Trap House

Gucci Mane’s debut shows one of Atlanta’s most distinctive rappers in the early stages of his development. A good portion of *Trap House* delivers the hard and heavy drug rap that is Gucci’s stock in trade. The breakout hit was “Icy,” in which Gucci and Young Jeezy (Gucci’s mentor and soon-to-be nemesis) trade boasts with gusto, like two brothers who grew up under the same street lamp. “Icy” was the bigger hit, but “Black Tee” is the better posse cut; over the propulsive stabs of Zaytoven’s beat, Gucci and five of his fellow street rap heavyweights offer the listener a crash course in trap-rap aesthetics. *Trap House* offers some of the most bizarre and exciting beats to emerge from the South in 2007. Gucci tends to favor music with a dizzying aura, but that quality can manifest itself in diverse ways, from the violin funk of “Lawnmower Man” to the Atari-blip fireworks of “Pyrex Pot.” Gucci is still in the process of pushing his imagination, but the title song shows his flair for colorful metaphor: “Yellow Humvee with the yellow feet / Yellow diamonds the same color as cheddar cheese.”

For Atlanta MC Gucci Mane, the road to the release of his debut, TRAP HOUSE, was, to say the least, a bit bizarre.