Intro
Curren$y is a staple of rap's underground. He's been a figure in the New Orleans scene since 2002. But he really didn't start progressing to the forefront of the rap underground until around 2009/2010. He isn't known for crazy flows or violent imagery. He isn't the type of rapper that will start drama to promote his album. What he is though is arguably the most prolific rapper of all time.
When your career touches both of the biggest labels in your city, and you end up leaving both of them, people at the time may start to view you as a wash out. But with the right perspective now we can all see these moves for what they really were: building a platform for longterm growth by refusing to take a backseat. It's easy to sit around and let other people lead the way. But artists are leaders and eventually they have to exemplify that leadership or forever be relegated to a background role. With that in mind let's dive into how Curren$y went from a bit player in rap's underground to one of its legendary figures.
Music Isn't Just About Technicality, It's About Building A World As An Artist
Spitta raps with a calm flow and delivery. He's not in a hurry for anyone. He doesn't need to double time or flex multi syllable rhyme schemes to impress his audience. What he does do is vividly detail his life over beats suited to his voice and delivery. As an artist you are tasked with knowing what you stand for. And then once you figure that out you have to know what sort of musical style will suite that image. You have to learn how to master your voice and find the sweet spot in your music.
Beat selection is a key to life. It sets the tone for your listener before you even say a word. Pick the wrong rhythms and everything will be off. Picking beats is arguably one of the most important skills a rapper can have. There's a reason Jay-Z is regarded as greater than Nas in the Rap zeitgeist and it's not because Jay is more technically proficient.
Spitta wanted to make Jet Life as a lifestyle brand as much as a music one. He invites fans into a carefree world where the biggest issue one can have is not having enough dope to roll up. Their life motto is Just Enjoy This Shit (J.E.T.S.) What is your motto? What sort of world do you want to create?
Stay Solid & Professional No Matter What
Spitta gained friends in the industry by keeping a level head. When asked how he linked up with Freddie Gibbs in December of 2018 he said: "[I was] just not doing sucka shit, you pay attention to your field and everyone's doing something wack. There's like seven of us who don't fuck up. and then you remember [those who fuck up]."
Gibbs knew he was safe doing records with Curren$y because he could trust that he wouldn't do "some crazy shit" and then be associated with him negatively by being friends/collaborators.
Move silently and show professionalism. The fans might not care as much, or they may even enjoy the drama, but the people in your field do care. These people who will help you reach new demographics and audiences need to have some level of respect for you as a professional. If you move the wrong way you can come off as a hot head, or worse yet, a wannabe. In the long run it's better to treat everyone with respect and not overshadow your career with your antics.
Be Ready For Many Stages Of Your Career
Curren$y signed to No Limit & Master P's group the 504 Boyz in 2002. Nothing really huge came of it but he began to get to know the right people in his city of New Orleans. From there he was the first act signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money Records. Which also didn't quite click. When he left the two biggest powerhouse labels in his city people would check in him like he had gone crazy. But he doubled down on his independence and put out a mixtape every month. Soon after getting a look on XXL's freshman cover he signed with Dame Dash to help revive Roc-A-Fella Records. Who he ended up suing for over a million dollars. Sounds like a lot of negative right?
But while there he connected with frequent collaborator Ski Beatz for the first time and released Pilot Talk 1 & 2 which would be a turning point in his career in terms of fan attention. Through features with Raekwon, Dom Kennedy, Snoop Dogg, Big K.R.I.T., Smoke DZA, Stalley, Jay Electronica & Mos Def he hit every corner of the underground Rap game at the time. Cementing himself as an underground figure to follow.
Soon after his stint with zombie Roc-A-Fella his journey led to signing with Warner Records to start his imprint Jet Life Recordings. Arguably the biggest fulfillment of his vision for his career. Once one door closes others will open but only if you prove that the common denominator in your career's success is your own fortitude and effort instead of others marketing efforts or residual clout.
Prioritize Your Visuals
Curren$y capitalized on lower production costs and direct to consumer distribution as much as any other rapper in his era. He shot several videos for all of his projects and he has a plethora of stuff on his Youtube. Seriously go check out the Jet Life Recordings Youtube page. There is SO much stuff on there. Studio footage, tour behind the scenes, day in the life vlogs, music videos and more.
