WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.219 Imagine releasing an album, right? And it moves 00:00:04.219 --> 00:00:08.859 91 ,000 units in its very first week. Which is 00:00:08.859 --> 00:00:11.259 a huge debut. Oh, absolutely huge. You hit number 00:00:11.259 --> 00:00:13.500 two on the Billboard 200. You're like totally 00:00:13.500 --> 00:00:15.720 dominating the cultural conversation. Yeah. But 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:19.250 out of those 91 ,000 units, Only a thousand people 00:00:19.250 --> 00:00:21.730 actually bothered to buy the record. Wow. Yeah, 00:00:21.789 --> 00:00:23.989 just a thousand. I mean, it completely shatters 00:00:23.989 --> 00:00:26.870 that old illusion of what it means to be a commercially 00:00:26.870 --> 00:00:29.629 viable musician. You don't need fans to buy your 00:00:29.629 --> 00:00:31.350 work anymore. You just you just need them to 00:00:31.350 --> 00:00:33.909 never hit pause. Exactly. And that is exactly 00:00:33.909 --> 00:00:36.329 what we're getting into today. Welcome to the 00:00:36.329 --> 00:00:38.530 show, everyone, and a special welcome to you, 00:00:38.729 --> 00:00:41.329 the learner for another custom tailored deep 00:00:41.329 --> 00:00:43.759 dive. Glad to be here. Our mission today is to 00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:46.359 synthesize this really comprehensive Wikipedia 00:00:46.359 --> 00:00:50.299 article detailing Gunna's 2024 album, One of 00:00:50.299 --> 00:00:52.340 One. Yeah, it's a fascinating one. It really 00:00:52.340 --> 00:00:54.619 is. We are looking at a project that sits right 00:00:54.619 --> 00:00:57.039 at the intersection, and it's a frustrating intersection 00:00:57.039 --> 00:01:00.600 sometimes of massive, undeniable commercial streaming 00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:04.700 success and, well, decidedly mixed critical reception. 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:07.909 Right. And as we unpack the sources today, I 00:01:07.909 --> 00:01:10.890 really want you, the listener, to actively think 00:01:10.890 --> 00:01:13.349 about your own media consumption. Yeah, like 00:01:13.349 --> 00:01:15.989 how you actually listen. Exactly. Think about 00:01:15.989 --> 00:01:19.409 the music you put on while you work or while 00:01:19.409 --> 00:01:22.569 you commute. How do we actually measure the value 00:01:22.569 --> 00:01:25.670 of art today? That's a big question. Is it through 00:01:25.670 --> 00:01:30.310 global numerical streaming dominance or is it... 00:01:30.170 --> 00:01:32.450 you know, through an artist's willingness to 00:01:32.450 --> 00:01:34.750 push their own creative boundaries because the 00:01:34.750 --> 00:01:37.890 data surrounding this specific album really forces 00:01:37.890 --> 00:01:40.189 us to choose between those two metrics. It really 00:01:40.189 --> 00:01:42.870 does. So, OK, let's unpack this. Let's look at 00:01:42.870 --> 00:01:44.450 how this project actually entered the world. 00:01:44.549 --> 00:01:48.519 Let's do it. So one of one. is Gunna's fifth 00:01:48.519 --> 00:01:51.260 studio album. It was released on May 10th, 2024 00:01:51.260 --> 00:01:54.239 under YSL Records and 300 Entertainment. Right, 00:01:54.379 --> 00:01:57.599 following up his 2023 project. Exactly, the direct 00:01:57.599 --> 00:01:59.859 follow -up to A Gift and A Curse. And instead 00:01:59.859 --> 00:02:02.299 of doing a surprise drop, which has been a massive 00:02:02.299 --> 00:02:04.459 trend in hip -hop for like a decade now. Oh yeah, 00:02:04.620 --> 00:02:07.060 everybody does a surprise drop. Right, but Gunna's 00:02:07.060 --> 00:02:08.860 team took a very different approach here. They 00:02:08.860 --> 00:02:11.400 spent two solid months dripping out singles. 