Review Summary: I'm a walking lick, I'm a talking brick
Radric Davis, at this point in his career at least, had displayed ingenuity in spades, yet failed to capitalise on his potential in any way. Then came
Chicken Talk. A 23 song compilation of Gucci's finest mid 2000's material, the tape takes every positive element of the albums
Trap House and
Hard To Kill but removes every trace of the cheesiness, banality and lyrical stagnation found on those releases.
There's no big single here a la 'Icy', but the glossy production remains. The paranoia-fueled keys may be dwarfed by thick bass, but Gucci's style is far from the blunt, somewhat obtuse personality he seems to have in interviews. His delivery has taken a huge step up since the infantile flows of his debut, and now fills the spacious production with a thick, often distorted bellow that perfectly suits the rattle of hi-hats and thump of bass pedals as in every song the sounds of flutes, pipes, pianos and other melodic devices add a nostalgic subtlety to the gritty tales of Gucci's life.
Although very lengthy, Davis' third project sums up his career very well, hugely time consuming but totally worth it in the long run. With a surprising lyrical depth expanding way beyond his previous material, (including some shockingly self-aware material addressing subjects sorely missing from his other post-murder trial material)
Chicken Talk consolidates Gucci's already very obvious potential into one of his most ambitious projects.