Owning a nice camera with a friend or two and learning how to creative direct yourself will help any independent artist differentiate themself from the pack. Youtube is the biggest streaming service on the planet, music discovery happens on there not just by having cool music but by having a cool lifestyle that people can rally around. Your vlogs can and should feed into your music videos and vice versa.
Be True To Your Values & Life
When Curren$y realized that both Young Money & No Limit Records didn't do what he wanted to do he left amicably but on his own terms. He didn't want to rap about guns or violence. He's the type of guy who wants to rap about the things he likes in life like weed and cars. Not "do what a soldiers supposed to do" as a rapper on a gangster rap label pushing an image of violence.
Knowing full well how many people in music put on a facade, but ultimately come off as inauthentic to those who really know, he chose to go his own way. He didn't want to be trapped and typecast like a lot of rappers in terms of his subject matter and image. Which ultimately helped define him in the longterm for his Marley like status in Rap.
"Every time I shoot somebody i'm sad."
Learn What Your Signature Sound Is
"I'm big on observing. And it was definitely, shall we say, educational to see certain artists going about building their empires, building their own movements: Pharrell with Star Trak, Cam'ron with Dipset. Fans would hear a beat and be like, 'That sounds like a Neptunes beat,' or 'That sounds like a Dipset joint.' That's how I engineered Jet Life to be. I want it to be branded in a way, so the people know what it is."
"Like the minute you try to do what somebody else is doing because they're winning, you're gonna fall in the lump. And there's nothing original about you anymore. Nobody's gonna give a f*ck about it. You're just gonna blend in. So you gotta make sure you stand out."
Going back to beat selection, what sets you apart musically? What sort of music do you want to be associated with? Make a conscious decision and base your work around this focused development. Otherwise your growth will go in too many directions and lead to diminishing returns.
Over Serve Your Fans
On constantly releasing projects multiple times a year: "I figure that's what's gonna get us on the road. I Put it out and if they get it for free they get it for free. but once i'm in your town you can't bootleg that [experience]." This speaks to building a world for your fans: when Curren$y comes to do a show he's already set the expectation that it's going to be a smoked out room where everyone is going to be relaxed and free of negative energy.
He does this by releasing CONSTANTLY and always giving fans new music to throw in their smoking playlist. We are halfway through 2020 and Curren$y has dropped four projects already. He released six projects in 2019. In the streaming era there is no such thing as too much music if you are a talented artist.
Know The Environments That Suit Your Sound
The environment Spitta created wasn't centered around violence. Just around weed and chill music. Sample based old school Hip-Hop with minimal percussion. Even if you don't listen to Curren$y as a Hip-Hop fan you know what his sound is like.
He doesn't go for a "festival audience" he knows his niche and understands his fans probably don't go out to huge shows like that. He understands casual fans only recognize artists for their name and celebrity. Then you have to compete with all the celebrities of the moment. When you're underground you keep a core base and they don't move on to the next shiny thing as long as you feed them new music and shows on the regular. He doesn't do large rooms very often because he knows that smoking music needs to be played in a closed environment. He consciously tries to make almost every venue feel like a hash bar in Amsterdam through his act.
Don't Overthink Branding
The best marketing is natural. Spitta likes muscle cars, weed, and staying fly. Hence his self created imprint Jet Life. Don't make what you think other people like. Make what you like and internalize the habits of people in those communities that you yourself should be a member of.
It sounds simple yet time and time again artists fail at it. They sign to a label and are forced into an image that doesn't suit them or actively take on that persona. This may help the label in the short term but the longterm identity of the artist can be hurt heavily by this.
Conclusion
We all can probably agree that life is too short to live by other people's rules and agendas. But actually living that way is much easier said than done. Curren$y know's how to walk that line, he avoided pissing people off even though their values didn't align. He decided what was important to him and doubled down on it when everyone else would probably have told him to rap about guns and stay under Lil Wayne's shadow.
When you have a vision for the world you have live it unapologetically, but also not recklessly. No matter what you do it's easy to get caught up in the day to day minutiae, but ultimately, you have to Just Enjoy This Shit. Exude a feeling that people can latch onto and the rest will follow.
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