Gunna is a system rapper.
Honestly, how good was LiAngelo Ball in high school?
Yes, he led a state championship team in scoring and earned a scholarship to UCLA, but come on, he was playing alongside three future top-10 NBA draft picks. Whatever flaws LiAngelo might have had(athleticism, defense, ball handling) none of it really mattered.
LiAngelo could cherrypick his way to 30 points a night, and if he did get beat on defense, Onyeka Okungwu would erase the shot and his mistake.
Maybe you're one of those people who thinks LiAngelo's jump shot and built frame could transfer to the NBA. Maybe you're one of those people who hone in on LiAngelo's aforementioned weaknesses and thinks he would never make it in the league.
Neither side matters because LiAngelo never gave either side the opportunity to truly measure his skill.
As the title gives away, this article isn't about LiAngelo Ball, but LiAngelo's uncertain skillset is a great starting comparison for Gunna's performance on Wunna.
If you're a fan of Gunna, you'll say Gunna has transcended past being a rapper, and he creates experiences now. If you're not a Gunna fan, you'll say outside of crazy production, nothing exceptional is happening on this album.
Again, neither side matters. Gunna's performance is impossible to objectively critique or praise.
Last year Drip or Drown 2 received a score of Jared Goff/10. The album had really high highs and really low lows, creating an overall feeling of indifference.
Wunna leaves you with the same indifference towards Gunna as Drip or Drown 2, but make no mistake, Wunna is the better project. Drip or Drown 2 was a rollercoaster of hits and misses, whereas Wunna never misses its target. This isn't to say Gunna went from Goff to Mahomes, but he did deliver a very Brady-like performance.
With 10 producer credits across 18 songs, Wheezy was the Bill Belichick of Wunna. He and the other producers of the album successfully created a mesmerizing experience from intro to outro.
All Gunna had to do to win was follow the gameplan and check the ball down, and he did just that.
"ROCKSTAR BIKERS & CHAINS", "DON'T PLAY AROUND" and "DO BETTER" are three standout tracks on the album, and each perfectly shows the different levels of Gunna on Wunna. Each song has can't miss production, but the difference is Gunna's execution over that production.
Thanks to Wheezy's gameplan, on "ROCKSTAR BIKERS & CHAINS" Gunna throws a check down that turns into a touchdown. Gunna hops from forgettable flex to forgettable flex, and his adlibs are his most noteworthy contributions to the win.
"DON'T PLAY AROUND" shows Gunna getting more involved in the offense.
From the moment he dropped back it was clear he had something on this one, rapping "poverty, no cash for the gas, stove a heater, this is poverty, in the hood sellin' trash, bustin' gats, givin' mama money on the lease," in his opening verse. Even his flexes were more memorable with lines like, "Rollin' Loud know my worst songs."
Then there's "DO BETTER"—a perfectly drawn up bomb by Wheezy, executed to perfection by Gunna. Think, Michael Vick to Desean Jackson on Monday Night Football.
From chorus to the lone verse, the entire track stands out as one of the best of Gunna's career. He perfectly communicates a common feeling of wanting better for someone while also maintaining his normal flexing subject matter to create an on-brand, somewhat motivational, somewhat backhanded, standout.
The thing about being a game manager is when a game-changer comes along, it becomes evident how little you've been bringing to the table.
For this comparison, you have your choice of Alex Smith comparisons—Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick or Alex Smith and Patrick Mahomes. Either way it doesn't bode well for Gunna.
Example one, "COOLER THAN A BITCH".
Much like Alex Smith, Gunna's performance throughout the track leaves no room for complaints, but it's nothing special. Insert, Roddy Ricch. In just one verse, Roddy Ricch switches the flow multiple times and displayed a level of charisma that leaves Gunna as an afterthought on a song that he performs 80%of.
Example two and three, Young Thug on "DOLLAZ ON MY HEAD" and "FAR".
Granted, Gunna shows up on "DOLLAZ ON MY HEAD", delivering arguably the best chorus of the album and a good verse. But all it took was three "bestie"s for Young Thug to become the most memorable part of the song. On both this song and "FAR", Thug brings layers Gunna rarely attempts on Wunna—experimentation and imagination.
Thug enhances the incredible production by doing it justice with experimentation. Gunna doesn't take these chances, which makes the already great-sounding songs impossible to dislike. But, adversely, it leaves Wunna sounding like a project that had more to offer.
Final Score: Alex Smith/10
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