It wasn’t long ago that dropping two projects in a single
year was something of taboo in hip-hop, though emcees found plenty of success
doing so in certain circumstances, and with Weekend
at Burnie’s, Spitta drops his third release of the year, following up not
only the acclaimed set of 2010 releases, but the applauded Return to the Winner’s Circle, as well as Covert Coup, which is already being considered one of the top works of
hip-hop 2011 is going to see.
Keeping pace with such examples of success at speed is a
burdensome task at its least, with a high rate of potential disappointment, as
well as especially hard criticism attached, and despite the looming risk,
Curren$y delivers quality in full with his Warner Bros. debut LP, making the
game seem effortless, and retaining the reputation he proclaimed in the Fear and Loathing in New Orleans mixtape
takeover era.
Lyrically, Spitta continues to take that 220 grade sandpaper
to his Kool and the Gang’s “Summer Madness” meets Pink Floyd’s “Echoes” hip-hop
tone, wrapping his less-conventional form of meter that marks him as one of the
astute students of 16 bar prosody. Records like the narrative single “She Don’t
Want A Man,” the Frank Dukes-produced “JLC,” and psychotropic-funk hybrid “On
G’s feat. Young Roddy and Trademark da Skydiver” show off his unique
versification, and provide that additional element that makes his mode of flow
extraterrestrial at times in comparison to your usual John Doe emcee.
Collaborator Monsta Beatz, who we’ve seen several times in
the Pilot Talk series so far,
distributes the whistle-synth and clap-driven instrumentals that coat
Curren$y’s rhymes with synesthetic vibes, and shines best on tracks like the
soulish “What’s What,” “Still feat. Young Roddy and Trademark da Skydiver,” and the lounge keys-based “This is the Life,” giving his fair share of aid to help Weekend at Burnie’s escape the previous
tones set by Alchemist in Covert Coup
that garnered widespread acclaim earlier this year.
The primary fault that’s usually found in Spitta’s
tracklists are the tendancies toward redundancy in mood due to the heavily
relaxed sounds he produces, and the culprits on Weekend at Burnie’s, though sparse, announce themselves clearly,
though not in part of redundancy, but rather being too foreign to the
surrounding sounds. The tandem of “One Life” and “You See It” fall to that
all-to-familiar case of mid-album slumps, delivering less on listenability due
to clunky instrumentals on Monsta Beatz part on the first, the coarse hooks,
and off-relationship between Spitta’s verses and the instrumentals on “You See
It.”
Differentiation is a necessity in most opinions, and while
the aforementioned pair of tracks lack overall success in their attempts,
sounds on records like “Money Machine” and the amplified Drupey-produced closer
“Get Paid feat. Young Roddy and Trademark da Skydiver” exemplify the better
outlets that have seemed to show Spitta’s greater successes at ventures in the
past.
Tracks like the opener single “#jetsgo” and “Televised feat.
Fiend” exemplify the Spitta definition in the contemporary hip-hop dictionary,
and achieve the goal of continuity without burnout that continues to keep a
correlation between Curren$y’s more current releases. Instances of Pilot Talk and Return to the Winner’s Circle find cousins in Weekend at Burnie’s, as do the more aggressive Fast Times at Ridgemont Fly and Fear
and Loathing in New Orleans, giving us a solid blend of style throughout
the album, and full view of him as an artist.
Talk of microwave-emcees has been frequent amongst veterans
of the day who disagree with the frequency that artists are dropping albums,
and though this is Spitta’s third release of the year, there seems little
reason to place him in the club of fast-food rap. Though Weekend at Burnie’s doesn’t meet the pedigree of 2011’s Return to the Winner’s Circle and Covert Coup, it remains a champion amongst other contenders pushing
out numerous major drops in the year. Spitta works with an uncommon efficiency
at an especially uncommon rate, and the recommendation of caution is
unnecessary, as whatever he’s doing is working damn well.
SumOlogy: Weekend at Burnie’s is an off-day for
Spitta, but in the grand scheme, he’s still batting above average with ease.
7.5/10
Follow JT Langley on Twitter: JTL_ologyMusic
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