Free EP Review- The Stage by Curren$y & Smoke Dza produced by Harry Fraud
by Dan-O
As a supporter of the Jet Life movement I’ve always been realistic. Like most prolific artists Curren$y can sound listless at times; possibly a product of doing too much or the constant experimenting with different collaborators and producers. Sometimes the chemistry doesn’t have time to establish but when he needs to step up, he delivers.
As much of the spotlight as Curren$y got for his prolific output and Harry Fraud gets for mixing sticky sludge into the NY sound, Smoke Dza still doesn’t seem to be nearly as acclaimed as he should be. His delivery is one of the most emphatic in all of hip hop and his collaborators/peers know it. On the opening track (First Light) he seems to vengefully stab with every word and even though the Jet Life general leads off and lays down an impressive verse…the voice that rings in your mind is Dza.
No review of The Stage should go without focusing on the immaculate song 10 Bricks. If the narrative of this project is how focused the three primary components are then it makes sense on 10 Bricks that we get the most focused French Montana verse of the year and a dead serious pitch perfect Big K.R.I.T. chorus. Fraud composes richly orchestrated elements for the mid tempo funk of it. It’s the essence of the Jet Life experience; everyone vibes out and brings their best bars to the table.
The Stage is more than in-the-zone vibe out music. It’s a sampler meant to energize all the people that want another Pilot Talk or Rugby Thompson and in that regard it’s an unmitigated success. Every song has more than a few rewindable moments; like on Gifts where Smoke Dza says “Every boss once was the best student,” or in 10 Bricks where Curren$y recreates himself as Joe Namath in a fur coat. Not many people even know what the whole Jet Life term means. It’s an acronym meaning just enjoy this and that’s exactly what you should do.
Stream or download The Stage below:
http://www.audiomack.com/album/audio-politics/the-stage-ep
