A Jet’s Life

You have to respect a man who can stand on his own two feet and take the chance to do things for himself. That particular statement can apply to any man (or women for the sake of not being gender biased) who steps out on faith and strength of character.

In this particular instance I am talking about a man.

The man?

Shante Scott Franklin. You’d probably know him as Curren$y.

The New Orleans born rapper started his music career in 2002 signed to Master P’s now defunct No Limit Records as a member of the 504 Boyz. Curren$y appeared on at least five tracks on Master P’s Good Side, Bad Side album in 2004. As impressive as this is this isn’t what made me admire the guy.

We’re getting there.

In late 2004 he signed with Cash Money Records and Lil’ Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment. He would remain there until 2007. He released the single “Where Da Cash At”, a song that was to serve as the lead single for his Young Money debut, Music To Fly To. But in the face of several delays and lack of promotion Curren$y decided to leave the label, venturing off to do business on his own.

THAT is what impressed me about Curren$y. Young Money is rather big at the moment and the idea of walking away from the label seems ludicrous. But he persevered.

In 2008 he released a series of mixtapes. And despite the growing hype in major publications major labels still overlooked him. His milestone came when his video for “Address” was played on MTV as well as the Mos Def produced “Breakfast”. Soon after taking on the industry on his terms he gained notoriety for his work with Wiz Khalifa on the How Fly mixtape. His fan base expands constantly due to his original, laid-back flow often coupled with soothing, spacey beats.

Amalgam Digital made his debut album possible, an effort called This Ain’t No Mixtape.

Six albums and numerous mixtapes later and Curren$y hasn’t come down yet. Three more albums are forthcoming.

Through a label deal with Warner Bros. Records he started his own imprint, Jet Life Recordings. Here he has signed such artists as Young Roddy, Smoke DZA, Sir Michael Rocks (of The Cool Kids), and Trademark Da Skydiver.

This is a true story of one man’s desire to succeed and how he did it on his own terms and without the support of a major label.

This Jet looks to never come down after an initial rough takeoff.