Gunplay was so confident that he’d clear his name in that armed robbery case that he continued to make and release songs and videos blatantly celebrating a criminal lifestyle. But this is Miami’s Richard Morales Jr. we’re talking about here — the man could skate by on charisma alone, and his approach to the fading art of gangsterish rap is imbued with strange humor and unlikely insight. All of which makes a brand new mixtape from the man incredibly welcome. And considering the dude’s freshly dodged charges, it’s fair to assume his confidence in and commitment to rapping about illicit subject matter will be redoubled.
The titularly current Acquitted does not disappoint. As opposed to his last two free releases — January’s Cops & Robbers, and September’s 601 & Snort — this one is contained to a tight 10 tracks, one of which is a welcome return: last year’s superb “Bible on the Dash.” Beyond that, it’s more cracked observations on, well, crack (see “D.O.P.E.”, “Cocaina [Que Linda],” and “Pyrex”) and rhymes about pulling drive-by shootin’s with mob-tie hoodlums. That said, there’s one song-as-public-service-announcement. “Topside” is a firm suggestion to strip club patrons that they should remember to tip their, um, servers. Thanks, Gun.
Download Acquitted via DatPiff and stream the thing below.
