HeвЂ™s back to recording at a frantic clip, and heвЂ™s close enough to his peak form that itвЂ™s not embarrassing. ItвЂ™s also amazing that heвЂ™s been able to leave prison, after a years-long sentence, and pick up more or less where he left off. If you watched him during that period, if you were a fan, then itвЂ™s frankly amazing to see him doing so well.

HeвЂ™s not working through the drug-fog that characterized his peak years, and whatever demons and substances fueled his crazy вЂ™08-вЂ™09 run are apparently completely out of his system. HeвЂ™s trim and happy and about to be married. ItвЂ™s OK, in part, because Gucci is healthy now. Judging by GucciвЂ™s new album Droptopwop, Gucci is not an exception. There are rappers who can hit middle age without fading much - Pusha T, Killer Mike, E-40, Scarface - but theyвЂ™re exceptions. Neither is Jay Z or Nas or Bun B or Ghostface Killah or T.I. Lil Wayne isnвЂ™t a consistently great rapper anymore, either. It happens to a lot of once-dominant rappers once their unreal creative peaks come to an end. After a handful of years sharing top billing and a bakerвЂ™s dozen of platinum records in the bag, he released his own album, 2018вЂ™s NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES, a couple of months past his 25th birthday.Gucci Mane isnвЂ™t a consistently great rapper anymore. That Metro tackled longer-form projects-full-length collaborations, executive productions-not only made him unusually well-known for a producer, but suggested a broader vision, a transcending of the day-to-day business of beatmaking in favor of building a movement. The green folder bore out.ДЇuture (вЂњMask Off,вЂќ вЂњLow LifeвЂќ), Migos (вЂњBad and BoujeeвЂќ), Post Malone (вЂњCongratulationsвЂќ), 21 Savage (вЂњBank AccountвЂќ), Kodak Black (вЂњTunnel VisionвЂќ): Just a sampling of what followed is some of the most definitive rap of the 2010s, tracks that-alongside the work of collaborators and fellow Atlantans Sonny Digital, Southside, TM88, and Zaytoven-reshaped hip-hopвЂ™s sound, feel, and culture.

But the work-glossy, atmospheric monsters that pushed trap to cinematic extremes-had too much traction to ignore. A few months into his freshman year at Morehouse, it became clear that the balance was too tough to keep up. Louis to Atlanta so Metro could work with Gucci Mane and OJ da Juiceman-contingent, of course, on him keeping his spot on the honor roll. By the time he graduated from high school, he and Mom were making eight-hour-long car trips from St.

HeвЂ™d already been making beats for a few years, pestering A&Rs on Twitter, crowbarring some connections. When the boy who would become Metro Boomin (Leland Tyler Wayne, born 1993) decided he was going to get serious about the rap thing, he intercepted his mother after work with a thick green folder-part dossier, part wish list, part five-year plan.

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