Regardless of who your favorite rapper may be at the moment, there’s no denying that 2016 belongs to Gucci Mane. Since getting released from prison earlier this year, the Atlanta-based rapper has been rampaging through hip-hop at an alarming pace. So far this year, Gucci has released two critically acclaimed albums, Everybody Looking and Woptober, and is planning to drop a third project called The Return of East Atlanta Santa on December 16.
One of the only rappers capable of matching Guwop's constant output is Future, a fellow Atlanta bred artist who has continued to skyrocket to the top of the hip-hop food chain. Future has been in the studio and on tour with Drake, who is expected to drop a collaborative project Gucci Mane at some point this year as well. But last night, to the surprise of hip hop heads everywhere, it was Future and Gucci who ended up dropping new tracks together.
The newly released six-track mixtape, called Free Bricks 2: Zone 6 Edition, is a followup to the project the two rappers released back in 2011. What makes this sudden release even more unbelievable is that, according to Gucci Mane, he and Future created the entire project in less than 24 hours.
“Last night, me and Future met up in Atlanta. We ditched our entourages, we didn’t book my usual studio, or his usual studio…it’s like we knew we wanted to fly under the radar,” Gucci Mane said to Miss Info. “There was like this positive competition in the room. I’d hear him go in on a verse, and I knew I had to step up.”
After going verse for verse over six different tracks, the dynamic duo decided to release the project right away. Though they considered taking more time to record more songs, Future and Gucci ultimately decided to make the project as fresh as possible, releasing it almost immediately after recording it. The six tracks, which are all available via Soundcloud, reinvigorate the Southern rap style that catapulted both rappers to their current level of fame.
Throughout the entire project, both Future and Gucci Mane rep their Atlanta hood Zone 6, treating fans to a hard-hitting project that is reminiscent of their classic collaboration from 2011. Free Bricks 2: Zone 6 Edition features impeccable production from Southside, Metro Boomin, and Zaytoven. All in all, the surprise collaboration proves that, even when improvising in the studio, Gucci and Future are among the most consistent and realest emcees in the game.
