(JETS, 2011)
- by Yayo
As a writer, one of the things that I’ve always admired the most about hip-hop was how talented rappers were with their pen game; it maybe one of the things that attracted me to the genre to begin with. The extensive vocabularies helped me out greatly in my own education, teaching me words well before my school system ever got around to it. Their ability to manipulate the English language, bending words with their diction like Magneto bends steel to his will, also always fascinated me; the different accents being used to their advantage instead of their setback, the re-interpretations of words to fit a certain rhyme. They’d tell stories from scratch, but still manage to intricately describe the details, giving you a crystal clear picture of the world they’re describing. Even the most stubborn critic of rap music would be hard-pressed to tell you that a lot of these artists, whether enjoying the genre or not, are pretty stunning writers.
There are different types of writers in rap, of course; different styles are present throughout. Some of the most acclaimed are the thorough-bred storytellers; the Slick Rick’s and Biggie’s of the genre, artists who dedicated at least half their discography to weaving astonishing tales of bank robberies, betrayal, drug-dealing endeavors, and other activities of the sort. Some are deeply personal writers, looking deep into their past and personal life to share their struggle with the listener; Eminem, Prodigy, and even the oft-hated Joe Budden are brilliant writers in their own right, and even if you can’t relate to their pain (Prodigy’ll smack the shit out of you if you think you can), you can’t help but respect the attention to detail when rapping about the obstacles they’ve faced. Then there’s the egotist; the rapper who is solely focused on the luxuries of their life, but do it with such an abundance of charm and knack for imagery that you can’t help but live through them vicariously, like it was you sitting in the backseat of that Phantom. Gucci Mane is a prime example of this, as is one of his strongest influences, Cam’ron; their outlandish personalities would be too much, if they didn’t ground themselves in reality by establishing that yes, they DO live in the world surrounding you. They describe their flashy lives in the first person, pointing out the strange characters they meet in the process and the way their jewelry shines to perfection. They’re not telling stories of anything but their superior existences, but damn, do they want you to relate.
Curren$y is one of these writers; rarely does his subject matter reach beyond weed, cars, girls, and Jets (of course), but somehow it’s always described in a way that he hasn’t before. This is due to several reasons; for one, Curren$y’s wordplay is perhaps his strongest gift, his metaphors often obscure but almost always quotable, his vast knowledge of pop-culture playing an intregal part in his charm. It’s honestly almost a shame on the rare moments where Curren$y strays from what’s become expected of him; as if he’s betraying his true interests. A key part to being a writer is to write about what interests you, and that’s where Curren$y excels; and thankfully benefits from being a pretty cliche stoner. If he wasn’t witty, he’d end up wearing his schitck thin by track two, a habit that the Kumar to his Harold, Wiz Khalifa, often suffers from.
But he’d be incomplete if it weren’t his commitment to imagery; articulately describing each and every day of his life, no matter how mundane it maybe. He makes sitting in a hotel room staring out the window sound like a grand statement; he makes playing a video game sound like a grand adventure into surreal territory. He remembers the material of every seat he sits on, the color of every car he rides in, the height of every female he sleeps with, the time of day it is when he finishes that last strain. He has a photographic memory, and his ability to convey each encounter, each flight, each joint rolled, is just unbelievable. The only other rapper in recent memory who may have such an obsession with detail is the equally underrated Young Dro; if these two ever got into the studio to lay down a track, it could be about their trip to the waffle house for breakfast before hand, but still come out as a breaktaking look into their lives.
Covert Coup is a ten track EP, and further establishes Curren$y’s strong work-ethic, this being his second project thus far this year and fifth in the fourteen months (which includes two studio albums, no less). You’d think Spitta has reached a point where he would either fall back or (worse) fall off from releasing much material; no pun intended, but at this point, the man should be burnt-out. It’s entirely possible that Spitta may lose his stepping soon, but he’s in prime form here. The intro, BBS, is everything I’ve already described; he starts by detailing the kicks on his feet, and brags for the next two minutes about the type of weed he’s rolling and how grateful he is to be in this position. Equally braggadocious and humble, Spitta deserves all the shine he’s gotten in the past two years or so, and further cements that here.
