Album Review: Gucci Mane “The Appeal: Georgia’s Most Wanted”

It’s a daunting task to follow up a good album with another good album or something greater. Add to this task trying to please two different audiences and grow as an artist. Sometimes the results work together and gives birth to something incredible.  Other times, its just another album.  Unfortunately, this is just another album.  Gucci Mane’s follow up to The State vs. Radric Davis just doesn’t have “The Appeal” of the first one.  The total direction of the album is one that every Atlantic artist has traveled down – a road filled with cleaned-up southern artists that can make songs for the trap and for the radio.  The formula has worked well for T.I., Plies, and Trey Songz even.  But Gucci is in his best element on some gutter street music.  Its the tale of two albums on this one – one with compromise and one without.

“The Appeal” lacked in both street and radio buzz because there was no clear cut hit on here.  There are some good songs on here that have potential to gain momentum over time, but that may never happen. “Missing”, “What’s It Gonna Be” and “Making Love To the Money” are all great songs that play to Gucci’s best attributes as an MC and they have hit potential.  The problem is that the leaked songs were “Gucci Time” and “Wierdo”, which both seemed like recycled themes (i.e. T.I.’s “Bring Em Out” = “Gucci Time”).  My theory about his street music>label-forced collabos is proven true strictly through the producers. Drumma Boy and Zaytoven fit Gucci the best while offering from others come of as either a hit (like Pharrell’s “Haterade”) or miss (Swizz Beatz “It’s Alive”).

Overall, the album seems forced to fit into a category that might be able to sell everyone, but isn’t narrow enough to fit into a category that people will consider as good.  The formula of making good music in your genre will give any artist more longevity was actually pioneered by Gucci.  He showed artists that he could drop relevant music without an album, tour and make money and get big checks for features.  It’s a shame that they’re pushing him away from what worked for him so well the past couple of years.

Buy Gucci Mane – “The Appeal: Georgia’s Most Wanted” on iTunes

Rating: 3.0/5 Mics