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:14.219 Like a breadcrumb trail. Exactly. Yeah. You had 00:02:14.219 --> 00:02:17.419 Prada Dem featuring Offset. That dropped in mid 00:02:17.419 --> 00:02:19.939 -March. Then, like a month later, they do the 00:02:19.939 --> 00:02:21.860 artwork review. Got to keep people talking. Right. 00:02:21.939 --> 00:02:25.099 And then WhatsApp spelled W -A -S -S -A -M drops 00:02:25.099 --> 00:02:28.780 just a week before the album in early May. And 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:31.300 finally, the title track hits U .S. Rhythmic 00:02:31.300 --> 00:02:34.560 Radio at the very end of May. Which, for the 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:37.259 learner, Rhythmic Radio is those stations dedicated 00:02:37.259 --> 00:02:40.909 to upbeat crossover R &B and hip -hop. What's 00:02:40.909 --> 00:02:42.889 fascinating here is that methodical rollout. 00:02:42.889 --> 00:02:45.330 It's a highly calculated reaction to the modern 00:02:45.330 --> 00:02:48.490 streaming ecosystem How so well a surprise drop 00:02:48.490 --> 00:02:50.669 is great for a massive one -week spike, right? 00:02:50.689 --> 00:02:52.650 But then the algorithm just it just moves on 00:02:52.650 --> 00:02:55.090 to the next thing Exactly by releasing a single 00:02:55.090 --> 00:02:57.969 in March artwork in April another single in early 00:02:57.969 --> 00:03:00.729 May and then pushing a radio track in late May 00:03:00.729 --> 00:03:03.569 His label is basically artificially extending 00:03:03.569 --> 00:03:06.069 the life cycle of the album. They are totally 00:03:06.069 --> 00:03:08.750 gaming the attention economy They're feeding 00:03:08.750 --> 00:03:11.860 the algorithm just enough fresh data every few 00:03:11.860 --> 00:03:14.840 weeks to keep his monthly listener count elevated 00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:17.099 that's I mean that's brilliant it's like leaving 00:03:17.099 --> 00:03:20.180 a trail of high -end breadcrumbs to keep the 00:03:20.180 --> 00:03:23.740 audience hooked in this like totally attention 00:03:23.740 --> 00:03:26.139 deficit streaming era that's exactly what it 00:03:26.139 --> 00:03:28.340 is and it wasn't just digital engagement either 00:03:28.340 --> 00:03:30.639 the source material points out that he embarked 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:32.949 on the bittersweet tour and the One of Dem Nights 00:03:32.949 --> 00:03:36.009 tour to support both a gift and a curse and one 00:03:36.009 --> 00:03:38.909 of one simultaneously. Which is basically the 00:03:38.909 --> 00:03:41.270 physical component of that exact same retention 00:03:41.270 --> 00:03:43.349 strategy. I mean, the turnaround time between 00:03:43.349 --> 00:03:46.770 his 2023 project and this 2024 project is incredibly 00:03:46.770 --> 00:03:49.389 quick. So think about it. You hear the lead single 00:03:49.389 --> 00:03:52.449 online. You buy the concert ticket. The new album 00:03:52.449 --> 00:03:54.650 drops just as the tour is ramping up. You go 00:03:54.650 --> 00:03:57.110 to the show and then you stream the new album 00:03:57.110 --> 00:03:58.969 on the drive home. Wow. So you're just totally 00:03:58.969 --> 00:04:02.830 immersed in it. He is creating a closed, continuous 00:04:02.830 --> 00:04:05.930 loop of artist -to -fan engagement. He's making 00:04:05.930 --> 00:04:08.669 sure that there is never a quarter of the fiscal 00:04:08.669 --> 00:04:11.189 year where you aren't interacting with the Gunna 00:04:11.189 --> 00:04:13.949 brand. That relentless marketing ecosystem, though. 00:04:14.689 --> 00:04:17.649 It naturally requires an equally relentless volume 00:04:17.649 --> 00:04:21.370 of music to feed it. Oh, absolutely. Which perfectly 00:04:21.370 --> 00:04:24.509 explains why this project is an absolute behemoth. 