A new album from Gunna is bound to be notable and controversial. Many in the rap world had strong feelings about how the racketeering case against many members and affiliates of his label YSL Records — including, most notably, him and Young Thug — worked out for the Atlanta star. After Gunna took a plea deal in December 2022, the word “snitch” was thrown around not infrequently; he was rumored to have tensions with rappers including his close collaborator Lil Baby and, unsurprisingly, Young Thug.
Gunna’s 2023 album, a Gift & a Curse, released about six months after his plea, seemed to be his attempt to move past all of that. In some ways, it worked.
But still, the negative image followed him around. Despite his chart success — along with a few notable Afrobeats songs that brought attention from a whole new market — Gunna’s controversial past was brought to light yet again when he was referenced in Kendrick Lamar’s recent Drake diss track, “Euphoria,” in a less than flattering way.
Now, Gunna has made his latest big statement with his fifth album, One of Wun, where he addresses both his feelings about the public response to his plea, and what his life has been like since it occurred. The new LP finds Gunna unbowed, positive and defiant. It’s a fascinating project, with themes that anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the rapper’s career to date will find timely and relevant.
It’s clear this album wasn’t inspired by romance. Gunna never gets personal, and “Body right, she a ten in the face/ F— her all night and all through the day” is about as specific as he ever gets. This is not out of line in Gunna’s catalog, and this consistency provides proof that his lyrics about standing his ground are accurate both inside the recording booth as well as the world outside.
Gunna may not be in his feelings about women, but he certainly is in other ways. The times where he moves past his triumphing-over-the-haters stance and lets his guard down are the most effective moments of the whole album. Exceptional in this regard is the track “conscience,” in which he admits that the people who betray him are making him “feel low.” “I’m fed up with this nonsense,” he says. “Lotta (stuff), and it’s weighing on my conscience.”
Gunna released One of Wun into a climate with a lot of questions. The record succeeds in not only talking about his recent worries and conflicts, but dramatizing them in lyrics and music. He’s using the raw material of his life — and the media narratives around it — to sculpt a coherent narrative, where every aspect of the album has a part to play in telling his story. He delves deep into his defiance, and his worries, and converts them into a real artistic statement.
