Paul Shirley Game Sick

You are misshapen.


Have you ever wondered why indie rock critics and 3rd string EuroLeague players have such a high regard of Kid Cudi and a terrible appreciation for Gucci Mane? Well, shit, I have the answer!

Two ends of the rap spectrum by Paul Shirley

So Icey Horns

So when I ride around in my car I usually have my ipod set to shuffle, and the last few days it's been pretty excellent in queuing up some great Gucci/Juiceman/Waka Flocka tracks. Along with the now universally known sound of Casio King Zaytoven, I've started to notice a lot of my favorite tracks from these dudes involve horn samples (or keyboards set to "trumpet").

I'm not in the loop enough to know definitively who produces a lot of these tracks, but at least a couple have been definitively done by DJ Speedy. Anyway I don't really have much analysis to lend to these tracks, other than Gucci can ride pretty much any beat he wants at this point, Juiceman's hyperactive kid flow works well with a brass sample, and "O Let's Do It" speaks for itself. While a lot of these tracks tend towards that frenetic, high-energy sound you might assume when horns and ticking hi-hats meets, both "Mag Song" from the Bird Money tape and "Follow Me" from Gucciamerica creep excellently in a dirty funk way like "Cannon" off Wayne's Dedication 2 tape. Also, not enough people have recognized "Good Night" for being the instant classic it is, and that big band sample from Old Blue Eyes on "Frank Sinatra" legitimately swings.

Gucci Mane- Mag Song (off Bird Money)
Gucci Mane- Follow Me (off Gucciamerica)
Gucci Mane- Running Back (prod. by DJ Speedy)
OJ da Juiceman feat. Gucci Mane- Good Night (prod. by DJ Speedy) (off The Otha Side of the Trap)
OJ da Juiceman- Frank Sinatra
Waka Flocka feat. Cap- O Let's Do It