Eventually, New Orleans rapper/businessman Master P recognized Curren$y's work and signed him to No Limit Records in 2002 - at the age of 21. In that time, he signed with 3 different labels, finding little success.
Working as an independent artist, Curren$y released mixtape after mixtape for 7 years. Curren$y found his way out of the projects via hip-hop, largely thanks to his brother Jisaidie Hicks AKA "Mr Marcelo". Additionally, his storytelling ability can at times transform a simplistic tale into an impressionistic work of art - in which listeners are entranced into the same euphoric drug-like state in which Curren$y often lies.Ĭurren$y spent his childhood in the Magnolia Projects of New Orleans - one of America's largest and most notoriously dangerous government housing projects. Curren$y's buttery, calming flow smoothly dominates any beat as if it were hand crafted for him. Although he is often labeled as an average artist that merely blends in with the crowd, he is much more versatile than most hip-hop fans believe and remains in my mind one of the best "mixtape rappers" in the genre.
However, Shonte Franklin AKA "Curren$y" has been one of the hardest working and most consistent rappers of the past decade - compiling 25 mixtapes, 4 full length studio albums and copious guest appearances on other tapes. Curren$y's music commonly fits the mold of the generic rapper - braggadocios lyrics discussing his rich lifestyle, in which he is surrounded by beautiful women, luxurious sports cars and the best drugs and alcohol money can buy. And upon first glance, Curren$y seems to be the statistical average. Today I will tackle what originally appears to be an incredibly easy question: "who is Curren$y"? Based on his stage name, you get a sense of what he stands for and what he raps about - the lavish life associated with being a famous musician. WARNING: This contains many images, I suggest not "Expanding All" on RES