New Gucci Music
“Grandma probably rise from the grave / heard what I paid for it…“
Gucci Mane has released something close to a hundred songs in the last two weeks or so. I hope Warner doesn’t sue me before I finish giving each and every one a full and thoughtful listen. Here are some highlights from the Cold War saga, plus a few other loosies that have dripped to the web in recent days.
Gucci Mane – “Break Ya Self”
from Brrrussia (Mixtape, 2009)
For UGK being his favorite group, his production is usually far from Pimp’s classical trunk funk. So it’s nice to hear Guch hop on some heavy Hammonds once in a while. It has been a long time since I’ve heard a rapper use the word “dolo.” Of course, rhyming it with “solo” is probably not the most inspired decision but the other rapps more than make up for the slippage.
50 Cent f/ Gucci Mane – “Crime Wave (Remix)“
The biggest secret in rap is that 50 still makes good to great music. Even if every beat he rocks these days has the exact same drum pattern. It’s strange that more parallels aren’t drawn between Gucci and Fif. Not so much musically, though they are both making a killing with a drawl, but morally. Gucci is on the cusp of wearing the rap villain belt that 50 once held. At least since Tupac, every era of rap has had a major villain. A force so evil that the crusaders for real hip hop (no tony d) and detractors against all hip hop must constantly remind us how the mere existence of these rappers is destroying the world. (Until, of course, a few years pass and their detractors either soften with nostalgia or are pandered to directly by a villain who has reinvented himself as a hero.) The vilification of major gangsta rappers is to be expected, even necessary, at this point.
What is interesting is the varying response from the artists themselves. Jay was reactive, Wayne indifferent. 50 and Gucci, like Pac before them, are self fashioned villains and revel in it. But, unlike Pac, they also see the hilarity in it. (Gucci: “I don’t think I’m evil. I make good music, I smoke good reefer.“) What separates 50 from Gucci though, is the presence of a redemptive narrative. 50 turned his life around and likes to remind us of it. He even made a movie out of that arc. Gucci doesn’t even pretend to be working towards a change. The rap game is presented as an extension of his drug hustle. I, for one, am looking forward to hearing Bill O’Reilly try to produce the word “Mane.”
Comparisons aside, this song is just okay. It’d be nice if Guch and 50 were to actually make a song together and not just tack on remix collabs. They could turn out something very creative. (Anybody have an mp3 of this that isn’t all clicks and pops?)
Gucci Mane – “Timothy“
from Great Brrritain (Mixtape, 2009)
Yes, so Gucci is unapologetic. Rap’s first (significant) full scale nihilist, but for all of this destruction he also possesses the ability to step outside himself and write characters that are actually compelling. Here he tells the downfall of a small time hustler Timothy. It’s a total Ricky D move. I recently read post on the Okayplayer message board where Gucci was compared to Talib Kweli. I think the poster was joking, but when you think about it Gucci and Kweli share their biggest flaws as writers: poor construction. Despite his expansive vocabulary (oh yes, Gordon) Gucci is often less concerned with structure and this is really apparent when he needs to tell a story. He squeezes too many words into bars, he rounds out empty bars with emptier and clunky filler: “got with a… little.. crew,” “he mad, man, he REALLY mad,” and so on. Kweli made similar sacrifices of cadence because his message and agenda took precedence to rap writing. Gucci seems to be doing the same for time constraints. Such editorial concerns would likely slow his creative process.
Gucci Mane f/ Drake and Killer Mike – “Street Cred“
from Guccimerica (Mixtape, 2009)
One of two songs titled “Street Cred” in the Cold War trilogy and also one of two to feature the greatest Canadian rapper since Moka Only. But we’ll pretend like it doesn’t. Mike has the best verse here anyway. He borrows Gucci’s cadence and language but in switching in his own precise, righteous indignance delivery for Guch’s slop style and turns into something else entirely.
