Gucci Mane is now a superstar. And of course, with the onset of the trappings of success, there comes the inevitable period wherein someone unfamiliar with these gifts possibly makes mistakes in their utilization. Thus is the tale of Gucci’s sophomore studio release, The Appeal: Georgia’s Most Wanted. In adjusting to having the celebrities of hip hop on speed dial, there were steps made that were of a successful nature. However, there were some as well that failed miserably, as we now begin to delve deeper into the progressive trend of Gucci Mane as a mainstream heavyweight hip hop artist, and how exactly that concept is going to take shape. This album answers that question well, but not to the positive development of the album as a top performance piece on par with the fantastic The State v. Radric Davis. However, in baking a cake, you have to break a few eggs along the way, and it is clear that we are settling in for a serious journey.
There is one concept that is obvious here. The collaboration of Gucci Mane and Swizz Beatz is a match made in bottle service heaven. If a close follower of the trajectory of Gucci Mane’s career, the next step on this album was to cross Gucci over from the trap to the clubs. “Wasted,” the feel good jam of 2009 took a Fatboi produced party banger into the realm of the party vibe like nothing Gucci had ever rhymed on before. It opened a clear path for him to have mainstream relevance and economic success as the chief party rocker from the ATL. No, not a party hype man like Lil Jon’, but a party rocking emcee, a southerner following in the line of Northern legends like Busy Bee, and ATL forefathers like Jermaine Dupri, keeping the vibe alive and the party moving. The newly minted Mr. Alicia Keys has a legacy of that as well, so the pairing of the two, namely on the Justice sampling lead single “Gucci Time” really shines a bright light on Gucci’s populist path to follow to remain commercially relevant.
The album fails when Gucci attempts to variate from his formula. Notably, his collaboration with Nicki Minaj and Pharrell Williams, “Haterade” is a downtempo production familiar to a number of the Neptunes’ plethora of hits. However, instead of a “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” they give Gucci a “She Likes To Move,” and over the trance synths and live instruments Gucci sounds terribly out of place on his own track, while drive time radio comfortable Pharrell and Minaj put in expected work with solid results. Wyclef Jean sings the hook on “O Dog,” in which he compares Gucci to Larenz Tate’s iconic character in Menace II Society. The comparison, while effective, coming from the mouth of a muted and reflective Jean makes Wyclef sound like an old man desperate for cultural relevance, and the song itself, while solid, in lacking an effective hook falls incredibly flat.
The radio singles on the album are solid. Jim Jonsin of working with T.I. fame is here, and serves up a great track straight out of the “What You Know” or “No Matter What” file in “Grown Man,” and Brit pop lost child Estelle (yes, of “America Boy” fame) pops up ere, as when Gucci proclaims himself a “grown ass man” on the hook with her, you almost get a sense that with Tip Harris being on ice for awhile, that there will be a number of uneasy attempts to fill his throne. I fully expect radio to eat up Estelle on this one, and Gucci succeeds modestly at this new stylistic necessity for his career aspirations. Trap heavy producer of the moment Lex Luger cranks out another champion with “Remember When” with yes, the man who put it down on Kim Kardashian on videotape, Ray J on the hook. Gucci and Ray J on a Lex Luger track is sonic kryptonite for the streets, as there’s something there for everyone to ogle, lust after, get crunk to, and overall enjoy. Fatboi’s here as well with the underwhelming “Wasted 2: Electric Boogaloo” of “Party Animal,” which keeps the trend alive of tracks that are solid and overall sound, but not the massive crushers we want to expect.
Schife is the new Fatboi and Zaytoven, meaning he’s the next underground grinder in line for a lot of publicity as a producer from working with Gucci Mane. He was the creator behind the excellent “Shining For No Apparent Reason” from Burrprint 2: HD Edition, and here his “Making Love to the Money” is the true star of the album, as it pulls out the brilliant ignorance we expect out of Gucci, as with a hook like, “I’m making love to the money like a sex tape, I’m talkin’ Kim K, I’m talking Ray J” over a brilliant bed of synths, horn samples and a bass heavy bottom, the bizarre excellence that makes Gucci Mane a superstar is on display.
In final, this album is highly disjointed. In opting to use a mix of familiar sounds of mainstream veterans like The Neptunes and Wyclef and failing, and in Gucci’s inability to fully handle the style necessary to flow over a track definitely more comfortable for an artist like T.I., this is not a complete success. Yes, he’s understandably the busiest producer in the game right now, but after hearing the Mad Decent Records Free Gucci Mixtape, how Diplo, the most untapped mind in mainstream hip hop today, and someone who could definitely delve into the bizarre mindset of the emcee, wasn’t tabbed for the project is beyond my comprehension. However, we do have the brilliance of “Gucci Time” and “Making Love to the Money” here, so, it’s really not a complete loss. This album aimed for the moon to achieve the goal of mainstreaming one of the most unusual mainstream emcees of all time. In failing, it still keeps Gucci as a star on the rise.
THREE OUT OF FIVE STARS
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