The direction that many big-name, big-label artists choose to go nowadays is often the result of trends in an industry dominated by sensationalism and hype. With the hype, comes an expectation to prove that an artist is who he says he is, and that no one else can bring what he brings to the table. Now, New Orleans rapper Curren$y (aka Spitta) recharges his Jet Life movement with a bend towards the drugs, women, and cars in his latest mixtape, New Jet City. 

Spitta is the type to keep his friends close and his enemies even closer. He’ll get higher than the golden arches, and sit in the studio for hours ready to unload on the mic with a slithery grace. If you read my review of last year’s The Stoned Immaculate you will learn that turning his life into content for his music is a walk in the part for Curren$y.

When the beat starts knocking is when “Choosin‘” lifts off the ground. At 4 minutes and 20 seconds (wink wink), it is undoubtedly New Jet City’s commercial pearl. Wiz Khalifa and Rick Ross deliver a few verses with Ross stealing my vote with his imagery of superstar LeBron James. The hook, courtesy of Spitta, delivers the epitome of addictive choruses: “Pull up in that errrr and them bitches start choosin’/ Choosin’, choosin’, choosin’, choosin’/ Pull off in that skrrrr and them haters gone lose it/ Lose it, lose it, lose it, lose it.”

One of my favorite cuts, “Mary,” is quintessential Spitta. Beginning with an angelic call to the skies, “Mary” is a page ripped out Curren$y’s not-yet-written autobiography. We hear Spitta’s “wake up, blaze up” mantra followed by the image of getting “Pluto high” in the studio. “Mary” is a classically laid out Curren$y track in all respects. One long verse and a short-but-sweet hook make this one a banger.

“Sixteen Switches Part 2” is a short, but altogether satisfying sketch of yet a Chevy “sitting looking like something wrong with it.” At just over a minute long, it’s a smooth pit stop on this fourteen-track mixtape. This is one of my favorites from the 31-year-old rapper.

New Jet City is a solid mixtape, and maybe one of the best of the last few months, but the guest verses and a couple questionable decisions keep it from receiving my stamp of approval.

Digging into some of the rougher cuts, “Drive,” featuring Young Roddy and Styles P, truthfully belongs on Spitta’s 2012 album, Muscle Car Chronicles, where he tried infusing live rock and funk with rap lyrics. It was an experiment gone horribly wrong and I’m sure he knows it. There’s a time and a place for Young Roddy, but this isn’t it. Ultimately, this one seems like a filler track.

“Three 60,” featuring Juicy J, was another track I didn’t care for. For me, it was slightly overcooked production-wise, and never really grew legs, even with Juicy on the back end. The beat contains auras of spacey synths and flat kicks, but, ironically, it never really gets off the ground.

I really want to hear Curren$y coast over a beat the way he already has shown he can. That haughty, rhythmic delivery is his bread and butter. He’s got to know that. Listeners, myself included, easily fall victim to buying way too much into the feature list of a project. After all, A-list guests can propel a project to the top of the charts with ease. But with Curren$y’s next project, I hope for the opposite.

This free mixtape is available for download, here.

Pilot Talk III, the follow-up in his Pilot Talk series, is slated for release this year.

3.5/5 stars