Kevin Gates – Luca Brasi 3 (Mixtape Review)

Kevin Gates has been out of jail for a little less than a year now, and you can tell he’s been licking his chops to get back and prove his worth to a game that needs realness pumped into it. With “Luca Brasi 3,” he gets his wish.

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TOP 5

5. ADDING UP

Gates has his not so humble moments, too.

“Adding Up” is probably the toughest track on this project, as it features this heavy-hitting instrumental that has its share of explosions and riveting piano notes attached to it. Kevin Gates approaches that beat with this dismissive attitude throughout, practically putting down anyone that thinks they are balling like him through some hefty bars. I love how rough and rugged his style of rapping is from start to finish, and think the hook he was able to deliver is as gritty as it gets.

I’ve always seen Kevin Gates as someone who would spend his money on weird s**t like a $90,000 toilet or something.

4. ME TOO

I haven’t heard a raunchy Kevin Gates joint like this in a while!

Before Kevin Gates was dropping some of the realest s**t you heard on this planet, he was a very horny rapper that talked about eating booty a lot and giving the pipe to women on IG. A couple of jail sentences later, he toned s**t down, and as of late, he’s been dropping nothing but scholarly s**t. On “Me Too,” we get a chance to hear vintage Gates, as he reverts back to his bedroom slaying/beating the kitty cat up ways. While I love how Raw his lyrical content is, it’s his ‘passionate/sounding like he caught the Holy Ghost’ style of singing that caught my attention the most.

Gates sounds like he’s praising the vajayjay at times. That n***a is all in!

3. GREAT MAN

“Great Man” is an all-around deep ass track. On it, Gates shows us his emotional/paranoid/woke side once more. No, he doesn’t try to kill you with some serious harmonizing or anything on this track, instead, he delivers some heartfelt lyrics revolving around homies he lost, fake friends that are lurking in the shadows, and being able to endure all the trials and tribulations going on in his life. I like how raw his bars are, and absolutely love the way he delivers them using this numbing approach.

Songs like these remind me that Kevin Gates is in his own lane.

2. SHAKIN’ BACK

Why do I feel like getting my ass kicked to “Shakin’ Back” will make the song sound better?

I love when Kevin Gates raps over chilling club instrumentals like “Shakin’ Back.” He tends to approach these type of tracks with a battery pack behind his back, caring less if he offends or successfully calls n***as bluff.

Every bar Gates delivers on this song is real, Teflon strong and hood n***a certified, which means if you are fugazzi, it is probably hard as s**t to look him in the eyes when he was in the booth laying down his lyrics.

These are the type of joints that remind me that Gates is the closest thing to Pac (Not you, John Wall…John Wall knows what I mean by that statement).

1. DISCUSSION

In “Discussion,” Kevin Gates outlines how he became one of the realest n***as in the game. Notes taken.

I absolutely love the urgency attached to “Discussion.” Since it’s literally the first thing you hear on this album when you press play, it’ll get your heart pumpin’ and your mind racing. It features this bone-chilling beat, and nothing but straight up bars from Gates that has him questioning authority, dismissing his foes and explaining his complicated mindset. Personally, I think this is his best song lyrically on this album, as he spits out bars so seamlessly that you’ll think he’s a robot halfway through his first verse.

Ya’ll hear how Gates covered up ‘Bey’ on his first verse? I guess Beyonce and Colin Kaepernick are curse words now..

SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. DISCUSSION (5/5)

2. SHAKIN’ BACK (4.5/5)

3. RIDICULOUS (4.5/5)

4. MONEY LONG (4/5)

5. I GOT U (3.5/5)

6. GREAT MAN (5/5)

7. FIND YOU AGAIN (3.5/5)

8. ADDING UP (4.5/5)

9. IN GOD I TRUST (4.5/5)

10. ME TOO (5/5)

11. SERVIN H (3.5/5)

12. WRONG LOVE (4.5/5)

13. LUCA BRASI FREESTYLE (4.5/5)

14. SHOULDA (4.5/5)

15. KUNG_FU (3.5/5)

16. DON’T KNOW (3.5/5)

17. TRYNA YEA (4.5/5)

18. M.A.T.A. (4.5/5)

OVERALL RATING

(B+)

God damnit, this album was so f**kin’good! I’m going to do my best to explain why in this summary…

Kevin Gates isn’t the best rapper of all time, but he might be one of the realest. On “Luca Brasi 3,” not a single moment was devoid of raw emotion, real passion or overwhelming effort. instead, our hero made sure literally every word he delivered to us was felt in our souls, and the few melodies he delivered were profound enough to keep us locked in his spell. Even the supposed commercial joints like “Me Too” and “Money Long” hit a chord with my weak in the knees ass.

Simply based off his demeanor, you can tell Gates has been through some serious s**t in his life. On this project, his resiliency and willingness to end up a better person is both glaring and soul-clinching to listen to. However, what I found the most intriguing about his raps was his knack for giving us top notch wisdom without even trying. Matter of fact, on several verses, it almost felt like he was simply talking to us on some one on one s**t, putting us onto game about topics from snakes lurking in the grass to keeping it real at all times of the day. F**k music, this project was the hood’s version of a TED talk.

Gates continues to be one of rap’s best hook makers. Never in my life have I seen a rapper mesh passion, soul, infectiousness and daring vocals into an equation and be successful like he continuously does. While his verses and content throughout Luca Brasi 3 is what makes the album very good, his hooks is what makes it special!

Honestly, the closest thing to Kevin Gates is Pac. I got that aurora from him throughout. No, he doesn’t quite use the words ‘thug life’ in his bars, but based off of his lyrics and actions, he’s living that s**t and it’s all the way real.