Gunna Announces “One Of Wun”: What We Want From His Next Album
Gunna season could soon be upon us! On Monday, April 15, 2024, Gunna announced an upcoming album titled One Of Wun. The upcoming album will be the YSL rapper’s fifth, coming less than a year after he released a Gift & a Curse. Gunna announced his next LP via a post on his Instagram page. He shared the album’s cover art, a painting by Calvin Clausell Jr. The painting showed Gunna’s face covered in a blue and white floral scarf. Gunna revealed this morning that his upcoming album drops on May 10th as he dropped “Whats App (Wassam).” The album will likely
Gunna’s fans were given an idea of what to expect from One Of Wun as he had already released two singles. In February, he released “Bittersweet,” while “Prada Dem,” featuring Offset, dropped in March. Gunna will also begin his The Bittersweet Tour in May. As the anticipation for Gunna’s One of Wun album heightens, here is what we want from his upcoming project.
Read More: Gunna Reveals The Release Date For “One Of Wun”
A Response To The Big 3
Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Drake are arguably the three biggest active rappers at the moment. The rap industry has been heated in the last two months since Kendrick dissed Drake and J. Cole in Future and Metro Boomin‘s “Like That” from their We Don’t Trust You album. Since Kendrick’s diss, so much has gone down, with Drake also hitting back. However, Gunna found himself in the midst of all the drama after Kendrick named him in “Euphoria,” his latest diss song directed at Drake. In “Euphoria,” Kendrick rapped, “We ain’t gotta get personal, this a friendly fade, you should keep it that way/ I know some shit about n***as that make Gunna Wunna look like a saint.”
Kendrick’s bars reminded many of the widespread belief that Gunna snitched on Young Thug in the YSL RICO case. However, Kendrick hints that Drake is a bigger snitch or has done worse things than people think Gunna did. Gunna seemingly responded to Kendrick’s lyrics by tweeting, “Mannnn WASSAM ?!!” However, with an album on the way, Gunna can do more than tweet in response to Kendrick’s lyrics. He should take advantage of the sudden interest Kendrick’s bars will cause people to have on him to promote his album.
Gunna’s One of Wun Should Clarify The Snitching Issue
Kendrick Lamar’s reference to Gunna in “euphoria” shows that many in the hip-hop community still consider Gunna a snitch. Following his unexpected release from prison after a plea deal in December 2022, there were widespread rumors that Gunna cooperated with authorities when he accepted an Alford Plea. Though his lawyers argued otherwise, many still felt as though Gunna betrayed Thug. Gunna released his fourth studio album, A Gift & a Curse, six months after his release. In the album, Gunna responded to those calling him a snitch and called for Young Thug’s release.
In “Cash S**t,” he rapped, “You n****as broke, energy low I don’t really care though/ Out the barrel, man, free my bro Jeffro/ Back to business, it’s way more dinero.” Meanwhile, in “I Was Just Thinking,” he rapped about how he cried in his cell while thinking of Young Thug. He rapped, “Only I done cried ’cause this feelin’ for my bro (King Slime)/ And you know my mind, you done watched that n***a grow (watched that n***a grow)/ Know you hearin’ the lies that your lil’ brother might fold (Gunna Wunna)/ Yeah, I had copped out, but don’t let ’em say I told.”
Although Gunna addressed the snitching claims and expressed his love for Young Thug in his last album, he did so in a few lyrics from his songs. In One Of Wun, Gunna should take his time to explain what really happened with his plea deal and finally put the snitch accusations to rest. A verse dedicated to clearing himself of any snitching allegations will be beneficial to the “Fukumean” crooner and earn him more trust within the hip-hop community.
Response To 21 Savage
21 Savage released his third studio album, American Dream, on Jan. 12, 2024. In “Letter To My Brudda,” 21 Savage seemingly referenced Gunna in the lyrics, dissing him for snitching on Young Thug. In the song’s opening verse, 21 Savage rapped, “Once you cross that line, it ain’t no trying to fix it/ You want me to forgive you, let’s be realistic.” He also rapped, “I can’t kick it with your kind like I tore my meniscus/ How you go from co-defendant to a f***ing witness?”
21 Savage also appeared to criticize Gunna’s disloyalty to Young Thug despite how the latter helped him before their arrests. 21 Savage rapped, “They’ll stand on couches with you, but won’t stand on business/ Woah, I watched everybody turn on my brother like he ain’t have them out here flying jets and f*****g b*****s/ This sh*t ridiculous.” At this point, Gunna needs to deliver an adequate response to his former affiliate.
Read More: Gunna Aims For The Neck On New Single “Whatsapp (Wassam)”
Gunna’s One Of Wun Should Explore Afrobeats
Two of Gunna’s most recent collaborations have seen him explore the fast-growing Afrobeats genre. He collaborated with Victor Thompson on the remix of his hit tune, “THIS YEAR (Blessings).” Gunna also joined Nigerian producer Sarz and singer Asake for the song “Happiness.” Those songs represented Gunna’s first foray into Afrobeats, and it is expected that he will explore the genre even further in One of Wun. We should expect Gunna to feature more artists from the genre. For instance, collaborating with major Afrobeats stars like Burna Boy, Wizkid, or Davido could see Gunna’s stock rise in the African musical space, giving him another market to explore.
More Features, Please
In A Gift & a Curse, Gunna didn’t feature any artist, choosing to go solo in the 15-track project. However, we expect him to have more features in One of Wun. We are certain of at least one feature as he already released the single, “Prade Dem,” featuring Offset. Hopefully, this indicates that the hip-hop community has become a bit more forgiving toward Gunna and we could expect more collaborative efforts in the future.