Gucci Mane f/ Waka Flocka, Wooh the Kid, Frenchie – “Competition“
It seems like, as of late, rap is considerably more obsessed with legacy than craft. Past greats of hip hop have just wanted to be the best, which is how the form moves forward. Now they just want to be the greatest, to wear the crown, to push themselves forward. It’s appropriate that Drake and those more famous rappers cut “Forever” for that obnoxious looking Kobe film. All of those guys follow the Kobe/Lebron school of self aggrandizement and identity building. Posse cuts are no longer about unity or fun or playful competition but about significance. Drake is going to play this record for his grandkids and feel like a war hero showing off his purple heart. “Competiton” is a nice counter balance to that IMPORTANT RAPPER POSSE CUT. It’s really some school yard shit, just a bunch of rough hewn friendly rivalry raps. Gucci, who did this verse with his shoes off, wins the friendly competition, of course. The gap between him and his crew seems to only be increasing. Frenchie probably takes the silver. “Your house is my garage and your swimming pool is my fish tank.” This track also makes a good case for how much tolerable the non-Gucci rappers from the Icey camp sound in a group setting. It’s a shame that the rap world demands solo acts in this era, they could have been like the trap star Souls Of Mischief. Instead we’re going to have to get a Wooh The Kid album eventually. LP Frowny Face. Here’s a nice video where Frenchie offers some insight into the Brick Squad creative proceess.
Gucci Mane – “Dangers Not A Stranger“
from Guccimerica (Mixtape, 2009)
This feels like the type of record that would be tacked on to the tail end of an E-40 album. After an hour or two of hard nose down gangster rap he hits you from left field with a dance record that is still very close to nose down gangster rap. Even the line about listening to the O’Jays seems like it could have been ripped out of Earl’s rhyme book.
October 27th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Did yall catch that semi-subliminal Wayne threw at Gucci on his ‘run this town’ freestyle (which is the best Wayne shit in awhile btw)?
‘Colder than BR/ Add another 3 Rs’
BURRRR!!!
October 27th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Timothy immediately stood out for me when I first listened to the tape. Even if he isn’t great at the genre yet, it’s cool to hear him do some storytelling. Also, co-sign the point about posse cuts. Where’s the 21st century Live at the BBQ or Flava in Ya Ear?
October 27th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
“Raps full of good guys/50 Cent is the villain”…
Its amazing how many people forget this point when they talk about 50; All you hear now is that he’s a terrible rapper (he wasn’t great to begin with, so this argument is moot) and/or his production is similar… Funny how these arguments parallel with Gucci now…
October 27th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Oh yea, Thisis50 has a better version of the remix on the site now noz.
October 27th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
My man just came up from Atlanta and made me about 12 gucci mane CDs and all this new shit on top of that. November is gonna be a gucci month haha
October 27th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
I’ve often said that Gooch has the most infectious flow since Fifty; just silky smooth delivery that makes you enjoy what is being said even though you’ve heard it said myriad times prior.
Gucci collaborating w Drake just makes sure my fast forward controls don’t wear out.
October 27th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
And what’s this I hear? The real Rick Freeway Ross is now down with 50 too? Uh oh.
October 27th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
“All you hear now is that he’s a terrible rapper (he wasn’t great to begin with, so this argument is moot) ”
^^^what?
October 27th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
id say gucci is more hedonist than nihilist
October 27th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
I don’t get why Nah Right and the like is obsessed with shitting on 50 Cent. He’s a far more palatable victory lap runner than Jay Z. That War Angel LP knocked hard. But I’m white so what do I know.
October 27th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
david… you think 50 was a great rapper?
October 27th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
The Killer Mike verse on “Street Cred” absolutely murders everything else here. I have no problem with Gucci – none at all – but inviting Killer Mike on a beat that was MADE for Killer Mike is not a good look for anyone. If Sunday Morning Massacre was still happening (it’s not, right?), that’s a beat he would just own.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Anyone who says 50 isn’t / wasn’t a great rapper is a dummy.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
I think 50 was a pretty great rapper in the few years preceding GRODT, on much of GRODT, and for a brief period after GRODT (like in his appearances on the first Game record). Then he became, for the most part, a very generic and incredibly lazy rapper. But how can you deny something like ‘Realest Niggas’ or ‘Wanksta’? Who could’ve made half as good a song of ‘In The Club’? As a song-writer, hook-writer, ad-libber, the guy was really first-rate.
October 27th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
“id say gucci is more hedonist than nihilist”
accurate. sometimes i use the wrong words.
October 27th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Is killer mike not chaning to mike bigga or am I just misinformed/retarded?
October 27th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
He might be, but I refuse to call him that.
