Album Review: Gucci Mane’s “The State vs. Radric Davis”

By    |  
Dec 21, 2009

Preparation for this album dates back to early last year. Ever since 2005, Gucci Mane has been a consistent voice on the independent hip hop circuit. The Atlanta native has made noise a couple of times, but he has never been taken seriously within the hip hop community. Before this year, all that Gucci Mane had to claim his fame was a feud with Young Jeezy.

In a similar fashion to Jeezy, Gucci Mane had released many independent albums. His most notable one was Back to the Trap House, which was released in 2007. At the time, he had scored his biggest hit with “Freaky Gurl.” While his albums were popular among some people, his music was panned by critics.

Because of this, most of Gucci’s music was taken as a joke. Determined to stop being the L.A. Clippers of hip hop, Gucci Mane began working on his major label debut album. Earlier this year, he made things official when he signed with Warner Bros. Records. The end result was his hit single, “Wasted,” that gave birth to this album, The State vs. Radric Davis.

Now that he is a major label artist, Gucci Mane went all out. First, he built connections with the big stars of the game. This year, alone, Gucci has appeared on tracks with seventeen different artists. Among those artists is Mariah Carey. For his album, he was able to land Usher. They appear together on his latest single, “Spotlight.”

Gucci Mane’s major label debut, The State vs. Radric Davis, was released on December 8, 2009.

Track listing:

  1. “Classical”
  2. “Interlude #1” (featuring Mike Epps)
  3. “Heavy”
  4. “Stupid Wild” (featuring Lil Wayne and Cam’ron)
  5. “All About the Money” (featuring Rick Ross)
  6. “Lemonade”
  7. “Bingo” (featuring Soulja Boy and Waka Flocka Flame)
  8. “Spotlight” (featuring Usher)
  9. “I Think I’m Love” (featuring Jason Caesar)
  10. “Bad Bad Bad” (featuring Keyshia Cole)
  11. “Interlude #2” (featuring Mike Epps)
  12. “Sex In Crazy Places” (featuring Bobby V, Nicki Minaj, and Trina)
  13. “ The Movie”
  14. “Volume” (featuring Wooh da Kid)
  15. “Gingerbread Man” (featuring OJ da Juiceman)
  16. “Wasted” (featuring Plies)
  17. “Kush Is My Cologne” (featuring Bun B, E-40, and Devin tha Dude)
  18. “Worst Enemy”
  19. “Interlude #3”
  20. “Wasted (remix)” (featuring Lil Wayne, Birdman, and Jadakiss)

With this album, Gucci Mane wants to let it be known that he is off of the mixtape scene. He went on all with this release. Some of the hottest producers in hip hop came out just for this album. He worked with such names as Jazze Pha, Scott Storch, Mannie Fresh, Drumma Boy, Shawty Redd, Bangladesh, and Polow da Don.

The fact that he was able to get the top producers in the game shows just how much influence that he has and the big budget that the label must have given him. Gucci Mane definitely spits some of the best raps of his career on this album. He provides every element; first he has the song for the ladies with “Spotlight.” Gucci did it right and even brought Usher along for the ride.

Everything about this album is big, even his club tracks. “Wasted” was the anthem of the summer as Gucci Mane teamed up with Plies to bring a straight hit. The song was already major, then he goes out and gets Lil Wayne, Birdman, and Jadakiss for the remix. With those three rappers, Gucci Mane spits more hot verses about the club.

Everything that is hip hop in 2009 is featured on this album. Rick Ross is known to rap about the money and his lavish lifestyle. Gucci Mane is not really known for that, but he was able to switch things up and handle a Rick Ross-style track and make it his. It is impressive that Gucci can take over a Rick Ross-style track and handle it better than Rick Ross, himself.

For years, Gucci Mane has had all of these doubters. They said that there was no way that he would ever become an A-list star and here he is. People said that there would never be any hot artists to work with him on his albums. The final result was two tracks on this album that feature Lil Wayne. The song, “Stupid Wild,” which also features Cam’ron is just that. The three rappers each hold their own on the track.

While the album is full of bright spots, like every rapper, Gucci Mane does slip up. With this album, he stepped his game up to a level that did not exist only a few months ago. He has great songs on the album, but his track selection seems to be a bit off. It is always great to add an element of comedy to an album, but his interludes with Mike Epps were a bit much for the album.

Overall, The State vs. Radric Davis, is a great album. While most albums are criticized for lacking something, this album will be criticized for having too much. He has too much for this album, but at least he is not leaving anything out. The album is also a bit too long, but that just shows how hard Gucci Mane has been working to change the perception of his music.

From Hip Hop Vibe, Gucci Mane will receive a 7 out of 10 ranking. This is a great album by Gucci Mane. It is available in retail stores nationwide.