Check out our Harry Fraud 2021 recap playlist!
On Regatta, the prolific Curren$y and Harry Fraud link for their fourth collab project. Fraud coming off a busy ’21 (linking with Jim Jones, Benny the Butcher, Dave East, and Dark Lo) and Spitta on a strong run of albums himself, the duo hoped to continue their strong connection and discographies. The results are frankly mixed.
This is some of Harry Fraud’s best production ever, and, arguably, the flat out best produced project of the year. His beats are summery and rich, reminiscent of the yacht rock genre (a la his peer The Alchemist, or Action Bronson’s recent Only 4 Dolphinz). The samples range from retro synths evocative of Vice Era Miami, to saxophones over hard hitting bass, and electric guitar riffs on the outro, “Key West Classic”. This is a diverse but highly intentional collection of beats which really showcase what Fraud does best: Lush, warm beats which steal the show. Sadly, that’s exactly what he does on Regatta.
Granted many of these beats feel designed with the instrumentation rather than the pocket in mind, Spitta fails to shine on this project. In fact, this would have been better off as a beat tape and could have been among the better ones in recent years. It’s not that Curren$y is ever particularly bad, it’s that he felt like an afterthought here (Fetti, anyone?). Often sounding a bit offbeat, particularly on the intro “Willy & Sal”, and delivering very little in the way of catchy hooks or standout bars, he seems to be coasting a bit on here: A stark contrast to The Outrunners and its deluxes, or Cigarette Boats EP, stellar collaborative efforts from both MC and producer. That being said, the features are solid. Frequent west coast collaborators Jay Worthy and Larry June do their typical thing, while 2 Chainz and Styles P deliver standout verses. Tity continues his run of quality appearances on unexpected production, coming off appearances with each Grieselda member this year. Rumors of a Statik Selektah collaboration would be welcome news.
Overall, Regatta is a worthy addition to the discographies of both Curren$y and Harry Fraud, but Spitta could have carried his weight a little more while being overshadowed by phenomenal beats.
Listen to Regatta here:
Haven’t listened to the album yet, but after this review, I’m excited to hear it!