This is his second failed name change, btw. Before this it was Maserati Mike.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
I kinda wish I didnt know that Mike even considered Maserati a good name at one time.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
Kid Cudi has a song called “Solo Dolo” or something, but he’s not really a rapper. Gucci has a lot more empathy than past rap villians, he isn’t afraid to look silly or uncool and is all about sincerity. Just part of his sincerity is sincerely not giving a shit.
October 28th, 2009 at 12:42 am
yea… ok, i guess 50 qualifies as a great “rapper”… its just most of the dudes I admire in the game I consider to be “mc’s” which to me, is a bit of a different, more respectable, more honed, breed usually of higher intelligence, at least seemingly. 50 cent might’ve been a great rapper but great rappers stand in under the shade cover of great mc’s.
October 28th, 2009 at 12:45 am
haha… maserati mike… lambo lou, porsche phil, ferrari frank…
October 28th, 2009 at 1:19 am
Please, not the rapper vs MC/rap vs. hip-hop shit. You don’t see rock fans trying to qualify Kurt Cobain’s guitar playing as something other than guitar playing — they (we) either say it is great (which it is) or that it sucks (which it does not).
October 28th, 2009 at 1:27 am
What E 40 songs does Dangers Not A Stranger sound like? It reminded me of a Young Buck song that had 50 on it. But weirder.
October 28th, 2009 at 2:02 am
i think ‘diamonds’ off gucci america is too dope
love killer mike’s verse here but its so straightforward compared to what gucci is doing …
actually the stretch that’s like ‘diamonds’ -> ‘follow me’ -> ‘throw money’ is probably my favorite. combine the rapped hook skills, imagery & lyrical style of ‘diamonds’ w/ the structure / songwriting of ‘follow me’ & the beat/chorus of ‘throw money’ & you have a gucci track that appeals to like every demo drawn to him
October 28th, 2009 at 2:03 am
structure/songwriting/concept of follow me
October 28th, 2009 at 2:22 am
Co-sign David on “Follow Me” and “Diamonds”
October 28th, 2009 at 2:59 am
SHELLIANO
Oh yea, Thisis50 has a better version of the remix on the site now noz.
Dude can you post the link??? I’ve downloaded the shitty version about 10 times now.. Cheers
October 28th, 2009 at 7:26 am
I know this off topic, but JAY ELEC.
October 28th, 2009 at 9:19 am
This Mike verse is just beastly. The way he uses annunciation to give his shit a sense of urgency is second to only Cube. “I Flame on Like Waka Flocka.” It’s those hard k sounds.
Drake definitely gets in the way here, but I didn’t mind him so much on the other Guccimerica track where he’s featured (ie, he’s better as the wack R&B feature than as a rapper).
October 28th, 2009 at 9:30 am
“What E 40 songs does Dangers Not A Stranger sound like? It reminded me of a Young Buck song that had 50 on it. But weirder.”
I’m thinking of mid to late period 40 stuff like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxJSIwBPNlY
October 28th, 2009 at 10:23 am
I’m getting more of a Nickatina Daiquiri Factory feel for “Dangers Not A Stranger.” Maybe a little more percussive and slowed down “Gingerbread Man.” I have a pretty novice ear though so I’m just relaying what came to mind the first time I heard it and my buddy asked me If I was listening to Nickatina again.
October 28th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
ok LK well in that case I don’t see how some of ya’ll can call 50 a “great mc”, or a “great rapper.”.
I think good is the word.
October 28th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
That’s better, Nico. Much better. I’d have to disagree, of course. I think he’s a great MC/rapper/whatever. His verse on that Boom Boom Pow remix from over the summer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmPucUIO5QM proves dude can rap any which way he likes and is in full control.
October 28th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
50 cent is a great rapper. & a greater rap artist. hes certainly better than kanye
October 28th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
I’ve been trying, but I’m just not convinced by Gucci.
50 used to be able to kill it… had that sort of pop sensibility where you couldn’t help but like it but goddammit you could see exactly what he was doing and where the wires are and you kind of resent it. Basically, what I’m saying is that “In Da Club” is like “Rocky.” He seems remarkably lazy about it these days, though. No hunger.
October 28th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
What, you guys don’t want to talk about Nicki Minaj some more?
BET Awards, The Cypher:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlLy5V-KHVE
October 28th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
I’m not a big fan of the g mane, kanye, or 50. Out of them all, I probably do like 50 the best though.
