Music Review: Gucci Mane - "The State vs. Radric Davis"

“Black Tee,” “Trap House,” “Go Head,” “Freaky Gurl,” “Icy,” and “Bricks” are but a mere sampling of what Radric Davis planned to feed the world.  All the aforementioned tracks are southern classics that still get burn in many clubs and nightspots nationwide, but for Gucci Mane LaFlare, such success was not nearly enough.

The State vs. Radric Davis is Gucci's first attempt at bringing his trademark drug flow and braggadocios street certified tales to a mainstream audience. Gone are the days of hole in the wall performances; all that remains are the trappings of a burgeoning rap titan, a bonafide star. Ascending the mantle of today's Hip-Hop higher echelon currently occupied by fellow Atlien's T.I., Ludacris, & Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane is bringing some of his most diverse work to date in his latest offering.

“Classical (Intro),” the album's first track, is an introduction to the So Icy Boss for listeners that may not be familiar with who Gucci is.  Like its name suggests, the track features classically styled singers backed by piano chords and string arrangements that combine to give a sense of regality to the lyrics amiably laid on the song.  Following the intro is a hilarious interlude that sees Gucci recruit funny man Mike Epps for what can only be described as 1 minute and 14 seconds of hilariousness, after which, LaFlare serves up three consecutive hood-targeted cuts, seeing him hook up with the likes of Cam'ron, Lil' Wayne, and  Rick Ross.

Every track that follows, starting with “Lemonade,” are clearly designed for Gucci to flex his lyrical range, delivering songs that partner the southern rhyme slinger with unlikely artists such as Usher, Bobby Valentino, and Jason Caesar. After a relaxing change of pace its back to business as usual as arguably tired gutta stories are given new life with new era digital musicality.

All in all, The State vs. Radric Davis is an album that will appease longtime Gucci Mane fans as well as anyone that may not be familiar with the East Atlanta/Zone 6 don. With excellent production throughout the album and several good tracks that make for decent car listening, for all intent and purposes, The State is just not as good as it is being marketed to be.

I would even go as far as calling it a glorified mainstream mixtape. Even so, it is a good listen and is worth a download…. A FREE download.

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