Tuning in with Leila: Fail or Fire

Tuning+in+with+Leila%3A+Fail+or+Fire

Illustration by Yasmin Haq

Gunna released his fifth album “Drip or Drown 2” Feb. 22. After “Drip Harder,” this is Gunna’s second album released in the past five months.

With all 16 of the album’s songs on the top 200, you would think that the album was pretty popular, but you might want to think again. Fans went wild, claiming their love for the album and his mellifluous flow of rap all over social media. I, however, believe the exact opposite. While I do love Gunna’s magnificent rap, this album is something I had a rough time enjoying.

Gunna’s album wasn’t as impressive as I had hoped for it to be. With each song, I found his sound and lyrics were very redundant and basic. I know Gunna wanted to bring a new, enticing sound to the music industry, but his album was too far of a stretch. To me, this album portrayed Gunna as someone who wants to come back to the industry as a new artist simply to gain more fans and to appeal to this generation’s favored type of music.

Gunna’s music didn’t feel complete to me – each song was unfinished and powerless. With each song, I felt like the meaning and message he wanted to share with his fans slowly faded away. Although the album as a whole had some interesting sounds and concepts, each song did not.

Gunna has clearly shown how much he’s grown as a person and within his music since his last release. In “Drip Harder,” featuring rapper Lil Baby, Gunna had used similar beats and phrases but depicted a different concept. In this album, he tried showing his maturity in the field of music, and in ways, he did.

This album does not deserve all the admiration it has been receiving. I praise Gunna for his accomplishment in providing his fifth album to listeners, but that’s about it. I feel like Gunna could have done way better with this album, considering the amount of talent he has.

However, one of my favorite songs had to be “Cash War.” It has to be the most unique and unprecedented song on the album. The song contrasts Gunna’s talented vocals and raps while describing his struggle with adjusting to the music industry.

There were probably a little more than a handful of songs that actually had me intrigued, and I’m almost certain that none of his songs will become singles. I have faith in Gunna that the next album he releases will have more intriguing sounds and verses.