The Return of East Atlanta Santa

The extra-prolific rapper closes out 2016 on a high note. Gucci Mane’s third album in six months finds the Brick Squad boss asserting his Trap God status, enjoying the spoils and dispelling clones and haters with lethal lines. Drake, Travis Scott, and Bryson Tiller kill their features. Producers like Mike WiLL Made-It, Zaytoven, Southside, Bangladesh, Murda Beatz, Honorable C.N.O.T.E., Ricky Racks, and Metro Boomin create a music bed so smooth, so enticing, Guwop rips through the tracks like gifts on Christmas morning.

The Return of East Atlanta Santa leans on the lighter, more playful side of Gucci’s personality. You can hear him settling into his clean post-prison lifestyle and his new, clearer voice.

Prolific trap icon Gucci Mane ended an eventful 2016 with his third solo LP of the year, The Return of East Atlanta Santa.

The Return of East Atlanta Santa isn't a bad album, per se — it's just staggeringly indifferent. It's the sort of mixtape you put on and the...