Gunna – “One of Wun” review

College Park, Georgia rapper Gunna is back with the 4th studio LP in his discography. Beginning back in 2013 off his debut mixtape Hard Body. He would eventually catch the attention of local phenomenon Young Thug just 3 years later & would go on to sign to his 300 Entertainment imprint YSL Records. However it wasn’t until the release of his debut EP Drip or Drown & his 4th mixtape Drip Season 3 in late 2017 & early 2018 respectively where Gunna’s profile increased significantly. Drip or Drown 2 though was a mediocre full-length debut & W.U.N.N.A. (Wealthy Unapologetic N***a Naturally Authentic) wound up being one of the best trap albums of 2020, but the 4th & final installment of the Drip Season mixtape series aged like milk. Last summer’s A Gift & A Curse was a tad bit better, so I’m hoping that One of Wun would be his best since the sophomore effort.

“collage” gets us started with a cloudy trap opener refusing to stop floating like a ghost whenever he’s in the whip whereas the title track keeps things atmospheric talking about how they all wanted him to lose. “neck on a yacht” has to be one of my favorites on One of Wun from the Turbo instrumental to the braggadocio itself & “whatsap (wassam)” was the best single going for an orchestral trap flare to the beat talking about things getting pushed back even though shit changed.

Meanwhile on “hakuna matata”, we have Gunna psychedelically talking about coming from the bottom & that he’s worth $1M just before “prada dem” featuring Offset links the pair together with some trillwave undertones showing off their swag. “treesh” brings a colorful tone instrumentally describing bad bitches, but then “on one tonight” hooks up a calming backdrop with hi-hats talking about people hating on him for way too long.

“back in the a” kinda has this summery trap tone throughout the beat to discuss returning home while the heavenly “trio” talks about being able to go for 3 & getting himself a bankroll. To begin the 2nd half of the LP, the cloudy trap flavored “still prevail” assures that he will always remain undefeated & on top while the otherworldly “blackjack” likens the game of life to a gamble & assuring everyone listening that money doesn’t make you legitimate.

Normani pops up for “$$$” mixing pop rap, trap & R&B talking about having the paper on their minds while “clear my rain” overall has a significantly more smoother vibe to it asking his lover if she can be his sunshine. “conscience” clashes some synths & hi-hats together interestingly reassuring everyone that he absolutely did not flip on Thug while “the time” dreamily gets confessional on the lyrical side of things.

“let it breathe” featuring Roddy Rich exuberantly talks about both of them applying pressure the hard way while “life’s changing” cloudily gets on some grown man shit subject-wise. “today i did good” spaciously tells everyone listening right now to open their 3rd eyes so they can see the clearer picture that is until “time reveals, be careful what you wish for” ends on a 2-parter by saying you should be thanking God & your loved ones.

Business is Business always stood out to me more than A Gift & A Curse since Business is Business was the closest thing that we’re gonna get to a Metro Thuggin’ album for right now, but I’ll even take it over One of Wun because what we have from him is another mediocre trap album with some pop rap elements thrown in. I maintain that Lil Baby doesn’t have a project better than Drip Season 3or W.U.N.N.A. (Wealthy Unapologetic N***a Naturally Authentic), it just sucks that the 3 projects Gunna has given is in the last 2 years has been mid due to the production quality downgrading.

Score: 2.5/5

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