Gucci Mane "The State Vs. Radric Davis"

Brilliant or not, Gucci Mane has built up enough momentum over the past year or so by releasing more material than anyone else in hip-hop. There has been something like six mixtapes and he also managed to do a six-month stint in jail before going straight back in last November for violating his parole. All this, of course, makes The State Vs. Radric Davis all the more interesting. Can you follow-up an array of mostly solid mixtapes with a major label album release?

In short, yes. Despite the fact that The State Vs. Radric Davis never actually sold as much as everyone would have hoped, it’s by no means a disappointment. Of course, if you don’t pay attention to his monotone muttering then you’ll probably miss the brilliance. In Heavy you won’t find any real standout lines but the ideas he squeezes into the chorus still work – here’s it’s all about how his ego, Gucci bag full of cash and of course his chain, is too heavy for him.

There are a couple of immediate highlights early on in the album. There’s Bangladesh’s nursery-rhyme sounding Lemonade, with it’s obnoxious yet catchy piano sample and children’s chorus singalong, which has almost become the new track of choice for every other rapper to have a go at. Stupid Wild is another one of Bangladesh’s perfect productions, while Scott Stoch’s Bingo makes Soulja Boy Tell Em and Waka Flocka Flame seem almost admirable.

The biggest problem here is the few ‘girl’ songs which linger in the middle. I still sort of like Spotlight with Usher for some reason, even though it’s not the best moment for either artist by far, but the next few songs wear out their welcome quickly and ultimately weaken the album. I Think I’m In Love featuring Jason Caesar sounds like the obligatory hip-hop song featuring a R&B artist but then it’s followed up with two more, neither or which are all that memorable (apart from a nice guest appearance from Nicki Minaj on the interestingly-titled Sex In Crazy Places).

Later on in the album there’s Gingerbread Man and Worst Enemy, both of which help to round out the album nicely. Plies also makes a quick appearance in Wasted and squeezes in one of the best nonsense lines in the song with “I don’t wear tight jeans like the white boys but I do get wasted like the white boys.” Overall, The State Vs. Radric Davis isn’t necessarily a perfect release but the highlights easily outweigh anything else that’s bad about it. Especially those R&B songs!