Curren$y

New Orleans rapper and label owner Curren$y gained recognition for witty rhymes paired with an extravagant "Jet Life" aesthetic. Early in the 2000s he belonged to the 504 Boyz, a group signed to No Limit Records, then navigated several label conflicts before launching his own imprint. His sharp lyrics gradually drew notice from listeners and fellow artists, leading to a steady stream of solo mixtapes plus notable joint projects with Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Freddie Gibbs, and additional collaborators. The solo catalog stands out with 2012’s Warner Bros.-released The Stoned Immaculate, which reached the Top Ten, and 2015’s Canal Street Confidential, yet Curren$y has remained busy through continued team-ups and guest spots on other releases. Alongside repeated work with Harry Fraud and Wiz Khalifa, his ongoing partnership with the Alchemist produced acclaimed efforts such as 2022’s Continuance. Projects with Jermaine Dupri (For Motivational Use Only, Vol. 1) and Fraud (Vices) surfaced in 2023, followed by the 2024 Monsta Beatz collaboration Radioactive.

Born Shante Anthony Franklin and raised in New Orleans, Curren$y first signed with Master P’s No Limit imprint before moving in 2005 to Young Money, the Cash Money subsidiary run by Lil Wayne and Birdman. He appeared on Wayne’s Tha Carter II that year, and in 2006 the single “Where da Cash At” came out both independently and on Wayne’s Dedication 2 mixtape, though a full album failed to follow. Rather than wait, Curren$y formed Fly Society with professional skateboarder Terry Kennedy in 2007; what began as an apparel line shifted into a music label once ties with Young Money deteriorated. After departing the label at the close of 2007 and taking Fly Society with him, he issued a run of underground mixtapes, among them the well-received 2009 collaboration How Fly with rising artist Wiz Khalifa.

Additional mixtapes preceded his early-2009 signing with digital-only Amalgam Digital for This Ain’t No Mixtape. The association continued that October with the download-only Jet Files, yet by early 2010 he joined the Def Jam roster through Damon Dash’s DD172 imprint. Ski Beatz handled most production for the July 2010 release Pilot Talk, with Pilot Talk II arriving later that year. The 2011 stopgap Weekend at Burnie’s featured retro tracks from Monsta Beatz, who returned alongside the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and Pharrell for the 2012 street album The Stoned Immaculate. In 2015, Pilot Talk III appeared exclusively on a $100 USB key sold via the Jet Life site, while the EP Even More Saturday Night Car Tunes received conventional distribution; the single “Bottom of the Bottle,” featuring Lil Wayne and August Alsina, preceded Canal Street Confidential, an album whose track listing the rapper refined after testing material on tour.

During 2016 Curren$y put out more than a dozen mixtapes, including joint releases The Carrollton Heist with the Alchemist, Bourbon Street Secrets with Purps, and Revolver with Sledgren. Self-released projects continued in 2017 with the Jetlanta EP and The Fo20 Massacre, then The Marina (Jet Life) EP in 2018. February 2019 brought 2009, a Wiz Khalifa collaboration that revisited the creative spark of their earlier How Fly mixtape. Shortly afterward came two further joint efforts: Gran Turismo with Statik Selektah and Pheno Grigio with Berner, plus the solo mixtape Hot August Nights. In 2020 he teamed with Fuse for Spring Clean and with Harry Fraud for The OutRunners and The Director’s Cut; Collection Agency followed in early 2021. Work with the Alchemist resumed on Continuance, issued in February 2022, which picked up from their 2011 project Covert Coup and included guest appearances by Boldy James, Larry June, Babyface Ray, Styles P, and others. Spring Clean 2 (with Fuse), two 8 Ball Jacket EPs, and The Drive In Theatre, Pt. 2 arrived next.

In 2023 For Motivational Use Only, Vol. 1, a collaboration with Jermaine Dupri featuring 2 Chainz and T.I., was released, as was Vices with Harry Fraud, which included Benny the Butcher, Tommy Wright III, and Rome Streetz. Season Opener and Highway 600 (with Trauma Tone) followed, then the 2024 Monsta Beatz project Radioactive.