Everyone's going to have the chance to experience an Atlanta Christmas this year. Gucci Mane and Young Thug are both making sure of that, but Gucci may be doing this a bit more explicitly. It's been years since Gucci turned himself into a Christmas icon, adding East Atlanta Santa to the holiday's folklore. He has shown his festive spirit by strolling through the streets of NYC for SantaCon, rocking a regal fur coat and his bright grin. Young Thug may not be dressing up as Santa to prove his dedication to spreading cheer, but he did point out that if you combine the covers for So Much Fun's standard and deluxe editions, you get a Christmas-themed red and green design.
Gucci only announced at the beginning of this week that he'd be dropping down the chimney with East Atlanta Santa 3 come Friday. He knows the best presents are surprises. He prepared us a few days early with the album's intro, a darker-sounding rendition of "Jingle Bells" (which obviously flips the song into a trap tale). While "Jingle Bales (Intro)" was perfect to get into the theme of the project, the second track on the album, "Mr. Wop" was what really got the blood flowing. It features a fast-paced key plunking strongly reminiscent of Gucci's hit "Lemonade". The song builds on Gucci's mythic image, as he says things like, "I'm living urban legend, just like candy man."
So Much Fun (Deluxe) also came as a surprise this week, with the announcement only arriving on Wednesday. Considering the standard version consisted of 20 tracks, you'd think that Thugger was generous enough this year. However, he came through with another five tracks to ensure we have enough joy to propel us into the next decade, which he is set to start off with another full-length release. The deluxe adds on a third collaboration with Gunna, which is always welcome, especially when Pi'erre Bourne is behind the boards. Travis Scott gets another spot on the project, aside from his remix of "Hot". "Hop Off A Jet" has the kind of repetitive hook and buoyant beat that got us addicted to "Pick Up The Phone". Therefore, it has been included in "Fire Emoji" this week.
It's no secret that we're big fans of Calboy over here at HNHH. We think he's one of the most exciting new voices in hip hop and has continuously supplied us with infectious melodies. His new song with G Herbo, "Purpose", supports both these statements. Calboy enthusiastically belts out his lines, while Herbo recites his in his deep and controlled tone. It results in an interesting mixture that we're thrilled to add to "Fire Emoji".
While Gucci added some Christmas spirit to "Fire Emoji" this week, we have also curated a straight-up Christmas playlist for you.