Gucci Mane - Trap Back Review

Trap Back, his latest release with noted mixtape curator and professional loud person DJ Holiday, is just that: great. It isn't as great as The Movie 3-D or the first Writing on the Wall mixtape. Or Gucci Sosa or even the 10-track Gucciamerica throwaway or The Gooch Man or any number of his past classics. But like all his best music, it is colorful and interesting and flagrantly dumb and sneakily clever, all at once. His mush-mouth buries the details of his writing so deep that you'd have to spend ages picking them out, but on a good Gucci verse, you can feel them flying by on first pass, content in the knowledge that you will be able to revisit and explore them later. In the dope-sales reminiscence of "Back in 95", details like "Smokers didn't know my name, so they used to call me Black" and "Dope-fiend Willie used to finger-fuck my rims" leap out and instantly signify a great rapper firing on all cylinders....full text After a tumultuous 2011, in which he saw more time inside of a psychiatric hospital and jail cell than a studio, the controversial Atlanta rapper attempts to reach out to his core audience with a project that features Jadakiss, 2Chainz, and Future, as well as constant collaborators Waka Flocka Flame, Yo Gotti, and Rocko.
As expected, Trap Back features an exercise in excellent trap production as Lex Luger, Drumma Boy, Zaytoven, Southside, Mike Will Made It, KE on the Track, and Sonny Digital provide the sounds. So, production isn’t the issue for Gucci as much as the fact that, within the past year, his personal problems have allowed the rise of other Atlanta artists. Long-time fans will be happy to hear that Gucci Mane seems to be moving in the direction of a successful 2012....full text Gucci not only excels in his flow on Trap Back but he also perfects his use of similes and metaphors throughout the content on the album. On the track “In love with a girl,” Gucci uses so many figures of speech that you actually think he’s going to tie the knot soon, but he’s actually just obsessing over his love of drugs and money.

The features on this album from southern hip-hop major players like Rocco, Waka Flocka and 2 Chainz make this album more appealing. Rocco in particular adds attractive flows to songs like “Plain Jane” and “Chicken Room.” He shines on these tracks because he takes a smooth approach to the hard and up-tempo beats, forcing listeners to listen to his every word.

Overall, this record is consistent, which is what makes it a good listen. Despite this, if Gucci had added more variation in lyrical content and production, this mixtape would have been a perfect listen for trap music fans....full text t his best, Gucci cuts something of a ridiculous rap figure - this buffoonish persona is a virtue when he's dropping over-the-top crack rap boasts and flaunting his wealth. So when he spits over a sample of the Tetris theme song on the 2Chainz-featured "Get It Back," his lines hit home at their cartoonish best; there's a marriage of light-heartedness between the beat and the words. But elsewhere the production errs on the wannabe menacing side, which only serves to highlight the limits of Gucci's raps and has him babbling on like Mike Jones's more famous cousin.

While his one-time foe Young Jeezy has elevated his trap rap template to stadium status, Gucci's music stays hovering unsatisfactorily between the street and star levels. Sure, "Trap Back" is a free mixtape and it's more palatable than his maligned hook-up with V-Nasty, "BAYTL" - but it far from heralds the rejuvenation of Gucci....full text