The 'Drip Harder' rapper earns his first No. 1 album on Billboard Hot 200 while introducing his fans to his new persona 'Wunna' with the newly-released second studio album.
- June 8, 2020
AceShowbiz - Gunna is a standout among new young rappers from Atlanta's hip-hop scene. The 26-year-old rapper carved his path to success through a series of "Drip" mixtapes that he capped off with a debut album "Drip or Drown 2" which peaked at No. 3 on Billboard Hot 200 in 2019.
After successfully shaping up his "Drip" persona, he was keen to introduce his fans to the other side of him that many people didn't really know. With his sophomore set "Wunna", he wanted his loyal devotees to meet the "Wealthy Unapologetic N**ga Naturally Authentic."
He did half of his second studio album in Jamaica while exploring the different scenery. "Gunna is more chill, just the drip god. I don't really do too much. You really just see me doing more just clothes and music. Wunna, I feel he's more spontaneous," he explained in an interview.
Powered with 18 brand new rap tracks that feature the likes of Young Thug, Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, and Travis Scott (II), the album chronicled Gunna's fast-paced life in the past few years from meeting "Argentina" girls in Cali, taking a hot air balloon to enjoy the exotic landscape of Jamaica, dressing up to high-fashion events, stacking up money in his bank account, to doing shows all over the world.
But it's not just having fun for the rapper. He also talked about "life and things that are deeper." In one song dedicated to the late Nipsey Hussle, he reflected on his journey to stardom. From "having no cash for gas, stove or heat," he's climbing out of poverty to be one of the prominent stars in the rap scene.
The album debuted at the top spot on Billboard Hot 200 with a total of 111,000 album-equivalent units which mostly attributed to the 144 million on-demand streams. Across the pond, it entered the U.K. Albums chart at No. 5, giving the rap star his first top ten album in the country.
Gunna, real name Sergio Giavanni Kitchens, also landed 13 songs on Billboard Hot 100 chart, led by "Dollaz on My Head". The song entered the singles chart at No. 38, marking his eighth top 40 hit.
Despite all those feats, he was not in a celebratory mood. "It's hard celebrating a #1 album when the world is Hurting," he tweeted, seemingly referring to his fellow African-American brothers and sisters marching for Black Lives Matter to fight racial injustice across the country.
