Gucci Mane's 'Everybody Looking' is the diary of a man with a bright future, despite a dark past
The Zone 6 trap god returns from prison healthy and focused on the future, but the past is sweet
Photo credit: Courtesy Atlantic Records
In the final moments of Gus Van Sant's 1989 junky-noir film Drugstore Cowboy, Bob, a dope-fiend turned legit, is gunned down by a former associate. Whisked away in an ambulance his mind races with a sad monologue: “Most people don't know how they're gonna feel from one moment to the next. But a dope fiend has a pretty good idea. All you gotta do is look at the labels on the little bottles.”
It's a scenario that Atlanta trap god Gucci Mane wants to avoid. Flanked by producers Mike WiLL and Zaytoven, Everybody Looking is a conceptual roller coaster ride. Health, recovery, mental focus, and staying out of trouble are on his mind, but the sins of his past are sweet.
For decades, Gucci has been the Tony Soprano of Zone 6 hip-hop; his life wrapped in felonious behavior and decadence. It’s a complicated dilemma, as the album vacillates between lyrics such as “Damn I miss my old trap” in “Multi Millionaire Laflare,” and “I don't even associate with niggas who associates don't have at least a M” in “At Least a M” (i.e., $1 million).
Mike WiLL and Zaytoven set high standards for pushing trap music forward with the album. Still, there are tracks to skip: “Out Do Ya” and “Guwop Home” ft. Young Thug are steeped in trap’s sonic clichés. It’s time to retire the Auto-tune vocal effect now that Young Thug actively styles his voice to imitate it.
Overall, though, variety is thick, culminating with such standouts as “Pussy Print” ft. Kanye West, and the brilliant "1st Day Out tha Feds." The album’s message is essentially the same as the cautionary tale Gucci delivered with 2009’s “Heavy.” But now, he’s looking at the flip side of the coin, and the dog-end of a three-year bid. Despite cleaning up his act, retribution could come at the hands of any number of former associates at any moment. Brrr. ★★★★☆