The State vs. Radric Davis (Deluxe Version)

iTunes Review

Ultimately, what the haters see in The State vs. Radric Davis is exactly what makes Gucci’s second major-label album triumphant. Gucci completely ignores traditional edicts of rhyming and beatmaking and instead adheres only to his own singular tastes. The lead-off track epitomizes Gucci’s talent for building entire songs from a single word, and “Heavy” lives up to its title in every regard: Even Metallica couldn’t match the monstrous force mustered by Shawty Redd’s beat. By pairing minimalist wordplay to tectonic tracks, “Stupid Wild,” “The Movie” and the magnificent “Wasted” achieve similarly potent results. The album’s midsection is weighted with ill-fitting R&B collaborations —“Spotlight” and “Bad Bad Bad” are the best among them — but the finale is worth the wait. In “Kush Is My Cologne,” Gucci assumes his rightful place next to three of rap’s towering individualists, while the introspective “Worst Enemy” wears Gucci’s divisiveness like a badge of honor: “Just diss me til you satisfied / I swear it doesn’t bother me / Sticks and stones will break my bones and bullets won’t reflect off me / But words and insults only show the world how ya’ll respectin’ me.”