''Everybody Looking'' is the ninth studio album by American rapper
Gucci Mane
Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...
. It was released on July 22, 2016, by GUWOP Enterprises,
RBC Records
RBC Records is an American online independent record label and management company founded by partners Brian Shafton and Bob Grossi. It provides artists and independent labels with a full-service "virtual label" alternative to signing with a maj ...
and
Atlantic Records. The album serves as Gucci's first studio release since ''
The Return of Mr. Zone 6'' (2011). It features
guest appearance
In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...
s from
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
,
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
and
Young Thug
Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...
, while the majority of the album's
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
was provided by Gucci Mane's longtime collaborators such as
Mike Will Made It and
Zaytoven
Xavier Lamar Dotson (born January 12, 1980), professionally known as Zaytoven, is an American trap music record producer, disc jockey, and keyboardist from Atlanta, Georgia. He has released collaborative projects with artists including Gucci Ma ...
, among others.
''Everybody Looking'' received generally positive reviews from critics and debuted at number two on the US
''Billboard'' 200, and becoming Gucci Mane's highest-charting album.
Background
In June 2016, the album was announced, following Gucci Mane's release from prison in May 2016. Recording sessions for the entire album took place in under six days.
Promotion
On July 12, 2016, Gucci Mane released the album's
promotional single
A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...
, "Multi Millionaire Laflare". The album's intro track, "No Sleep", was released on July 15, 2016, the music video for the song was released on July 18.
The album's
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
, "
1st Day Out tha Feds", was released on May 27, 2016. The song was produced by
Mike Will Made It. The album's second single, "
Back on Road" with
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
, was released on June 4, 2016. The song was produced by
Murda Beatz
Shane Lee Lindstrom (born February 11, 1994), known professionally as Murda Beatz, is a Canadian record producer. He has produced hit singles like " Butterfly Effect" by Travis Scott, "Back on Road" by Gucci Mane, "Nice for What" by Drake, "Moto ...
. The album's third single, "All My Children", was released on June 24, 2016. The song was produced by
Drumma Boy
Christopher James Gholson (born August 11, 1983), better known by his stage name Drumma Boy, is an American record producer.
Early life
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in Cordova, Tennessee, he was exposed to music at a young age. His mo ...
.
Critical reception
''Everybody Looking'' was met with generally positive reviews. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an
average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...
score of 72, based on 13 reviews.
Aggregator
AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.6 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.
Neil Z. Yeung of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
gave a positive review, stating "''Everybody Looking'' is one of the best examples of Gucci Mane's contributions to rap in his highly prolific catalog".
Narsimha Chintaluri of ''
HipHopDX
''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group.
...
'' said, "Mike WiLL Made-It and Zaytoven construct a cinematic backdrop, but Gucci's execution is a bit wanting. Regardless, it's a clear step in the right direction, a completely different beast than the b-side littered mixtapes he's sanctioned from behind bars over the past three years, and begs for repeat listens".
Christina Lee of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' said, "''Everybody Looking'', Gucci's ninth album and first after a two-year stay in federal prison, is a compelling left turn, the sound of a veteran innovator reclaiming his territory not with larger-than-life charisma and off-the-wall imagery but fresh intimidation tactics".
Julian Benbow of ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' wrote: "There's less party and more perspective. He sees the troubles he went through before prison for what they are."
David Drake of ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
'' stated, "It will please fans looking for Another Gucci Mane mixtape. Everyone else will likely find it a bit spotty. Certain songs fall into familiar—now six- or seven-year-old—formulas. His vocals, no doubt out of practice, sound a bit rusty. But most of all, it just feels unfinished, rushed".
In a mixed review, ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s Lanre Bakare stated: "As usual, he's at his best when things get a little weird."
Michael G. Barilleaux of ''RapReviews'' said, "While the beats are relatively mediocre and not at all unusual for this brand of hip hop, they do a decent job matching the dark picture Gucci paints. Unfortunately, that picture is more of a rough sketch as Gucci steers more toward unrefined flows and bland, mechanically arching vocals rather than a more thought out approach".
In another mixed review, Damien Morris of ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'' said, "The eerie emotional electricity and forensic detail of the single "1st Day Out tha Feds" dissipates across 14 songs that desperately lack variety and humour, and choruses that aren't just Gucci grimly repeating the song's title".
Commercial performance
''Everybody Looking'' debuted at number two on the US
''Billboard'' 200 with 68,000
album-equivalent unit
The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditio ...
s, 43,000 of which were pure album sales.
Track listing
Notes
* signifies a co-producer
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Performers
*
Gucci Mane
Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...
– primary artist
*
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
– featured artist
*
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
– featured artist
*
Young Thug
Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...
– featured artist
Production
*
Drumma Boy
Christopher James Gholson (born August 11, 1983), better known by his stage name Drumma Boy, is an American record producer.
Early life
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in Cordova, Tennessee, he was exposed to music at a young age. His mo ...
– producer
*
Mike Will Made It – producer
*
Murda Beatz
Shane Lee Lindstrom (born February 11, 1994), known professionally as Murda Beatz, is a Canadian record producer. He has produced hit singles like " Butterfly Effect" by Travis Scott, "Back on Road" by Gucci Mane, "Nice for What" by Drake, "Moto ...
– producer
*Myles Harris – producer
*
Boi-1da
Matthew Jehu Samuels (born October 12, 1986), known professionally as Boi-1da ( , a play on "boy wonder"), is a Jamaican-Canadian Record production, record producer and songwriter based in Toronto, Ontario.
The Toronto raised producer has work ...
– producer
*
Southside Southside or South Side may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Southside, Queensland, a semi-rural locality in the Gympie Region
Canada
* South Side, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community in the St. George's Bay area on the southwest coast of Newf ...
– producer
*Will-A-Fool – producer
*
Zaytoven
Xavier Lamar Dotson (born January 12, 1980), professionally known as Zaytoven, is an American trap music record producer, disc jockey, and keyboardist from Atlanta, Georgia. He has released collaborative projects with artists including Gucci Ma ...
– producer
*Pluss – co-producer
*Marz – co-producer
*
Swae Lee – co-producer
Technical
*Kori Anders – mixing
*Harley Arsenal – recording assistant
*Chris Athens – mastering
*Noel Cadastre – recording
*Noel "Gadget" Campbell – mixing
*Noah Goldstein – recording assistant
*Aaron Holton – arranger
*The Sauce – recording, mixing
*Jaycen Joshua – mixing
*Dave Kutch – mastering
*Greg Moffet – recording assistant
*
40 – recording, mixing assistant
*Sean Paine – recording
*Peter "Zlender" Vickers – mixing assistant
*Mike Will Made It – mixing
Additional personnel
*Jonathan Mannion – photography
*Shun Melson – styling direction
*Virgilio Tzaj – art direction, design
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
Gucci Mane albums
2016 albums
Albums produced by Mike Will Made It
Albums produced by Zaytoven
Albums produced by Drumma Boy
Albums produced by Murda Beatz
Albums produced by Southside (record producer)
Atlantic Records albums