Pilot Talk review.

Weed, cars, bitches; that's Curren$y's life and he'll brag about it in almost every line he spits. After being dropped from Young Money, him and Dame Dash resurrected Roc-A-Fella records as the rapper from New Orleans continued to drop mixtape after mixtape. This Ain't No Mixtape dropped last year and I still bump some of the tracks daily from it. (He also released another LP called Jet Files, but I've never listened to it yet.) Now that his third album has dropped - one of top five albums I was most excited for coming into the summer - there was no doubt that I was reviewing this.

1.) Example - 4/5

Just like This Ain't No Mixtape, the intro/first track starts with a couple of guitars in the background. Gives off a very chill vibe, just like most of Curren$y's past work. It's not technically an intro, but the length resembles it. Good start to the album.

2.) Audio Dope II - 4/5

Example leads perfectly into the second track Audio Dope II, as the drums in the background give off the laid-back feel that consists throughout the entire album. The beats are already possibly some of my favorites in any project this year, so if Spitta's rhymes won't catch your attention, at least you can enjoy the background music.

3.) King Kong - 5/5

The lead single of this was released to the public months ago and it had me real hyped for the album. Everything's just so dope about this, from the beat to the showboating lyrics. I've been bumping this song in my car every day for at least a month straight.

4.) Seat Change ft. Snoop Dogg - 3.5/5

When the original tracklist came out, this song had Wiz Khalifa for a guest appearance. As a big fan of the rapper from Pittsburgh, this raised my hopes for this track, but a last-minute change lowered my expectations...at least by a rating of enjoyability. I've never been a huge fan of Snoop Dogg, but he doesn't ruin this track. In fact, I think I enjoy his verse more than Curren$y's.

5.) Breakfast - 4.5/5

Short, but so damn good. The horns at the beginning bring you in, then the drums come in as Spitta lets loose on an impressive verse, which includes giving his boy Wiz Khalifa a shoutout. Unfortunately, it's just one verse and it sounds like a freestyle more than an album track, which bumps it down from a 5/5.

“X-Box web browser, downloaded, updated NBA roster
Play an 82-game season
Condo full of snacks, Spitta not leavin’
Off brand muthaf***as, odd number, you are not even
On my level, write that sickness, my ink pen sneezin’
Yancey Thigpen, can’t catch me sleepin'”

6.) Roasted ft. Trademark & Young Roddy - 5/5

Possibly my favorite Curren$y line from this album resides in this song.

"The hearts of women melt when trilla lyrics are felt
Olympic swimmin' in bitches, Michael slash Leon Phelps"

Trademark does a decent job on his first verse, then rips up the hook very nicely...possibly my favorite hook of the album. Young Roddy sounds just like Spiita as he finishes off the song with his third verse and he does a good job himself. Probably my third favorite song of the album.

7.) Skybourne ft. Smoke DZA & Big K.R.I.T. - 4/5

The beat gives an elevator music type feel to it, which continues the chill and relaxing theme of the entire album. For the first time, Spitta gets overshadowed by his one guest artist Big K.R.I.T. Another solid track.

8.) The Hangover ft. Mikey Rocks - 3/5

Can't pull out anything that I like from this. Not a bad track by any means, but it is the worst on the album.

9.) The Day ft. Jay Electronica & Mos Def - 5/5

Top five track of 2010 for me. Curren$y starts off the song with a very nice first verse, then Mos Def adds a great hook that fits the beat and subject matter of the song. Jay Electronica then comes in and overshadows Spitta, but it's all good because both artists came with their A-game.

"I pray this flow is dumb enough
I pray my heart is DMC and Reverend Run enough"

10.) Prioritize (Beeper Bill) ft. Nesby Phips - 4.5/5

From the two tracks I've heard Nesby Phips (including this one), I've started to come a fan of him. He does well on Wiz Khalifa's Supply from Kush and Orange Juice and impresses here as well. Curren$y's hook pays homage to Big Boi during Outkast's album Aquemini...it's pretty dope.

"If you ain't go no rims n***a, don't get no wood grain steering wheel
But you can lay back and let your paper stack
Instead of goin' into overkill, pay your f***in' beeper bill, bitch"

11.) Chilled Coughpee ft. Devin the Dude - 3.5/5

Another really short song, but it's got some humor to it; especially with Devin the Dude's verse. In addition to talking about smoking weed, he throws some funny metaphors in there and even speaks about reusing a condom. The beat fits this perfectly, just like every song on the album.

12.) Address ft. Stalley - 4.5/5

Curren$y goes in with a dope first verse, then Stalley - who the hell is this guy? - responds with a dope verse of his own. I can't even decide who's was better, but this song just screams dope as well.

13.) Life Under the Scope - 5/5

And the album ends on a really high note, as Spitta takes a song from his mixtape Smokee Robinson and tweaks the instrumentals to create an amazing track.

Overall Grade: 4.3/5

Besides maybe The Hangover, there are no weak spots in this album. Everything's just so awesome about this project, from the beats (best production I've heard in a mixtape/album all year) to the lyrics (not the flashiest, but some of the most clever) and even the guest appearances. I can listen to the entire thing multiple times and focus my attention on something different with each listen while still enjoying it. Roc-A-Fella came back with a huge bang with Pilot Talk for sure.

I had pretty high expectations coming into this, considering Spitta's work on This Ain't No Mixtape (estimated 3.7/5 if I were to rate it song by song) but this succeeded them all. Like I mentioned in the last review (Big Boi's Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty), I find that Eminem's Recovery has more standout tracks, but it wasn't as complete as Big Boi's. This surpasses them both in how complete it is and I can't find one major flaw that brings it down. It's the jets, fool.