Editor’s note: This article contains explicit language.
Curren$y’s latest project may have landed him in a major-label studio, but nothing can compromise the rapper’s hazy, homestyle approach to hip-hop music. Not even the Baton Rouge police. The New Orleans-based artist was forced to walk to his Friday performance at The Varsity Theatre after the police detained his vehicle and charged him with possession of an illegal substance. A seemingly unphased Curren$y took the stage later that night and set the crowd ablaze, inciting cheers and a collective “Jet Life” chant from enthralled concert-goers. Living up to his herb-heavy persona, Curren$y shared an onstage smoke with an eager fan. The concert’s set list was comprised of both past hits and new tracks from his first major-label studio album, “The Stoned Immaculate,” which was released in early June. Even with seven albums, 18 mixtapes and a brief stint as a member of the 504 Boyz and Young Money Entertainment, Curren$y said he regards his latest work as his first “real” album. He said most of his other projects were made in his own home. The change in venue didn’t have much of an effect on his writing process, he said, since his lyrical spontaneity remained. “[I wrote] the same way I do [for] mixtapes and shit. … I just wrote all that shit on the spot,” he said. Curren$y said his inspiration behind the album was the famed musician Jim Morrison and his life as it was depicted in the 1991 film “The Doors.” The iconic frontman, who is suspected to have died of a heroin overdose, was known for his abilities as a lyricist and spontaneous poetry sessions during live shows. Although Morrison may have served as Curren$y’s personal muse, he said his fans should find their own meaning in his music. Just as a work of art, he said music should be left up to individual interpretation. “Music is an art,” he said. “It’s really whatever [fans] want.” Surprisingly, Curren$y said he’s not a fan of his own music – mainly because he doesn’t listen to it. However, he said he is an avid hip-hop fan, listing Pharrell, Snoop Dogg, Biggie, Jay-Z, Slick Rick and Soulja Slim among his favorite rappers. But music is only one passion of the burgeoning mogul. Curren$y teamed up with skateboarder Terry Kennedy to create the clothing company Fly Society around 2007, but after personal and legal disputes, both parties decided to cut ties. In 2011, Curren$y signed with Warner Bros. Records and started his own imprint, Jet Life Recordings, which is comprised mostly of his friends in the rap industry. “It’s hard to make friends in the game anyway,” he said. “Everybody who I ended up genuinely being cool with, we all hustlin’ together.” Despite a run-in with Baton Rouge police this weekend, Curren$y said he will continue to hustle. The first thing on his agenda Friday was to find a way to New Orleans, and the second was to fly to Los Angeles and perform at the 2012 Rock The Bells Festival series. In the near future, Curren$y said he plans to work on new projects “with a few of the homies.”
 
____ Contact David Jones at [email protected]