October 28th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
I’ve been trying, but I’m just not convinced by Gucci.
^^whats not convincing?
October 28th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
“Rap’s first (significant) full scale nihilist”
really?
not kool keith or odb?
i def see gucci as more of a hedonist
October 29th, 2009 at 8:37 am
AK, you’ll like the new album. David, why even pit 50 against Kanye? I know it’s rap music, but 50 and Kanye, other than that album sales BS, aren’t battling. And I think not being able to to see what’s not convincing about Gucci is as ignorant as not being able to see what IS convincing about him.
Taste is one hell of a motherfucker.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:51 am
Hey Noz,
Really enjoyed your interview with TSOYA at the Marriott last weekend. It was really cool to see the parallels between what you were talking about and what Ian MacKaye was talking about with punk. Funny how you guys ended up inadvertently touching on some similar themes. Your talk might have also helped me introduce a friend (who was at the event too) to Goodie Mob.
Also, is it possible that Gucci Mane’s influence has finally been felt in the world of microbreweries:
http://ratebeer.com/beer/widmer-brothers-brrr-seasonal-ale/94464/
October 29th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
did he say “all the crest niggas move bricks 2 this”?
cuz if so, i think he may be down wit vallejo mor than i think
October 29th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Bouldercrest.
October 29th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
First Noz is revealed to have a mullet, then he’s praising to Reign In Blood, now we’re getting Ian McKaye namechecks in the comment sections.
Can we get a post about how if DJ Screw is the Black Sabbath of rap, then Michael Watts is The Obsessed?
October 29th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
http://screwheadsonly.blogspot.com
Not sure if anyone brought this up, but folks on other un-named sites have been askin the question if Gucci is the new king of the south.
Gucci been doin his thing but that’s just PREPOSTEROUS!
October 29th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
gucci = king of the south
October 29th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
trolling gucci haters vs. trolling gucci fans — who is more butthurt on the internet??
October 29th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Gucci definitely has more buzz (both in the streets and on the internet) than any other southern rapper in AGES, maybe even since T.I. The midwest also seems to love this guy more than life itself.
It’s more like DJ Screw is the Pentagram and Michael Watts is the third tier “stoner doom” band on Hellhound from like ‘95. Like I dunno, Internal Void or something.
October 29th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
my hair doesn’t make any sense but ladies seem to love it. to call it a mullet is disrespectful to mullets.
mackaye is a huge dj screw fan, btw.
October 29th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
“my hair doesn’t make any sense but ladies seem to love it. to call it a mullet is disrespectful to mullets.”
and to quote jim jones: “yo… that’s kind of a bar right there…”
October 29th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Eddie Guerrero had a mullet and I don’t see too many people denying that he was pretty ill
October 29th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
You know a rapper has made it when Game (formerly The Game) bites his style:
http://usershare.net/2DopeBoyz/unpf82uq60ff
October 29th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
thought the same thing
yo noz, you hear the new (NEW) wasted remix? gucci stepping up with the double time rapps
October 29th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
“ur favorite bad guy is gone, the joker is dead
so now until forever your stuck with the kid”
come on noz, make a random 50 cent post so we can get an excuse to discuss this new 50 album
October 29th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
I 2nd P-417. Post Psycho or something…
October 29th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Wanted to hate. But cannot front. Is exactly how Gucci probably would have wanted it?
October 30th, 2009 at 5:44 am
and on another sidenote: THIS BEANS RECORD
October 30th, 2009 at 6:01 am
yeah, I expect a new Gucci mixtape to go hard; I’m kinda shocked at how much I am enjoying No Ceilings and Before I Self Destruct. Whatup with previously hot rappers returning to form? I’m with it, take note Jay, Em, Mos Def, on and on and on and on…
October 30th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Every Em verse I’ve heard since Relapse has been insanely on point. His BET freestyle no exception.
October 30th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
“my hair doesn’t make any sense but ladies seem to love it”
They love it the same way “ladies” like the longer hair of aging rockers.
C’mon, you know I’m jussss playin!!!
October 31st, 2009 at 6:37 pm
I damn near got ostracized from another site after quoting your write up on the 50/Gucci collabo, Noz. Apparently you only wrote it because you wanted to compare Gucci to Tupac and Gucci and Tupac should never ever be compared. Ever. You’re disrespecting a legend. And I’ve been disrespecting him too just by quoting you. So now you know.
