Review Summary: Immortality.
2016 is turning out to be the year of the comeback. Whether these musical renaissances are being sparked from creative revival, surviving controversial circumstances, or otherwise; it's absolutely that kind of year for Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane. Ask him, as he's survived a two year sentence in the clinker for firearms possession and making out of it in literally one piece, alluding to the laughable "Gucci clone" conspiracy. Leaving prison on early release was the right call for him, and frankly for his career to revitalize itself once again. In July, only just a month after release, he decides to finally drop his first album in half a decade with a scorching comeback in "Everybody Looking", seizing the opportunity to cash in on being back in business and in tune with the rest of hip-hop again. Laced in his signature Atlanta trap-rap sound, one that many in his region have tried to intimidate to no avail, it was undoubtedly the rap album of the summer to jam and boom box to. With summer far and gone and the iciness and cold of the more frigid seasons ahead, Gucci wants to end the year of his comeback the same way he came back: with another album drop. Not only does he release his second studio project of the year with the elegant, eventful "Woptober" on deck and with an ice-shaped statue to immortalize his image, but he decides to deliver it to the crazed hip-hop community for free instead. Talk about real love for the game right there.
As Gucci prowls out and proclaims in the nightly, groovy synth-driven "Intro: *** 12", "it's 2016 so it's Guwop year"; it couldn't be immortalized in stone as it's ever been for the Atlanta mainstay. His official comeback album soared and deafened opponents in the rap stratosphere, being laced in various sounds, varying from warm, bombastic bangers to cooler, wintery excursions. It's only fitting to resort to what worked in July as the basis for his end-of-the-year treat, considering the switch to colder, darker feels ahead. Tuning it to the colder seasonal moods of now, it's showcased in the frigid, glimmering banger "The Left", a nod to the phonies that Guwop has noticed since leaving jail. Heavily bass-laced and conjured in icy synth lines cracking within, it's an ode to getting things done by your lonesome while everyone you knew turned out to be faking with you all along. Straight-to-the-point lyricism like "I feel like I'm the last n*gga left, the left" clarify and reinforce such in classic Gucci form, as he feels like he has been surrounded by phonies that haven't been truly with him for the right reasons. It's no matter to him however, he's already found himself on top of the rap throne and therefore he has all resolute to force his enemies out otherwise. He has no time for people's bullsh*t anymore, then again it's been the mindset of his since he broke back onto the scene last summer.
What Guwop left us off with in "Everybody Looking" was a festival littered in bangers galore all around, pulsated by dark, powerful atmospheres soaring around. If his comeback album was the prequel, then "WOPTOBER" is the sequel to that cliffhanger, and it delivers violently well. The ultimate highlight springing away from this is the misty, woozy "Money Machine" with Rick Ross on deck, a typical money-esque anthem done with elegant due diligence. Crackling with stacks and stacks of cash rolling through the counting machine, with naturalistic, vegetative synths cruising along with the up-tempo, mechanical bass bristling along with it; it truly envisions and captures the feeling of acquiring funds at a machine-like rate. Taking back "the dough" what Guwop believes he is entitled to and has claim to, something he feels he's still lacking of despite his grand return. That's the definitive that you're getting from his end-of-the-year celebration in "WOPTOBER"; as Gucci celebrates the achievements he's made during his short tenure out of prison, while still believing he's got more to claim back than what is portrayed currently. As the icon Drake dubbed the term "comeback season", you might as well call it "Guwop season", as it couldn't be more true as it ever has been for the year he's been having. Only fitting to be immortalized with an ice statue, right?
