Curren$y's "Where Da Cash At" Represents an Ideal Era of Lil Wayne's Sound

Day 295: "Where Da Cash At" feat. Lil Wayne and Remy Ma – Curren$y, Dedication 2 , 2006

It seems unfair that Curren$y's breakout hit had to be a song that sampled a Lil Wayne song and appeared on a Lil Wayne mixtape, but, then again, who, in 2006, had a hotter touch than Wayne? Curren$y had signed onto Lil Wayne's nascent Young Money imprint at what should have been the perfect time, with Wayne's career in ascendence. Unfortunately Wayne's explosive career rise meant that he ended up more focused on himself, and Curren$y never saw much success under the Cash Money umbrella, releasing mostly mixtape tracks and leaving before the planned release of his debut album.

Nonetheless we have "Where Da Cash At," a song that perfectly captures the talents of its performers, from Curren$y's iconic, laid-back opening bars—"Bitches come a dime a dozen / I fuck 'em sisters, cousins / it's a revolvin' door, pussy goin', pussy comin' / and when it go to you it's come back to me with money"—to Remy Ma's no-nonsense shit-talking as she makes fun of a dude whose condom is too big for his dick. Wayne is not just the hook but the nonchalant centerpiece, busy proving his place as the best rapper alive by making it clear that he can put up hot bars no matter the context: "I make more than I can fit in this quote," he quips at one point. And just the fact that the hook is so huge despite being a sample of a semi-throwaway line on "Fireman" is an amazing flex.

"Where Da Cash At" stands, along with "Make It Rain" and "Stuntin' Like My Daddy," as a core example of the 2006 sound that catapulted Wayne to the forefront of Southern rap and by extension put him onto a more national stage. His line "fly you down here and put you on some South Beach shit" feels telling: Wayne had relocated to Miami following Katrina, and he seemed to attack music with a new hunger in his new home. You can draw a straight line from this sound to "A Milli," which name checks the hook and serves as the pinnacle of Wayne's bouncy machine gun spitting era. Curren$y fortunately went on to eclipse "Where Da Cash At" in his later solo work, so we can look back at it nostalgically, as a pinnacle of collaboration between him and Wayne (and Remy!). There's not a ton more to say; just play this one because it still bangs.

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