Gunna is a 30 year old rapper from College Park, Georgia who got his footing in 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. But after being released from prison this past winter, he’s returning days until summer by dropping his 3rd album.
“back at it” is a trap rock opener produced by Turbo talking about how he can’t be stopped now that he’s home whereas “back to the moon” has a more delicate sound to it advising those who don’t fuck with him not to do what he does. “idk no more” discusses not trusting anyone at all over a booming trap instrumental, but then “paybach” has a more cloudier quality to the beat this time around addressing those who’ve turned his back on him.
Moving on from there, “ca$h $hit” continues forward in the form of an atmospheric trap ballad dedicated to the paper leading into “fukumean” fusing these woodwinds & pianos with hi-hats confidently talking about being in good spirits at the end of the day despite everything that’s happened. “rodeo dr” returns to a more trillwave route as the lyrics are laced with braggadocio just before “bottom” talks about coming from nothing over a symphonic trap instrumental.
“p angels” explains having to swerve because they were all in his lane with some prominent hi-hats & a solemn loop while “born rich” goes for a more futuristic approach with the beat provided by Larrance Dopson of the west coast production team 1500 or Nothin’ talking about his kids being born into wealth. “go crazy” is another piano/trap crossover discussing that it’s deeper than rap while “bread & butter” was a decent pick for a single with it’s groovy trap production talking about doing whatever for money.
The song “turned your back” has a wavier feeling sonically admitting that he still hasn’t found his peace yet while the penultimate track “i was just thinking” reflects on when he was hard-headed & everything that could’ve been avoided on top of an acoustic guitar with some hi-hats of course. “alright” on the other hand ties up the album on a moodier note courtesy of Cubeatz assuring that everything will be ok when it’s all said & done.
Look: I’ll always defend Drip Season 3 & W.U.N.N.A. (Wealthy Unapologetic N***a Naturally Authentic) as the strongest bodies of work in Gunna’s catalog. That being said: I came away from A Gift & A Curse to be a mediocre comeback from YSL’s biggest signee. The production is a step down from Drip Season 4 if I’m being quite honest although I’m impressed with him not overloading 60% of it with features like he did on that previous tape & I can’t deny his confident passion.
Score: 2/5
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