00:04:25.069 --> 00:04:27.889 I mean, we're talking about 20 tracks, clocking 00:04:27.889 --> 00:04:30.670 in at 57 minutes and eight seconds. It is a massive 00:04:30.670 --> 00:04:34.149 footprint for a single listen. Huge. And the 00:04:34.149 --> 00:04:36.750 guest list is curated very deliberately to hit 00:04:36.750 --> 00:04:38.829 all these different demographic quadrants. Yeah, 00:04:38.889 --> 00:04:40.829 you see that a lot now. Right, you have the trap 00:04:40.829 --> 00:04:43.310 heavyweights you'd totally expect to see, like 00:04:43.310 --> 00:04:45.990 Offset on Prada Dam and Roddy Rich on Let It 00:04:45.990 --> 00:04:48.829 Breathe. But then he pulls in Pop and R &B star 00:04:48.829 --> 00:04:51.709 Normani on a track called Money Sign, Money Sign, 00:04:51.850 --> 00:04:54.240 Money Sign. Right. And maybe most surprisingly, 00:04:54.459 --> 00:04:56.879 he brings in soul and gospel influenced artist 00:04:56.879 --> 00:05:00.310 Leon Bridges on the song Clear My Rain. See, 00:05:00.329 --> 00:05:02.709 pulling in someone like Leon Bridges, that isn't 00:05:02.709 --> 00:05:05.269 just an artistic flex. No. No, it's a play listing 00:05:05.269 --> 00:05:07.129 strategy. Oh, interesting. Yeah, think about 00:05:07.129 --> 00:05:10.250 it. If you feature a soul artist on a trap album, 00:05:10.810 --> 00:05:13.790 that specific track now has the potential to 00:05:13.790 --> 00:05:17.490 be slotted into like neo soul playlists. Oh my 00:05:17.490 --> 00:05:21.009 gosh, of course. Or R &B chill playlists or mood 00:05:21.009 --> 00:05:23.829 based acoustic playlists on all the major streaming 00:05:23.829 --> 00:05:26.990 platforms. It opens up entirely new algorithmic 00:05:26.990 --> 00:05:28.990 avenues for listeners who might not typically 00:05:29.550 --> 00:05:32.389 cue up a 20 -track trap album. That makes so 00:05:32.389 --> 00:05:35.350 much sense. But to build a 57 -minute project 00:05:35.350 --> 00:05:38.089 that can support that variety of artists, it 00:05:38.089 --> 00:05:41.149 takes an absolute army behind the boards. Oh, 00:05:41.230 --> 00:05:43.850 a literal army. The production roster listed 00:05:43.850 --> 00:05:46.730 in the sources is just staggering. You have key 00:05:46.730 --> 00:05:49.250 fevels from the trap scene, like Turbo, Teddy 00:05:49.250 --> 00:05:51.930 Walton, Laurence Dobson, Evergreen, and Kenny 00:05:51.930 --> 00:05:53.949 Stanton. Yeah, heavy hitters. But here's where 00:05:53.949 --> 00:05:55.629 it gets really interesting. I want to zero in 00:05:55.629 --> 00:05:58.319 on the very last track of the album. Okay. It's 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:00.819 called Time Reveals. Be careful what you wish 00:06:00.819 --> 00:06:04.259 for. It is six minutes and 35 seconds long. And 00:06:04.259 --> 00:06:06.339 if you look closely at the credits in the source 00:06:06.339 --> 00:06:09.160 material, there are eight different producers 00:06:09.160 --> 00:06:12.959 listed for that one single song. Eight. I am 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:15.139 genuinely struggling to understand how eight 00:06:15.139 --> 00:06:18.680 different people produce one song. without it 00:06:18.680 --> 00:06:21.740 turning into chaotic noise. Like, does having 00:06:21.740 --> 00:06:24.180 that many cooks in the kitchen guarantee a masterpiece, 00:06:24.699 --> 00:06:26.720 or does it just dilute the artist's personal 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:29.139 voice? Well, to understand why a track has any 00:06:29.139 --> 00:06:31.300 producers, we have to kind of pull back the curtain 00:06:31.300 --> 00:06:34.360 on how modern trap music is actually constructed 00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:36.569 today. Okay, lay it on me. It is fundamentally 00:06:36.569 --> 00:06:39.009 different from a traditional band set up where 00:06:39.009 --> 00:06:42.170 four guys get in a room and jam. Modern hip hop 00:06:42.170 --> 00:06:45.189 at this commercial level relies on highly specialized 00:06:45.189 --> 00:06:48.269 collaborative producer