BBS is followed by the Prodigy-assisted The Type; a song where Spitta talks about Lincolns and Regals for a moment, while putting on for the dopeboys in the chorus. Halfway through the song, one-time pusher himself, the recent released from prison Prodigy, appears yet again, further reinforcing his relevancy in 2011. Although Curren$y’s verse is strong as usual, he has a hard time standing up against Prodigy’s reality rap; touching on his return to prominence, the risk rappers take daily in their profession, trifling females and his journey to this point. Both of them sound absolutely perfect over Alchemist’s breezy production; a throwback to the style Al was supplying for Prodigy on his own Return of the Mac.
Which brings me to yet another one of Spitta’s strengths; his ear for beats. The man just knows what he sounds good on, and it’s always the same dreamy, soulful production that almost sounds tailor-fitted for his hazey, laidback drawl. Perhaps the strongest project Spitta’s released since last year’s Pilot Talk, Spitta proves why he works best with one sole producer adding strong cohesion, striking gold with Alchemist here like he did with Ski Beatz last year. There’s a great amount of variety through each beat, but the overall vibe – that smoking lounge music – is what ties this all together as a complete project that begs to be played front to back, repeatedly.
Fittingly enough, Al saves his hardest beat for last then – Full Metal is a RZA-esque production, a triumphant sample in the background, but equipped with sharp drums and a heavy bassline that still provides a severe thump. Spitta tackles this banger with great precision; adding a bit of a snarl to his usual calm flow, throwing bars at the beat like darts at a board; and somehow, despite being high off his ass, always hitting his target. He effortlessly glides across this production like everything else on Covert Coup, but that added aggression really allows Full Metal to provide a ground-shaking closure to what has been an epic journey.
Everything in between is still great; but this albums play out as such a full-length that it satisfyingly should be looked at as a complete product, and not dissected individually. Of course Success Is My Cologne is one of the smoothest tracks to be decompressed from an .RAR file this year; of course Blood Sweat and Gears is a high-flying duet with New Orleans OG, Fiend, continuing their success as a tandem. Of course anything called Scottie Pippens is going to be dope, and even Freddie Gibbs, whom I normally don’t fuck with, provides his usual strong gangsterisms here, and never takes me out of the overall tone Spitta’s set. Covert Coup is just another strong entry in Curren$y’s legacy; it may not turn haters into believers, but I don’t see how any fan of the JETS could possibly not leave this project with a smile on their face and a joint in their hand (and possibly some Sun Chip crumbs on what was once a fresh pair of jeans; come on dog, remember the napkins).
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great review yayo. i’ve often struggled to see the lyrical appeal of curren$y (always rating his flow/voice/beat seleection higher) and this review will hopefully help me out in this respect when I listen to ‘covert coup’ properly (alongside his back catalogue)…
”If he wasn’t witty, he’d end up wearing his schitck thin by track two, a habit that the Kumar to his Harold, Wiz Khalifa, often suffers from.” this is funny and true. unlike Harold and Kumar Get The Munchies. oh the irony.
This is really good. It’s a shame that it’s so short because the only song I don’t love (Life Instructions) sticks out like a sore thumb. Alan is right in his lane here, he sounds so comfy (paws?). I hope Spitta isn’t fucking around when he says this is gonna turn into a series a la Pilot Talk. He usually keeps his word, though.
You know what, I’m very much incinled to agree.
Totally agreed. Really great review.
Favorite line: “If you lookin’ for that n*gga, I is him” from Scottie Pippens.
This is a nicely written and thoughtful review, but sometimes I wonder if the “Expedia Rap” attention to minute detail steez is necessarily a good thing. Isn’t part of writing knowing which details to omit as well? I haven’t yet tired of Curren$y but I can imagine that without switching gears up, the mundane may begin sounding mundane, no matter how well it is embellished.
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I’m a huge spitta fan, but the production from alchemist is what really stood out to me. Those beats were very well produced.
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Great review. Very well written.
Great review man, agreed with the entire thing. This is the first Curren$y project I bought, just because he was releasing it for free, and it was being produced by the Alchemist, I thought that I might give it a go and see what I thought. I think I’ll probably get into some more of his stuff now that I’ve heard him.
P.S. Alchemist killed those beats.
It deserves to be paid for I just hate life instructions that beat is annoying every other track is diamond
Dopeness, if you liked this you might wana check out @TheSkywalkas they go hella hard, check em out http://youtube.com/theskywalkas
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