Album Review: Curren$y- This Ain’t No Mixtape

While established acts fight to remain relevant, up and coming artists also squabble to take control of the positions now left vacant by those who came before them.

One hungry MC that has a good chance at solidifying a spot is Louisiana native Shante “Curren$y” Franklin—as he debuts with his album, This Ain’t No Mixtape.

Although it might not be a mixtape, the cover art is themed after the Grand Theft Auto videogame series, which gives it the appearance of one.

Backed by Amalgam Digital [Click here for purchase details], the lyricist with the lazy flow invites familiar names like Young Chris (of Young Gunz fame), Mickey Factz, Amanda Diva, and Bun B to join him on his first official outing.

With that said, the former affiliate of both Young Money Entertainment and No Limit gets things started with ‘The Briefing,’ as a well-placed guitar loop is used to reinsure listeners that his album isn’t a mixtape.

From there he makes a strong bid as an artist to pay close attention to with songs like, ‘Get It Ya Self,’ the stadiums sounds of ‘Blown Away,’ (which also includes a spin on a Biggie line), and ‘Scared Of Monstas.’

On ‘Elevator Musik,’ Amalgam’s newest signee is accompanied by a track that sounds like something you might hear in an elevator, but instead of waiting for the doors to open on his respective floor, he touches on the previous situations that didn’t pan out, “Google my name, and you can read all about it/no longer No Limit, but a n*gga still bout it/no longer Cash Money, still got fat pockets.”

Curren$y gets a little creative on ‘The Jets Son,’ by rapping behind sampled elements from the Jetsons cartoon theme song, while getting his braggadocio game up.

The buzz-worthy MC keeps his momentum going throughout the project with strong production and lyricism to match on contributions like ‘LOL,’ ‘Sail On’ (feat. Young Chris), ‘Up Here,’ ‘Food 4 Thought’ (feat. Mickey Factz and Amanda Diva), and ‘16 Switcher Spitter.’

This Ain’t A Mixtape is indeed not a mixtape, but instead a remarkable showing by an artist trying to etch his way to upper echelons of Hip-Hop, and if he keeps releasing material like this, it won’t be long until that plateau is reached…

Rating: 4.0