camps. It functions much 00:06:48.269 --> 00:06:51.029 more like a Detroit auto assembly line. Wait, 00:06:51.149 --> 00:06:52.990 really, break that down for me. Who's doing what 00:06:52.990 --> 00:06:56.189 in that scenario? So one producer might specialize 00:06:56.189 --> 00:06:59.149 entirely in creating atmospheric melody loops, 00:06:59.250 --> 00:07:02.939 say like. a reversed guitar sample. They send 00:07:02.939 --> 00:07:05.459 that file to another producer who is known strictly 00:07:05.459 --> 00:07:08.230 for their drum programming. This person adds 00:07:08.230 --> 00:07:10.009 the hi -hats and the snare bounce. Just the drums? 00:07:10.129 --> 00:07:13.689 Just the drums. Then a third producer, who specializes 00:07:13.689 --> 00:07:16.589 in the low -end frequencies, comes in to tune 00:07:16.589 --> 00:07:19.329 the 808 bass so it hits perfectly, whether you're 00:07:19.329 --> 00:07:22.089 listening on cheap earbuds or, you know, a massive 00:07:22.089 --> 00:07:24.529 club speaker. Wow. Then you have an arranger 00:07:24.529 --> 00:07:26.970 who structures the verses and choruses and maybe 00:07:26.970 --> 00:07:28.970 a couple of extra names who added a specific 00:07:28.970 --> 00:07:31.709 transition or like a sound effect. So it isn't 00:07:31.709 --> 00:07:34.730 eight guys fighting over keyboard. It's a literally 00:07:34.730 --> 00:07:38.040 compartmentalized factory process. Exactly. It's 00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:40.779 designed to build a perfectly cohesive, mathematically 00:07:40.779 --> 00:07:44.279 airtight soundscape. The problem with an assembly 00:07:44.279 --> 00:07:46.519 line, however, is that while it guarantees quality 00:07:46.519 --> 00:07:49.420 control, it naturally smooths out the rough edges. 00:07:49.699 --> 00:07:51.680 And in art, the rough edges are usually where 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:55.129 the emotion lives. Precisely. This hyper -polished, 00:07:55.389 --> 00:07:58.310 committee -driven production methodology is exactly 00:07:58.310 --> 00:08:01.129 what makes the music structurally flawless, but 00:08:01.129 --> 00:08:03.509 it's also what sets up the exact critiques the 00:08:03.509 --> 00:08:07.970 album would later face. It risks becoming emotionally 00:08:07.970 --> 00:08:10.529 impenetrable. Structurally flawless is a great 00:08:10.529 --> 00:08:12.149 way to describe his performance on the charts, 00:08:12.470 --> 00:08:14.290 though. Very true. Because the commercial juggernaut 00:08:14.290 --> 00:08:17.589 of one of one is just undeniable. Let's look 00:08:17.589 --> 00:08:19.889 at the actual numbers here. The album debuted 00:08:19.889 --> 00:08:23.240 at number two. on the US Billboard 200, moving 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:26.560 91 ,000 album equivalent units in its first week. 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:29.500 Which is massive. Right. And for the learner 00:08:29.500 --> 00:08:31.420 who might not stare at Billboard methodology 00:08:31.420 --> 00:08:34.259 all day, an album equivalent unit is a metric 00:08:34.259 --> 00:08:36.759 the industry invented. because, well, nobody 00:08:36.759 --> 00:08:39.659 buys CDs anymore. They basically take all your 00:08:39.659 --> 00:08:42.200 digital streams and track downloads and use this 00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:44.720 math formula to convert them into a number that 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:46.779 looks like a traditional album sale. Yeah, and 00:08:46.779 --> 00:08:49.740 the standard formula right now is roughly 1 ,500 00:08:49.740 --> 00:08:53.159 on -demand audio streams equals one album sale. 