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With a rap sheet that rivals the length of his discography, there’s no denying Gucci Mane has street cred in spades. Having kept his nose somewhat clean and built a considerable buzz for himself, the major labels were all but forced to pick him up and place him on the fast track to being the next big Rap star. Yet, he failed to follow the parameters of his probation and languishs in jail life when he should be enjoying the fruits of his labor. So before heading off the big house once again, his music was scheduled for trial in the court of public opinion with his latest offering The State Vs. Radric Davis. Despite the title’s play off his continual legal troubles, there’s very little insight into Gucci’s life outside of “Worst Enemy.” Pulling a page out of Clifford Harris’ playbook, he vaguely delves into his real life situation. The rest of the album goes a long way to show why he couldn’t fulfill his community service obligations. With most of his attention spent dealing with birds (of both varieties), who has time for any court mandated activities? Split right down the middle in terms of content, the first half of The State Vs. Radric Davis finds Gucci catering to the block. Full of thump rattling, synth/key-driven, would-be anthems, the songs tend to bleed together save for the occasional  skit or varying chorus. At his best on “Heavy,” Gucci is the eye of the frenetic storm in this ode to abundance. Unfortunately, it’s a thin line between great and bad as “Lemonade,” “Volume” & “Bingo” rely on the same song template but pale in comparison thanks in part to sub-par guest spots and poor execution.

He gains better traction on “Stupid Wild” and “All About The Money” mainly because Lil’ Wayne, Cam’ron & Rick Ross are considerable upgrades from Soulja Boy and Waka Flaka Flame. Which makes for one of the more puzzling recurrences of the album, because whenever a top (or second)-tier rapper guest stars, Gucci plays the background on his own songs. This is somewhat surprising and disappointing, after he opens up the proceedings with an extravagant lyrical display on “Classical (Intro).”

With increased involvement and expectations from major labels, it’s understandable for Gucci to attempt to crossover (“Spotlight” & “I Think I’m In Love”) instead of making new listeners crossover to him (“Wasted”). This is no more apparent than on the aptly-titled “Bad Bad Bad.” Assisted by partner-in-crime, Keyshia Cole, Gucci sounds lost in the whimsical synths behind him. He finds a little more success on “Sex In Crazy Places,” where he once again is outperformed by guests Nicki Minaj & Trina (who ironically can’t even manage to stay on topic.)

Thanks to his relentless mixtape grind, Gucci Mane isn’t going to lose many fans with this album. Although they may be disappointed in this watered down dosage of Señor La Flare. What’s more damaging are the new listeners who’ll give the disc a listen and walk away wondering what the big fuss is all about. Because while The State Vs. Radric Davis has already spawned a couple respectable hits and probably has one more in limbo, it fails to present a good enough case, resulting in a mistrial.

3cigs