With his new career in Hollywood (a starring role in the weird summer comedy Spring Breakers) and a name change to GuWop on the advice of his new friend
Marilyn Manson (a change that didn't stick very long),
Gucci Mane's recent mixtapes painted him as a ringtone rapper who was moonlighting too much and didn't have enough energy to deliver the wacky goods consistently. This "official" release comes on cool with its lumbering, hazy title cut opener, but once the familiar "M-M-M-M-M-Maybach Music" drop introduces
Rick Ross, things began to look up, and the apathy of the recent past begins to fade. Some 17 tracks later, it's just about gone. Superstar team-ups like "Use Me" with
2 Chainz, "Nuthin on Ya" with
Wiz Khalifa, and "Darker" with
Chief Keef all bring the thug party with an extra twist of weird, while the solo cut "Hell Yes" gets drenched in Auto-Tune and comes close to the strange experience of listening to
T-Pain talk in his sleep. Big surprise is "Point in My Life," where
Gucci does the usual lyrical rambling, but this time over a
Prince-like, power rock ballad, where the guitar wails and the chorus includes the almost
Tracy Morgan-moment "I'm havin' sex with your mind." Good times, some redundant numbers, all of it jumbled together, and everything else returning fans are used to (or frustrated by). Just be aware,
Gucci's inspired by more serene and soft moments at this point, so call this the most "couch locked" of all Trap Houses and get prepared to sprawl out for a long, low ride. ~ David Jeffries