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:55.759 Which makes this next detail from the data absolutely 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:58.960 wild. Out of those 91 ,000 equivalent units, 00:08:59.320 --> 00:09:02.519 Only 1 ,000 of them were pure album sales. It's 00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:04.899 crazy. That means actual people clicking buy 00:09:04.899 --> 00:09:07.159 on iTunes or purchasing a physical vinyl record, 00:09:07.379 --> 00:09:10.500 just 1 ,000. Meanwhile, the project racked up 00:09:10.500 --> 00:09:14.740 118 .5 million on -demand streams in just its 00:09:14.740 --> 00:09:17.620 first seven days. That ratio right there, that 00:09:17.620 --> 00:09:20.299 is the defining economic reality of the 2024 00:09:20.299 --> 00:09:22.899 music industry. Has to be. You are looking at 00:09:22.899 --> 00:09:26.240 a consumer base that completely rejects the concept 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:30.759 of ownership but has an absolute insatiable appetite 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:33.399 for access. Yeah. The way I see it, the pure 00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:36.620 sales versus streams disparity completely redefines 00:09:36.620 --> 00:09:38.419 what a hit looks like today. How do you mean? 00:09:38.860 --> 00:09:41.500 Well, buying a pure album is basically like buying 00:09:41.500 --> 00:09:44.759 a collector's item DVD now. It is for the hyper 00:09:44.759 --> 00:09:47.159 dedicated super fan who wants the physical object 00:09:47.159 --> 00:09:49.679 on their shelf. Right. The diehards. Exactly. 00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:54.100 But those 118 .5 million streams, that is like 00:09:54.100 --> 00:09:56.559 having a global Netflix subscription. You don't 00:09:56.559 --> 00:09:58.779 own the movie but it is constantly playing in 00:09:58.779 --> 00:10:00.480 the background of your life. And if we connect 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:02.740 this to the bigger picture, that background play 00:10:02.740 --> 00:10:05.649 is happening everywhere. Consider the international 00:10:05.649 --> 00:10:07.750 data in our sources. Oh yeah, it was everywhere. 00:10:08.129 --> 00:10:10.269 Streaming has completely removed the physical 00:10:10.269 --> 00:10:13.250 barriers to entry for regional sounds. Atlanta 00:10:13.250 --> 00:10:16.429 trap music, which is a highly specific, geographically 00:10:16.429 --> 00:10:19.649 rooted subgenre, is now charting in places like 00:10:19.649 --> 00:10:22.529 Lithuania and Iceland. That is just so cool to 00:10:22.529 --> 00:10:24.909 think about. It went platinum in Canada, meaning 00:10:24.909 --> 00:10:28.230 it moved 80 ,000 units there. It went gold in 00:10:28.230 --> 00:10:32.029 the UK with 100 ,000 units. and gold in New Zealand, 00:10:32.769 --> 00:10:35.929 alongside top 10 chartings in Australia, Austria, 00:10:36.169 --> 00:10:38.710 the Netherlands, and Switzerland. That's incredible. 00:10:38.929 --> 00:10:40.990 Ten years ago, an artist would have to convince 00:10:40.990 --> 00:10:43.929 a label to physically manufacture and ship CDs 00:10:43.929 --> 00:10:46.470 to shelves in Reykjavik to get those numbers. 00:10:47.190 --> 00:10:50.269 Today, an algorithm serves an Atlanta trap beat 00:10:50.269 --> 00:10:53.090 to a teenager in Iceland instantly. It really 00:10:53.090 --> 00:10:55.809 is a global triumph. Oh, and a fun piece of trivia 00:10:55.809 --> 00:10:58.250 from the charts. Gunna was actually blocked from 00:10:58.250 --> 00:11:01.250 the number one spot on the Billboard 200 by Taylor 00:11:01.250 --> 00:11:03.769 Swift's The Tortured Poets department. Yeah, 00:11:03.929 --> 00:11:06.149 tough competition. Yeah, which spent a month 00:11:06.149 --> 00:11:08.740 at the top. But he did claim the number one spot 00:11:08.740 --> 00:11:10.960 on the top R &B hip -hop albums chart, which 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:13.759 is a massive win. It is a win. But we have to 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:15.120 