, he will continue to do so, even if the names in the LP’s credits get a little bigger.
When the NOLA MC drops his next album later this year, fans can look forward to beats from Pharrell, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, DJ Toomp and Virginia producer Bink, who famously crafted a number of tracks for Jay-Z’s 2001 classic The Blueprint.
“This is a different look than anything I’ve usually done,” Curren$y told MTV News. “Usually I work with one person, or try to keep it to just, like, two producers on a project.”
On 2010’s Pilot Talk and Pilot Talk 2, Curren$y worked mostly with Ski Beatz, and on his 2011 Weekend at Burnie’s, he tapped Monsta Beatz to take the production helm. Now Curren$y is ready to branch out.
“Bink produced ‘What It Look Like,’ ” Curren$y said in reference to The Stoned Immaculate’s first single, featuring Wale. “Pharrell produced a joint for me. Daz did two joints and rapped on one of them for me.
“It’s a mutual thing. I only work with people who I have a real conversation with and nothing is forced,” he continued.
Curren$y’s not only recruiting big-name producers for his next LP, he also hooked up with some pretty notable MCs. “I got 2 Chainz on my album,” he revealed, noting that he was friends with the Atlanta star back when he used to go by his original rap name in the early 2000s. “Me and 2 Chainz been cool since it was me and Tity Boi was cool.”
Now that Curren$y is the head of his own record company, Jet Life Recordings, he feels he has to use his relationships to his advantage. “It’s not that I did different and reached out, I kinda cashed in on my friendships,” he said. “I’m trying to get more attention towards my crew … I have to draw more eyes and play ball to make it easier for everybody else.”