October 31st, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Giraffo, ostracizing links plz
November 1st, 2009 at 3:05 am
Sorry, no can do. Closed forum. But I can find a quote.
November 1st, 2009 at 3:16 am
Aight, here’s a sample:
“You posted a blog comparing Gucci Man to 2Pac, which is a disgrace in itself. You’re saying it’s okay because it’s “not comparing them as rappers,” just their public bad guy personas as….. rappers. “Bush is like Hitler. I’m not comparing them as world leaders, I’m just sayin…” Such a handjob. It’s a cowardly way of, again, aligning a wack rapper with a legend, without him actually making music to warrant a mention in the same sentence, let alone a comparison.
It’s disrespectful, and very easy to spot when you aren’t currently infatuated with the bum. Use a bum you aren’t infatuated with: “Soulja Boy is this generation’s Jay-Z, in that he markets himself really well.” You’re comparing two rappers that don’t belong in the same sentence, disrespecting a legend, and hyping up someone who is relatively talentless, all to make a misguided analogy that’s only partially true. You guys do this with The Gucci Man semi-regularly, and I guess don’t realize because you like his music.”
“2Pac was widely regarded as one of the best rappers in the game. He had the respect and fear of his peers, and his music was arguably better than all of his contemporaries, including Nas and Jay-Z in their primes. He’s not comparable to a guy that a) has yet to even drop a successful album, b) no one believes is a good rapper, including his fans, and c) is scoffed at publicly by other rappers who work with him. The two are not comparable simply because they both rap, or because you think they fit some vague, intangible role of “hip-hop’s bad guy” that doesn’t even exist. Noz fabricated an idiotic rationale for the sole purpose of comparing Gucci Man to 2Pac, and it is a disgrace. You’re condoning it because you’re a full-time Gucci Man apologist on SC, period.
I like how you’re trying to flip this around though, like we’re overreacting to the whole 2Pac/Gucci comparison. Take your “I’m not comparing them as rappers, but they both rap and I am comparing them” goofball argument to the Gucci shrine, and leave us to discuss rappers who can actually rap.”
“Every wack rapper elicits strong reactions when they’re compared to great rappers. I know you were posting here when DipSet was compared to great rap groups, and Young Jeezy’s debut had the same response Gucci’s having now. This reaction is not exclusive to Gucci Man, so that’s yet another made up rationale you can’t sell. None of these artists deserve to be compared to 2Pac, and anyone doing so would be rightfully clowned.
Also, Pac was not “an evil force” that all of rap fans rallied against. That’s not even revisionist, it’s just a boldfaced lie, again, for the sole purpose of comparing 2Pac to Gucci Man. You keep posting this bullshit like “what’s so wrong with this sentence?” Everything. 2Pac was considered overrated by a minority of rap fans, and hated by random Bad Boy fanatics. That is not analogous to someone universally recognized as wack on the mic, by everyone from his own fans to his peers. It’s not “pretty much the same.” You keep saying this, so either you weren’t listening to rap in ‘96 and can’t remember what 2Pac’s presence was really like, or you’re being stubborn to defend Gucci Man. Either way, knock it off.”
“He’s disliked because he’s a popular rapper that can barely rap, so this backlash is not due to some unique quality in Gucci’s persona. Any attempt to align Gucci Man with 2Pac is misguided and disgraceful.”
November 1st, 2009 at 9:53 am
You should probably find a different forum, Giraffo.
November 1st, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I guess this means you’re still unrepentant, huh? The same goes for me I’m afraid. I’ll never leave that forum though – I’ve been there too long to leave it over Gucci Mane. Gucci brings the best out in other rappers – I hear Lupe’s doing mixtapes again – but he sure brings the worst out in rap fans. I’ll survive – I’ve been in tougher tussles than this before at that particular forum. Tough love and all that.
November 2nd, 2009 at 9:00 am
The comparison is mainly offensive because I have no evidence Gucci Mane ever really gave a fuck, where as Tupac had this larger vision/dream which was shattered into pieces when some industry cats tried to play gangsta and have him shot. That shit put him into Kierkergaardian despair, and he became the dood counting money in chain mail.
Gucci Mane’s dope though. But like dope, heads are putting *way* too much on it. There’s nothing deep going on here, it just sounds/feels good.
