Listed: Curren$y's "Outrunners"
Packs Shipment No. 16
List season is just around the bend, and major publications are going to start naming their album of the year candidates and rankings the best albums of the year. Some amazing projects are going to get left of these prestigious lists and it’ll be a tragedy. So for the next few weeks, I’m focusing on a few albums that need to be “Listed” on these end-of-the-year lists and why they deserve to be there.
What happens to braggadocio rap when the world shuts down? When clubs are closed and events get canceled? When pretty women are covered in masks and forced to stay in the house, and when the homies have to quarantine after catching the virus? How does someone like Curren$y, an artist who’s made a living from balling and chilling, cope and relate through his music in the midst of it all? The answer is on “The Outrunners,” an EP that I discussed early into my newsletter venture. Not many rappers have been brave and honest enough to discuss 2020 through the lens Curren$y provided.
Curren$y has always been different in the way he talks about his riches. In the past, vivid descriptions about the number of cars in his driveway and the Dayton rims that they rest on were talking points in the larger inspirational undertone in his mixtapes: grind hard and you can get here, too. Those moments always come with context, like failed business deals with Dame Dash or how Spitta had to go through the wringer of the New Orleans rap scene before planting his flag on a mountain of weed nugs. Fans could vibe out to some of the smoothest rap made on this side of the millennium while taking away nuggets of game from one of the most consistent and battle-scarred artists of our generation.
“The Endrunners” isn’t different, but with Covid-19 running wild and a new fatherhood nameplate, Curren$y has a slew of new scars and experiences to share. Not all of them come with precise moves to make next, and it definitely won’t equate to a Candy Green ‘62.
“Gold and Chrome,” like I wrote back in July, is still the realest rap song made during quarantine. There’s genuine concern, uncertainty, sadness, pain, and hope about the state of the world during the peak of Covid. Spitta lost a homie to Covid (“I lost a patna to the virus and a month ago, I seen him cruising the block”) while also struggling with the police brutality that can still plague the black community even during a pandemic (“Like the murders wasn't enough, some other shit fucking with us/ These crooked cops will put your dead body in cuffs”).
The focal point of the song, however, is worrying about his son. Not just worrying that his son can ride on “Gold and “Chrome”, but that these traumatic times don’t stop his loved one from living a fulfilling life. It’s an ethos vastly different from the gold trim dreams and playa moves we’ve been plotting with Spitta on for decades. It’s a step back, a moment to focus on the essential things in life. In the world of Rona, the frivolous shit seems secondary.
"Thinking 'bout my son man, I love that little dude/I wanna see him more, but there's a civil war,” Spitta says when describing the struggles of sharing custody of his son on “In the Coupe.” Earlier in the EP, on “Cutlass Cathedrals,” he admits that it took seeing Rick Ross’ cars organized by colors to inspire him to write raps on an airplane, something he hadn’t done in years. Not everything Curren$y is dealing with has clear, cut answers. But that’s not his goal to the listener. In being an open book, his main goal is to bring everyone together in tragedy and prosperity. Together is how we overcome the hell hole that has been 2020. Or, in his own words, “Put the team on the same page at the same time.”
“The OutRunners” isn’t just Spitta fear-mongering and lamenting on opulent Harry Fraud beats. The reasons Curren$y has some of the most loyal fans in hip-hop are still present. Slick raps drenched in cool, immaculate beat selection and quality, and memorable guest features from Rick Ross, Conway the Machine, and Jim Jones. If you like what Curren$y has done his entire career, you’ll love every minute of the nine-track project.
Balancing the best of times and the worst of times into a neatly-wrapped package isn’t easy. Spitta laid his issues bare in a way that not many rappers have done in 2020. He should be applauded for the unrelenting coolness he’s given us for decades and for creating a project that shows how shitty this year has been to all of us, even one of the coolest dudes in the game. Like always, Spitta deserves all the accolades.
Welp, hope y’all enjoyed this edition of Packs. We back next Friday with a new delivery.
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Until next time, be cool.