look at the other side of the coin here. OK, 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:17.179 yeah, let's do it. While fans in Iceland and 00:11:17.179 --> 00:11:18.960 Switzerland were streaming it on a loop, the 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:20.700 professional critics were listening with a very 00:11:20.700 --> 00:11:23.840 different ear. And they were not nearly as impressed 00:11:23.840 --> 00:11:26.799 by the numbers. Yeah. Which brings us to the 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:29.019 critical divide. Let's look at the review from 00:11:29.019 --> 00:11:32.840 Pitchfork. So Alphonse Pierre reviewed the album 00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:37.190 and gave it a 5 .7 out of 10. Ouch. Right. He 00:11:37.190 --> 00:11:40.269 argued that the tracks on One of One sound exactly 00:11:40.269 --> 00:11:42.970 like catchy Gunna songs of the past, but they 00:11:42.970 --> 00:11:45.309 lack the feeling. I love this specific quote 00:11:45.309 --> 00:11:48.029 from his review though. He says Gunna is going 00:11:48.029 --> 00:11:49.929 through the motions and reading straight off 00:11:49.929 --> 00:11:53.669 his Essence receipt. That's brutal. Now for anyone 00:11:53.669 --> 00:11:55.929 who doesn't know, Essence is a massive, high 00:11:55.929 --> 00:11:59.350 -end, luxury fashion e -commerce platform. So 00:11:59.350 --> 00:12:00.889 Pierre is basically saying Gunna isn't rapping 00:12:00.889 --> 00:12:03.309 about his life. He's just lifelessly reading 00:12:03.309 --> 00:12:05.850 off a list of designer brands he recently purchased 00:12:05.850 --> 00:12:08.289 online. It's a cut in critique because it attacks 00:12:08.289 --> 00:12:10.950 the authenticity of the project, you know? Pierre 00:12:10.950 --> 00:12:13.250 is suggesting that those eight -person production 00:12:13.250 --> 00:12:15.909 teams provided the perfect aesthetic and Gunna 00:12:15.909 --> 00:12:18.289 provided the requisite lojery name -dropping, 00:12:18.610 --> 00:12:21.269 but the actual emotional core, the reason we 00:12:21.269 --> 00:12:23.889 actually connect with human art, is just completely 00:12:23.889 --> 00:12:25.830 missing. Right, and it wasn't just Pitchfork. 00:12:26.409 --> 00:12:28.669 Demi -fellas over at Hot New Hip -Hop echoed 00:12:28.669 --> 00:12:30.590 a very similar sentiment, though slightly more 00:12:30.590 --> 00:12:32.750 generously. What did they say? Well... Phillips 00:12:32.750 --> 00:12:36.190 praised Gunna's melodic prowess and noted that 00:12:36.190 --> 00:12:39.110 the production is polished and very cohesive. 00:12:39.509 --> 00:12:43.090 Ah, cohesive. But there's that word again. Cohesive. 00:12:43.750 --> 00:12:46.289 Phillips argues that over a 20 -track album, 00:12:46.889 --> 00:12:49.610 this cohesion actually borders on monotonous. 00:12:50.450 --> 00:12:52.909 The review explicitly notes that there is a lack 00:12:52.909 --> 00:12:55.909 of specific lyrical depth and that the album 00:12:55.909 --> 00:12:58.009 doesn't venture into new territory that would 00:12:58.009 --> 00:13:00.610 help us understand Gunna's actual human experiences 00:13:00.610 --> 00:13:03.080 any better. They're pointing directly at the 00:13:03.080 --> 00:13:05.259 inherent flaw of the algorithmic streaming model 00:13:05.259 --> 00:13:08.879 we were discussing earlier. To get 118 .5 million 00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:11.759 streams, you really need a 20 -track album. But 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:14.460 sustaining genuine emotionally vulnerable lyrical 00:13:14.460 --> 00:13:17.360 depth over 20 tracks, that is incredibly difficult. 