Following his 2019 release, Drip or Drown 2, Gunna’s new album WUNNA was one of the most anticipated drops of 2020. On May 22nd, he released 18 tracks with features from Young Thug, Lil Baby, and Travis Scott. Overall- 6.5/10.
The album starts off with “Argentina,” showing off Gunna’s trademarked style- a hard beat, good music, and smooth bars. The song is an exciting start, giving fans a taste of what is to come in the following songs. The beats for all the tracks on the album are fire. However, Gunna fails to deliver on some tracks, making them boring and repetitive. His solo songs, such as: “Feigning,” “Gimmick,” “Rockstar,” and “Don’t Play Around” were exceptionally underwhelming. With Gunna’s laid-back style, he often walks the line between sounding bland or hard. Throughout his career, he has become the spokesperson for chill bangers, but these tracks failed to support that status.
Despite a few of the album’s weaknesses, there are definitely some hard hits on this project. “MOTW” showcases the classic Gunna sound and the beat/bars go crazy. Additionally, “Do Better” and “I’m on Some” both live up to the expectations of this album. “Met Gala” and “Nasty Girl/Camera” are back to back hits, and personally, the best tracks on the album. “Met Gala” has a chill vibe with a catchy hook, and “Nasty Girl/ Camera” has a hard beat and flow switches, arguably the best song on WUNNA.
In regards to his features; some were hits and some were misses. Following in the footsteps of Lil Baby and 42 Dugg, Gunna relied on a less popular, non-mainstream sound for one of his features. Nechie, a South Side rapper, gave a top tier performance on the track “Addy.” The Lil Baby and Gunna duo proved once again to be an elite combo on “Blindfold,” and “Cooler Than a Bitch,” featuring Roddy Rich, has already landed the number one spot on Spotify’s Rap Caviar. The features from Travis and Thug were well executed, but overall “Dollaz on my Head,” “Far,” and “Top Floor,” did not meet expectations.
The album received mixed reviews. Some believe it was heat and follows his slime archetype, while others think this piece was a let down. This disappointment stems from comparison to his previous releases. After Drip or Drown 2, his highest peaking album, and his new features such as “Turks,” “Numbers,” “Dior (remix),” and “Heatin Up,” this album did not match the same energy. WUNNA had a couple bangers and a couple misses; regardless, the people are still happy to hear new Gunna.
Gunna has also partnered with Amazon Prime to create a short documentary to go along with the album.
Written by: Shivani Chauhan