ARTIST: Yo Gotti
ALBUM: I AM
LABEL: Epic
RELEASE DATE: November 19, 2013
On the Rise
Written by Jeremy Weeden
Yo Gotti returns to the scene with his second major studio album I Am, and it may be his best album yet. Memphis native Yo Gotti has been on the underground rap scene since the early 2000s and has released a handful of independent albums to much success. Yo Gotti’s major label debut, 2012’s Live from the Kitchen, introduced him to the mainstream and with I Am, Yo Gotti hopes to continue this success.
The album begins with “I Am” an introduction for those who don’t yet know Yo Gotti. Over a slow soulful beat Yo Gotti tells his story with lyrics like “I am the struggle, I am the hustle/I am the city, I’m the pot in the kitchen/I used to save pennies now I stay next door to Penny/Hardaway/nigga got my meals the harder way/Selling crack music now I run some smarter ways/Exit the game and got rich that’s a fade away.”
Yo Gotti teams with newcomer Rich Homie Quan for “I Know,” an appealing song with a hypnotic beat that samples Club Nouveau’s “Why You Treat Me So Bad.“ This song sounds like a definite future single with the catchy Rich Homie Quan-helmed chorus.
“Sorry” is a song about trifling women and the reasons Yo Gotti finds it hard to trust women. In his view “A ho gone be a ho they ain’t a hundred/And when a nigga broke them hoes act funny/Money hungry bitches they can smell It/loyalty them hoes can’t even spell It/You can give that ho the world that don’t mean shit/Cause you can rent a ho but you can’t buy a bitch/I give it to you raw straight up and down/If she complaining and accusing probably fuckin around.”
I Am continues with “F-U”, which samples “Phuck You Symphony” by Millie Jackson and features Meek Mill and his trademark hyper flow. This is one of the better songs on the album as Yo Gotti and Meek Mill trade barbs over the Infamous-produced beat.
“King Shit” is another standout track on the album. This track, the second single off of I Am, is a bass and drum heavy track featuring King of the South T.I.
With “Respect That You Earn” Yo Gotti slows things a bit with Wale and Neyo. Yo Gotti raps about the scandalous behavior of some women and the ways in which he feels they disrespect themselves while simultaneously seeking love and respect. As Neyo explains “She lives for the night life but that’s alright/But she wants to be treated like somebody’s wife/But you can’t be table hopping in the club trying to drink free/Then come up to my table trying to stand next to me.” This song is sure to be a hit should Yo Gotti choose to release it as a single.
Yo Gotti has effectively gone from being an underground rapper to a more well-known presence and with I Am, he shows he intends to keep it that way. I Amdebuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200 Chart, Yo Gotti’s highest charting album so far, which proves he is definitely trending in the right direction. I Am has catchy singles for the radio as well as quality album cuts and is sure to continue Yo Gotti’s climb up the ladder of success.