00:13:17.399 --> 00:13:20.259 Extremely. So artists rely on what works. They 00:13:20.259 --> 00:13:22.659 rest on their laurels because the blueprint is 00:13:22.659 --> 00:13:25.639 mathematically proven to generate revenue. OK. 00:13:25.659 --> 00:13:27.559 I hear that, but I want to push back on these 00:13:27.559 --> 00:13:29.539 critics for a second. Go for it. Let's use a 00:13:29.539 --> 00:13:31.899 food analogy. Yeah. about your absolute favorite 00:13:31.899 --> 00:13:34.059 comfort food, like a really good bowl of macaroni 00:13:34.059 --> 00:13:36.519 and cheese. Okay, I'm with you. When you order 00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:39.600 it from your favorite spot, you do not want the 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:42.980 chef to surprise you with some like deconstructed 00:13:42.980 --> 00:13:45.000 avant -garde version of it. You order it because 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:48.000 you know exactly how good it will taste. You 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:52.440 want reliability. True. So our critics unfairly 00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:55.399 demanding, constant, groundbreaking reinvention 00:13:55.399 --> 00:13:58.480 from an artist whose fans clearly just want that 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:02.779 reliable signature flow. I mean, 118 .5 million 00:14:02.779 --> 00:14:06.139 streams strongly suggest the fans are very, very 00:14:06.139 --> 00:14:08.360 happy with the menu. It's a great point. This 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:11.639 raises an important question really. I understand 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:13.360 the mac and cheese argument, but let's take that 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:15.600 analogy to its logical conclusion based on the 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:18.340 album's actual structure. Okay. If a chef serves 00:14:18.340 --> 00:14:20.019 you your favorite bowl of mac and cheese, you're 00:14:20.019 --> 00:14:22.740 thrilled. But if that chef serves you the exact 00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:25.720 same bowl of mac and cheese 20 consecutive times 00:14:25.720 --> 00:14:28.000 over the course of a 57 -minute sitting... Okay, 00:14:28.139 --> 00:14:30.500 yeah. You're gonna get sick of it. You are going 00:14:30.500 --> 00:14:33.100 to beg for a salad or a glass of water. That's 00:14:33.100 --> 00:14:35.159 fair. That is what the critics are arguing. The 00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:37.220 fans are grazing, they're putting the album on 00:14:37.220 --> 00:14:39.840 shuffle, adding three songs to a gym playlist, 00:14:40.139 --> 00:14:42.059 and listening to it in the background while playing 00:14:42.059 --> 00:14:44.320 video games. They're taking small bites. While 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:46.440 the critic is forced to eat the whole meal in 00:14:46.440 --> 00:14:50.490 one sitting. Exactly. The tension between a massive 00:14:50.490 --> 00:14:53.549 20 -track streaming success and critical cries 00:14:53.549 --> 00:14:56.909 of monotony is the defining conflict of modern 00:14:56.909 --> 00:15:00.049 music. It really is. The very length that guarantees 00:15:00.049 --> 00:15:03.019 those high streaming numbers You know, putting 00:15:03.019 --> 00:15:05.340 20 tracks on an album so algorithms have more 00:15:05.340 --> 00:15:07.940 material to grab onto is exactly what causes 00:15:07.940 --> 00:15:12.000 the album to feel entirely redundant to an active 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:14.779 front to back listener like a music critic. Wow. 00:15:14.899 --> 00:15:17.100 Yeah. If you listen to it as background music, 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:19.620 the polished production is a perfect vibe. If 00:15:19.620 --> 00:15:22.320 you sit down and actively listen to 57 minutes 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:24.840 of it straight, looking for an emotional narrative, 00:15:25.419 --> 00:15:27.480 the assembly line production starts to sound 00:15:27.480 --> 00:15:30.639 like one long, unbroken, monotonous sentence. 