“Damn, when I first came to Chicago it was way different,” Curren$y tells me, roughly 30 minutes after finishing his set at Chicago’s Metro. “Shit was way different,” he repeats, sitting back in his tour bus surrounded by car catalogs, rolling papers, and lots of free weed given to him from the near sold out crowd that came to take part in Curren$y’s Jet Life Tour.
This difference shouldn’t be understated. The trip that Curren$y is referring too took place in the summer of 2009. I picked him up in my Camry, he slept on my friend’s couch, used public transportation, and recorded our first Closed Sessions record, “Rapper Weed”. The fact alone that we’re on a large tour bus and talking about his first official major label album is definitely something to reflect upon. It’s also something that we saw coming all those years ago, and something that Curren$y never lost faith in. Even back then he told us that he knew what he was doing, that he just needed the people to see his vision, then get out of his way and let him do his thing.
Curren$y has that situation right now with Warner Bros. and the June 5th release of his new LP, The Stoned Immaculate. The title is inspired by Jim Morrison, and also a statement on Curren$y’s proper position on the Mount Rushmore of “stoner rap,” although Curren$y doesn’t care too much for that title. “This music is not only about weed,” he tells me. “I’ve said before, as much as I rap about weed, I rap about cars too. Am I an automotive rapper? Is this mechanic rap? Is it Nascar rap? It’s not, so how can you give me “weed rap” then? But I feel like I may have ushered in the idea of telling the truth about yourself.”
In this interview, Curren$y talks about the upcoming release of his new album, coming back to Chicago, and going beyond his wildest imaginations. Check it out.