Gunplay Bogota Rich - The Prequel Review

There are rappers whose sole aim is to whip you into a dangerous frenzy, and then there is Gunplay Don Logan. Even in the crowded lane of fight-music rap, Gunplay is a breed apart: For sheer fiendish creativity, technical ability, and display of unsettling enthusiasm, he is Bacardi 151 to Waka and French's Everclear: just as potent, but surprisingly refined for something specifically designed to knock you on your ass. His last mixtape, Inglorious Bastard, came out on January 1 of last year, and its loony swagger towered over almost all the street-rap that came out after it. He's nominally a member of Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group, but Ross seems to keep him apart from the crew for some reason, perhaps out of fear of what he might do to a gentle soul like Stalley. He has kept mostly to himself during the MMG empire's expansion-- he only had a single guest verse on last year's Self Made, Vol. 1 showcase-- but he seems to have used the time honing his act and upping every conceivable ante on it. Listening to him let loose on Bogota Rich: The Prequel, his new DJ Holiday mixtape, I am reminded of Travis Bickle, doing countless pushups alone, staring into a mirror.

Bogota Rich is only 13 songs, an eye-blink as far as rap mixtapes go. If it's all we're getting from Gunplay this year, it's a major letdown. It's billed as the "appetizer" to the "filet mignon" that will be the full Bogota mixtape, due out at some troublingly unspecific moment in the future. Even with all these minor disappointments, however, it's easily one of the most exciting gangsta-rap releases of the year so far. As a rapper, Gunplay has become darker and more interesting: He's not exactly taking us into into "Diary of a Madman" territory yet, but he comes off as genuinely dangerous and unpredictable, whereas on Inglorious he sometimes sounded like Foghorn Leghorn with a bad coke habit....full text As promised, Maybach Music's most hype spitter, Gunplay, has delivered his latest project, Bogota Rich: The Prequel. The 13-track project features guest appearances by his Miami-based crew, Triple C's, along with like-minded rapper Ace Hood. This might be the project that makes MMG finally decide to give Gunplay the push he deserves, though maybe they're also waiting on a proper release from dude to do that. Either way, find out why he's one of our favorites at Prefix as of late by streaming Bogota Rich: The Prequel below and downloading it at Dat Piff....full text For better or worse Bogota Rich (The Prequel) follows the same format as virtually every Gunplay mixtape ever released — an aggregate of premeditated freestyles, rehashed collaborations, exclusive original solo efforts, and excessive banshee wails from an annoying host DJ. While it's not the quintessential Gunplay project many hoped for, it's easily the strongest collection of music he's mustered thus far, thereby serving as a respectable introduction to hip-hop's most interesting bench warmer.

Bogota Rich features Don Logan at his most maniacal, and as a respected colleague once suggested, MMG artists should be vying for Oscar nominations opposed to Grammy awards. 'Tats On My Arm', a truly convincing display of suicidal self-loathing, is the most dramatic entry. While "swaztika on my tat/smoking tropical crack" is certainly on the short list of most ignorant couplets ever written, there's a cartoonish element to Gunplay's approach that carries over regardless how serious the subject matter.

Perhaps more impressive than Gunplay's ability to sound nearly as demented as he looks, is the subtle multi-syllable rhyme schemes layered in his verses. On 'Jump Out' he effortlessly merges "G-U-N-P-L-A-Y" with "human LA riot" without compromising an iota of energy. This Fizzy Wo-esque balance of poetic acumen, humorous threats, and heart pounding delivery is sustained throughout the entire tape's duration. However, Bogota Rich feels like a missed opportunity. The critical acclaim garnered by Gunplay's stellar contribution to Kendrick Lamar's 'Cartoon and Cereal' exposed him to an audience diametrically opposed to the Maybach aesthetic, but there's nothing on this project that exhibits that level of depth. This is unfortunate, because that performance wasn't an anomaly akin to School Boy Q's 'Brand New Guy' massacre. Gunplay's introspective voice can be found littered about his shallow mixtape discography ('All On You', 'Straight Up Menace', etc), so it's disappointing he didn't further cultivate that particular facet of his repertoire....full text