A Gift & a Curse
A Gift & a Curse is the fourth studio album by American rapper Gunna. It was released through YSL Records and 300 Entertainment on June 16, 2023. Production on the album was handled by Turbo, Omar Grand, Cam Griffin, Kenny Stuntin, Sim, Nils, Pooh Beatz, Lnk, Mario Petersen, Flo, X-Plosive, Royal808, Dunk Rock, Angelo, Yung Talent, Willis Keaton, Slowburnzz, 88 Krazy, Larrance Dopson, Swiff D, Evrgrn, Zookids, Aviator Keyyz, Rick Anthony, Sammy Haig, Cubeatz, Fresh Ayr, and Jojokelete. The album was released as a surprise and is Gunna's first project to not feature any guest appearances. It was supported by two singles, "Bread & Butter" and "FukUMean", and serves as the follow-up to his previous album, DS4Ever (2022).[1]
A Gift & a Curse | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 16, 2023 | |||
Length | 45:08 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Gunna chronology | ||||
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Singles from A Gift & a Curse | ||||
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Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 68/100[2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Clash | 7/10[4] |
Mic Cheque | 7.5/10[5] |
Pitchfork | 5.9/10[6] |
Slant Magazine | 6/10[7] |
A Gift & a Curse received generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 68, based on six reviews.[2]
Robin Murray of Clash wrote that the album was "succinct, finessed, and packs a punch".[4] Writing for Mic Cheque, Hamza Riaz opined that it "shows that Gunna is YSL's most valuable asset, constantly honing his sound and this time adding a new layer to his predictable output".[5] In a mixed review, Alphonse Pierre of Pitchfork felt like the album was "too vague to have much depth and too absorbed in real-life drama to have the feel-good vibes he wants to preserve".[6] Writing for Slant Magazine, Paul Attard felt that "Gunna gives us more of himself than he ever has before, and even if much of the lyrical substance of the album is undermined in a few weeks' time, that in and of itself is worth celebrating".[7]
Commercial performance
In the United States, A Gift & a Curse debuted at number three on Billboard 200 chart, earning 85,000 album-equivalent units (including 1,000 in pure album sales) in its first week. This became Gunna's fifth top ten album in total, with four out of the five credited to him, on the chart. The album also accumulated a total of 112.65 million on-demand streams of the album's songs.[8]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Back at It" |
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| 3:06 |
2. | "Back to the Moon" |
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| 3:13 |
3. | "IDK NoMore" |
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| 2:59 |
4. | "Paybach" |
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| 2:53 |
5. | "Ca$h $hit" |
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| 2:11 |
6. | "FukUMean" |
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| 2:05 |
7. | "Rodeo Dr" |
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| 2:56 |
8. | "Bottom" |
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| 2:57 |
9. | "P Angels" |
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| 2:56 |
10. | "Born Rich" |
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| 2:52 |
11. | "Go Crazy" |
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| 2:53 |
12. | "Bread & Butter" |
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| 3:46 |
13. | "Turned Your Back" |
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| 4:03 |
14. | "I Was Just Thinking" |
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| 3:12 |
15. | "Alright" |
| 3:04 | |
Total length: | 45:08 |
Charts
Chart (2023) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] | 49 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10] | 18 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[11] | 33 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[12] | 45 |
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[13] | 4 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] | 19 |
French Albums (SNEP)[15] | 43 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] | 36 |
Irish Albums (OCC)[17] | 33 |
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[18] | 30 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[19] | 12 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[20] | 20 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] | 7 |
UK Albums (OCC)[22] | 9 |
US Billboard 200[23] | 3 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[24] | 1 |
References
- Blistein, Jon (June 16, 2023). "Gunna Spurns Snitching Rumors on New Album 'A Gift and a Curse'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
- A Gift & a Curse by Gunna, Metacritic, retrieved June 22, 2023
- Kellman, Andy. "A Gift & A Curse Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
- Murray, Robin. "Gunna – A Gift & a Curse". Clash. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
- Riaz, Hamza (June 24, 2023). "Review: Gunna, 'A Gift & a Curse'". Mic Cheque. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- Pierre, Alphonse (June 22, 2023). "Gunna: A Gift & a Curse Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
- Attard, Paul (June 16, 2023). "Gunna A Gift & a Curse Review: Playing Both Sides". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
- Caulfield, Keith (June 25, 2023). "Morgan Wallen's 'One Thing at a Time' Hits 14 Weeks Atop Billboard 200, Most Since Adele's '21'". Billboard. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- "Australiancharts.com – Gunna – A Gift & a Curse". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
- "Austriancharts.at – Gunna – A Gift & a Curse" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
- "Ultratop.be – Gunna – A Gift & a Curse" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- "Ultratop.be – Gunna – A Gift & a Curse" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- "Gunna Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Gunna – A Gift & a Curse" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- "Lescharts.com – Gunna – A Gift & a Curse". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Gunna – A Gift & a Curse" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
- "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
- "2023 28-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. July 14, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- "Charts.nz – Gunna – A Gift & a Curse". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- "Norwegiancharts.com – Gunna – A Gift & a Curse". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
- "Swisscharts.com – Gunna – A Gift & a Curse". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
- "Gunna Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- "Gunna Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2023.