Hip-Hop music hasn’t always been known as a tool that can save lives and provide opportunity. There have always been stigmas and stereotypes that have placed a shadow over rap culture, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that some music can inspire people to do big things with their lives. With 12 songs and a little more than 37 minutes of actual music, Berner & Curren$y’s new “Pheno Grigio” album places both artists in a whole different tier from the rest of the rap industry.
The 12-track project includes notable features from West Coast legends like B-Real (Cypress Hill), Daz Dillinger, Kokane, as well as Mozzy and G Perico.
There’s no trendy mumble rap or trap beats on “Pheno Grigio”, just a bunch of FIRE hip-hop and sample-heavy bangers. Throughout each song, Berner and Curren$y rap about their real-life boss moves. The stuff they’ve actually done. Their travels, strains they’ve smoked, cars they’ve been in, homies that got caught up, each song telling a story of celebration and struggle. Each track pays respect to what they’ve accomplished and everyone who has been part of their growth and the process. For me, the project can definitely be described as inspiring.
Curren$y always comes through with impressive verses but this one on “Mainey” featuring Berner and Richie Rich really stood out to me.
“Coolin like a motha fucka, pressin my line. I’m a hustlin ass motha fucka, Ima get mine.
Got bitches in my ride, diggin my designs. I put in hella time, got incredible shine.
Pull up supa high in my blue ’65. Two feet on the ground with my head in the clouds.
Couple pounds in the studio, we layin it down. Craftin the sound, harder than that shit out now.
Sucka moves ain’t my style, I be on the move. Fuck what ya’ll got goin on, dude I’m way cool.
Handling all these flavors, weed menu, like I got a mfn caterer. What you been doin? “
– Curren$y
Both Berner and Curren$y are considered legendary in their own right. Booking shows all over the world and helping connect their fans to real cannabis culture, both artists have united to create a project that can be played 365 days a year from now until the end of time. The production on the album was taken care of by Daz Dillinger, Cozmo, Traxx FDR and is eerily similar to other Berner and Curren$y projects with some tracks sounding reminiscent to Berner’s Drugstore Cowboy released in 2013.
Stream the full “Pheno Grigio” project below courtesy of Spotify.
People often don’t think about the struggle artists went through to reach their success. When I listen to these two artists, either together or by themselves, I can’t help but focus on the different things they’ve done to get to where they are today. My takeaway from this project is that no matter how hard things get, a good plan and the willingness to do whatever it takes to survive and succeed can change your life.
Curren$y is one of the most respected rappers alive and also gets labeled as a weed rapper. Initially gaining national attention for historic collaborations with Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y has expanded his brand worldwide and grown into a true “bucket-list” type of artist. Seeing him at SXSW 2019 was one of the highlights from my career thus far.
Berner is one of the co-creators of the Girl Scout Cookies weed strain, the Cookies Fam brand, and has built an empire of dispensaries and premium cannabis products. Most recently he announced the launch of his own rolling papers company, Vibes Papers, plus the opening of a cannabis consumption lounge in Palm Springs as well as a new dispensary in Redding, CA. You can also catch him performing live at Northern Nights Music Festival in Humboldt County next weekend.
