As stopgap releases go, Currensy’s
Weekend at Burnie's EP and/or mixtape -- it was pre-release pimped as both -- is a worthwhile distraction, offering fans of his Pilot Talk efforts a chance to hear the rapper in a different setting. Here, the setting is hard, minimal, and retro, with producer
Monsta Beatz bringing the ‘80s flavor on all tracks, save for one banger from Rahki, the opening highlight “#Jetsgo.” Guest stars are protégés and friends like
Trademark,
Young Roddy, and
Fiend all chilling with their mentor, who proves himself the king of the chill with lazy numbers like “Still” (“You find my lighter and my grinder, it’ll be perfect ho”) and “This Is the Life” (a free-form mumbler that “drops like a
Pharcyde record”). “JLC” gets quite abstract while both “Still” and “Got Paid” roll with a G-funk style, but the mellow is never harshed, and the promise of sunny weekend stoner music from the ‘80s is maintained the whole way through. Don’t expect anything more and life’s a beach. ~ David Jeffries