Gotti

Bay Area rapper and marijuana enthusiast Berner split his time between his weed dispensary/lifestyle goods franchise and prolifically releasing albums, mixtapes, and EPs of his specific style of West Coast rap. Gotti is one of many projects in a line of steady output from Berner, continuing a gangster theme begun with its immediate predecessor, Paulie Cicero, and emphasized by audio snippets of mob boss John Gotti speaking in between the tracks. The rapper's laid-back flow is fine on its own, but he often sounds even more engaged when he's going back and forth with collaborators. Gotti is especially heavy on guest features, and it's all the better for it. Berner updates the relaxed cadence and thick bass of '90s West Coast rap on "Draped Up" with trappy elements and intricate flows from Future. Group tracks "Too Many Goats" and "Pound for Pound" bring in help from big names like Rick Ross, Nas, Mozzy, and even a sung hook from Jadakiss, and the Rod Wave duet "Lonely at the Top" finds Berner bringing together a dramatic instrumental of live bass guitar and cinematic samples with Rod Wave's pained melodic vocals on the chorus. ~ Fred Thomas