00:15:30.659 --> 00:15:32.840 That makes total sense. Both the fans and the 00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:34.919 critics are reacting correctly to the exact same 00:15:34.919 --> 00:15:36.519 data. They just have fundamentally different 00:15:36.519 --> 00:15:38.600 goals for what music is supposed to do. That 00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:40.740 completely reframes the entire conversation for 00:15:40.740 --> 00:15:42.840 me. The album is doing exactly what it was engineered 00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:46.059 to do. Exactly. So to wrap up this deep dive, 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:48.820 the core tension of One of One is really staring 00:15:48.820 --> 00:15:52.220 us right in the face. It is a commercially undeniable, 00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:55.940 globally certified trap triumph. It utilized 00:15:55.940 --> 00:15:58.840 an incredibly smart drip -feed marketing rollout 00:15:58.840 --> 00:16:01.919 to dominate charts from the US to the UK, Canada 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:05.460 to New Zealand. Right. Yet simultaneously it 00:16:05.460 --> 00:16:09.139 sparked very real, very valid debates about artistic 00:16:09.139 --> 00:16:11.419 stagnation and the double -edged sword of those 00:16:11.419 --> 00:16:13.639 highly polished eight -person production camps. 00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:16.000 It gave the algorithms and the casual listeners 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:18.460 exactly what they wanted, even if it refused 00:16:18.460 --> 00:16:20.700 to give the active critics the emotional depth 00:16:20.700 --> 00:16:23.549 they hoped for. Perfectly said. And looking ahead, 00:16:23.730 --> 00:16:25.990 there's one final forward -looking thread from 00:16:25.990 --> 00:16:27.549 our sources that we really have to pull on. Oh, 00:16:27.549 --> 00:16:29.850 yeah. If you look at the discography timeline, 00:16:30.370 --> 00:16:32.889 Gunna already has his next project slated for 00:16:32.889 --> 00:16:35.490 2025 and the title of that upcoming project. 00:16:35.549 --> 00:16:38.049 What is it? The Last One. Wait, really? Wow. 00:16:38.370 --> 00:16:41.190 Yeah. So I want to leave you, the listener, with 00:16:41.190 --> 00:16:44.070 something to mull over today. He is calling his 00:16:44.070 --> 00:16:47.679 2025 project The Last One. explicitly signaling 00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:51.000 the final chapter of this specific era or persona. 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:53.799 OK. When an artist finally puts an expiration 00:16:53.799 --> 00:16:56.340 date on a project, does the pressure of finality 00:16:56.340 --> 00:16:59.059 finally force them to dig deep and provide that 00:16:59.059 --> 00:17:00.980 lyrical boundary stretching the critics have 00:17:00.980 --> 00:17:02.840 been begging for? Well, that's a good question. 00:17:03.019 --> 00:17:06.279 Or in an era of constant relentless streaming 00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:09.079 engagement is a title like the last one just 00:17:09.079 --> 00:17:11.119 putting a going out of business sign in the window 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:13.480 to trick us into streaming it 100 million more 00:17:13.480 --> 00:17:15.920 times. We will leave that to you to figure out. 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:18.200 Wow. We'll just have to wait until 2025 to see 00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:20.519 which it is. Thanks for joining us for this deep 00:17:20.519 --> 00:17:22.599 dive. Keep learning and keep listening.