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:36 pm
i agree that pac was doing a whole lot more — although you are probably shortchanging gucci’s project, dude has hinted at a lot more personal/biographical stuff beneath the surface — but ‘it just sounds/feels good’ is what, you know, great music can do? & that can be pretty deep on its own? I think whats ‘deep’ is how hes managed to make music that stands out from the crowd & hes done it w/ a really unique style. “style is substance” yall
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:43 pm
what i mean is that i think what hes doing w/ rap on a formalist level is where the ‘depth’ is — innovations are in the rappin styles that are a template for him to rap about whatever
November 2nd, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Style is substance, or at least, stylistic innovation is nothing to scoff at – Doggystyle, for instance, is a classic on purely stylistic grounds – but I do think it can be a legitimate knock on a rapper that he doesn’t have a great deal to say. For instance, I am a huge Cam fan but would acknowledge that you can’t put Purple Haze, which is mostly just a big exercise in style (loosely defined to include lyrical loopiness), up there with Dah Shinin. And one trend in rap criticism that does bother me is every other year some rapper comes along who has little to say but says it very entertainingly (Cam, Wayne, Gucci) and he’s embraced as the savior of the genre by a certain sector of the critical population, when all these guys are really more like the modern-day equivalent of a young Busta Rhymes – formally virtuosic but highly limited – causing another sector to overreact at the insane overrating and peremptorily dismiss the new guy’s shit as garbage, while seeking much more dubious saviors of their own.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:14 pm
what can i say — im one of the ppl who thinks cam & wayne both became horribly overrated pretty early on — i really dug purple haze but the notion that its a top 20 rap lp of the decade is nonsense to me. Wayne was overhyped bcuz he slowed down his style & made it more east coast palatable, more easily translateable, but there was certainly a depth to a lot of his stuff — if anything, it was the technical/stylistic aspects of wayne’s shit that was being ‘overrated’.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:16 pm
while because gucci is so unapologetically southern & country its only a small core that is really making an argument for him being on some next level shit … most of his fanbase dont look at it that way, even tho they’re obviously appreciating his lyricism … but theyre vibing on the fun music & its gangster edge too, its a full package that way
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:29 pm
“embraced as the savior”
This sort of hyperbole does good for no one.
November 3rd, 2009 at 8:42 pm
A side by side Pac vs Gucci comparison isn’t ever going to make any sense because they worked in different eras with totally different rules where rap music as a whole was viewed totally differently than it is now, both by the rest of the world and people involved in rap music.
Also, Gucci is the absolute definition of a rapper who “has the respect of his peers”, whether you like him or not.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:07 am
Not really, but the point was… Tupac and Gucci Mane were not compared in terms of rapping ability or musical importance. Their public personas, or rather the role assigned to them in the discourse on hip hop, a discourse to which we are contributing here and now, were being compared. Unless this simple point is grasped, the discussion is going nowhere fast.
November 4th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Yeah, I’m just saying that 2Pac-like figures don’t really exist anymore. Rappers come up differently now and do different things when they become successful.
November 4th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
comparing him to pac makes no sense cuz pac was pretty singular
November 7th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Pigs must be flying, because I actually think that Gucci & 50 song is dope. I think both of ‘em are super overrated, but that was refreshing in a way I can’t quite put my finger on.
November 8th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
they both killed it
January 21st, 2010 at 9:06 am
[...] of cadence because his message and agenda took precedence to rap writing.” (original post here, in reference to a Gucci Mane song off the Great Brrritain [...]
January 27th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
You already know that Gucci done took over the game in 09 and is well on his way in 2010!
February 20th, 2010 at 6:20 am
[...] Southern rappers are often pigeonholed as being lyrically simplistic and overwhelmingly focused on luxury, rarely speaking on topics outside the realm of cars, guns, jewelry and drugs. There’s plenty of truth to that stereotype, but much like Jay Z, Gucci is a gifted lyricist even while speaking on tired topics, so gifted he breathes new life into the same old subjects. Very few rappers can make rapping about cocaine exciting in 2010, but he does it constantly even though nobody believes Gucci has actually sold coke at any point in recent memory. We Eat So Many Shrimp has a short blog here detailing how delightful Gucci’s strange vocabulary can be and Noz consistently offers up brilliant breakdowns of Gucci’s lyrics. Search Gucci on Cocaine Blunts for more but start with this one. [...]