This is the 3rd studio LP from Trenton, New Jersey emcee, singer/songwriter, producer & music video director Jerry. You may know him for coming up as 1/2 of the duo MellowHype alongside Left Brain in the mid/late 2000s under the original moniker Hodgy Beats prior to helping I Smell Panties, Casey Veggies & The Jet Age of Tomorrow form the impactful albeit now defunct alternative hip hop collective Odd Future. He was also the first person in the Wolf Gang to put out a solo effort, dropping his debut mixtape The Dena Tape only 9 months after the crew put out their 1st tape as a unit The Odd Future Tape. Higashi Miyagi would go on to expand his solo discography with 2 more mixtapes & 3 EPs prior to his full-length debut Fireplace: TheNotTheOtherSide a day before my 20th birthday which to this day, I still think it’s possibly the most criminally overlooked offering that we’ve gotten since OF’s disbandment due to how much growth was shown on that album. Entitled was a solid comeback experimenting with contemporary R&B on top of a predominant west coast trap sound, coming off the singer/songwriter explorations of lovemesooner & No Receipt to get in his Gayngster shit.
After the intro, the title track hops over a bell-woven trap beat so he can talk about being a G whereas “lose your mind” goes for a melodic approach in terms of delivery acknowledging his awareness of this woman doing her best. “slickrick” comes through with more energetic rap verses over a synth-driven instrumental talking about a swindler trying to get shit outta him just before “options” confronts a woman for calling him selfish when he helped her move out the country.
“halloween” chaotically talks about needing the pressure since he’s on the verge of exploding whole “vvs” atmospherically shows off his singing chops once again recalling a woman going away after saying the wrong thing. “pay mee” reaches the midway point of Gayngsta talking about taking whatever he wants in a robbery watching out for schemin’ bitches & double teamers while “W.W.J.D. (What Would Jesus Do?)” includes a line homaging the late, great MF DOOM & talks about running the block so long he’s reached O.G. status.
Continuing the 2nd half, “UK” experiments with a UK drill sound warning that he’ll run up in the flats of anyone disrespecting his family while “wrong” psychedelically confronts a woman who he believes is worth his time although that might not be the case. “skid row” talks about experiencing this world until he died, reaching his prime in his mid-30s & muhfuckas being straight up bums while “east orange” brings some rage vibes to the table reminding everyone of his New Jersey origins.
“heart open” winds down the last few moments of Gayngsta singing about love once more on top of this glitchy beat while “lil bop” cloudily describes a woman who gets dicked down constantly & being content with her running around the streets as long as she isn’t a thot. “n.g.c.o. (not getting cheated on)” talks about going out with a smile on his face & denying the implications of his partner being unfaithful to him while “fairy” ends the album assuring that he doesn’t have anything to worry over.
Jerry himself confirmed at the beginning of the week that he would no longer be rapping because he hasn’t felt inspired to continue making music in that vein for some time, which already seemed apparent when lovemesooner & No Receipt both came out. But unfortunately, Gayngster doesn’t leave much of a lasting impression on me compared to Fireplace: TheNotTheOtherSide or even the untitled EPs & both installments of The Dena Tape series. Sure it’s bittersweet to hear him making 1 last hip hop offering until fully embracing the singer/songwriter in him, I was admittedly expecting more out of the production.
Score: 2.5/5
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