BURR! Winter’s Here, So Gucci is Giving Us Fire
- A.J. Voiles
- Dec 19, 2016
- 3 min read
Just in time for the holidays, The Return of East Atlanta Santa brings new joy and nostalgia.
The first half of the album seemed a bit like everyone just having some fun. The “St. Bricks” intro is a fun parody of Jingle Bells in EXTREME Gucci Mane fashion. Teamed up with his long time friend and now legendary producer, Zaytoven, the instrumental gives you that warm fuzzy feeling of unwrapping a Pyrex pot on Christmas morning. “I Can’t” gives me a strong mix tape feeling. Like one of those songs you just leave on when it pops up. The Ricky Racks produced “Walk on Water” is an abomination; one of the simplest set of lyrics and a sub-par beat. The Drake feature “Both” turned out to be a pleasant surprise with Metro Boomin and Southside on the beat, along with Gucci in his prime and a Drake hook a complete recipe for success. The track “Stutter” lets you know that Gucci will still take your girl, but the real show stealer was Murda Beatz living up to his name; It’s one of those beats that makes wanna ride in a white Crown Vic with a bottle of Henny. When it comes to flow, “Drove U Crazy” takes the cake as Gucci refused to let his feature, Bryson Tiller, to show him up. This is one of those that will probably end up on the radio, and I have no problem with that.
Gucci in the holiday spirit for "St. Bricks"
The album takes a more serious turn with the track “Crash”. It seems that Guwop has a chip on his shoulder and is calling out these new kids that just sip lean and Twitter finger; no specifics on who this is aimed at, but this is definitely a diss track, and with The Kid’s history I would heed the warning. If you want to hear the old Gucci listen to “Yet”. With subtle wordplay, obvious boasting and self incrimination it has everything that LaFlare is known for. “Nonchalant” is one of my favorite tracks on this whole album. With a Mike WiLL beat and some of the smoothest flow, this is an instant classic. “Last Time”, featuring Travis Scott, is essentially Gucci reminding you he’s sober, the autotune and Scott’s ad-libs made me quite unsettled but both put in some bars so there’s redemption. “Bales” is all about weed with the most repetitive hook I think I’ve ever heard the man do, it sounds as if Soulja Boy wrote the hook. The lyrical content is not too bad but I feel the flow was out of sync with the instrumental. If you want to get pumped up to kick in some doors though turn “No Smoke” up to the max, its slow, it has a serious beat with lyrics that will have you pulling a 9mm on your aunt. For the finale “The Greatest Show on Earth” is perfect. Nothing about it seems like Gucci, which is what makes it so damn refreshing.
Why is Harmony Korine here?
All in all, “The Return of East Atlanta Santa” is a terrific album with the all-star production team and some big name features. With some drawbacks of course, such as the lazy feel of a few tracks, but that’s made up for with the top tier Gucci you hear for the majority of the album. Rating: 3.5 / 5
You can purchase the album here from iTunes
Comments