Release Date: May 21, 2013
Genre(s): Rap, Hardcore Rap, Party Rap
Record label: !K7
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With his new career in Hollywood (a starring role in the weird summer comedy Spring Breakers) and a name change to GuWop on the advice of his new friend Marilyn Manson (a change that didn't stick very long), Gucci Mane's recent mixtapes painted him as a ringtone rapper who was moonlighting too much and didn't have enough energy to deliver the wacky goods consistently. This "official" release comes on cool with its lumbering, hazy title cut opener, but once the familiar "M-M-M-M-M-Maybach Music" drop introduces Rick Ross, things began to look up, and the apathy of the recent past begins to fade. Some 17 tracks later, it's just about gone.
I’m almost ready to argue that Trap House III‘s existence is entirely justified by its opening title track, produced by Southside & TM88, both longtime curators of 1017 Brick Squad’s peculiar moral fiber. This song opens as quiet as most opening tracks do, muted through mixer filters, with Gucci Mane talking mean for about 15 seconds when all of a sudden the apocalypse is upon you. John Carpenter keyboards accentuate one of the most blindsiding, truly deafening basslines the Atlanta trap scene has seen in a while.
Gucci Mane’s overwhelming onslaught of music of late has been a lot to keep up with, even for the most diehard of fans. 2013 has already seen five mixtapes from Big Guwop, and while this level of output is nothing new for him, his music has certainly taken a turn into slightly different territory. Trap House III, Gucci’s first retail release since 2011’s head-scratcher of an album, BAYTL, is marked by his transition into a darker, more menacing figure.
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