★★★★★
Yo Gotti :: I Am :: CMG/Epic Records
as reviewed Grant Jones
I wonder if celebrity mob boss John Gotti ever thought he would inspire numerous rappers to name themselves after him. It's possible he wouldn't have minded if they were genuinely talented emcees, but unfortunately his elders fared better...
- www.rapreviews.com
2014-01-09
★★★★★
Yo Gotti does a superb job of making sure he connects with his core audience, but "I Am" doesn't offer much dynamic production or rhymes for casual fans. The build up to Yo Gotti's latest album has been well documented and consistent, with the Memphis rapper having been all over the Internet and Hip Hop blogosphere in the last few months. He's released successful singles featuring Southern powerhouses like T.I...
- www.hiphopdx.com
2014-01-09
★★★★★
I wonder if celebrity mob boss John Gotti ever thought he would inspire numerous rappers to name themselves after him. It's possible he wouldn't have minded if they were genuinely talented emcees, but unfortunately his elders fared better. Capone and Noreaga are good rappers, Pablo Escobar and Sam Giancana were part of Nas and Kool G Rap's legendary careers whether they liked it or not, and even fictional characters such as Scarface have been immortalised in rap AND film...
- rapreviews.com
2013-12-18
★★★★★
Simple title. Simple concept. Yo Gotti's latest mixtape veers from his every popular "Cocaine Music" concept for more than a few reasons. The very first is marketing. Name the mixtape after its release date and advertise both with one short phrase. The second reason is the fact this date holds some significance to the Memphis emcee. His major label "debut" dropped on January 10, 2012 and this mixtape was meant to both undercut and advertise "Live From The Kitchen...
- rapreviews.com
2012-01-19
★★★★★
Yo Gotti has weathered his benchwarmer status with dogged persistence, releasing four independent albums and eight mixtapes over the last decade, turning in dutiful cameos whenever rap superstars beckoned, and then going back to his grind in the Southern gangsta scene...
- www.slantmagazine.com
2012-01-12
★★★★★
Yo Gotti has long been a staple of southern D-boy rap. His career stretched back years before TVT signed him to a distribution deal. Even after signing to TVT, Gotti remained a relative unknown until he dropped his second album on the label with 2006's "Back 2 Da Basics." The problem with Yo Gotti was one of timing. Nothing changed between "Back 2 Da Basics" and 2000's "From Da Dope Game 2 Da Rap Game." Yo Gotti remained the same, but the landscape of the rap game had changed drastically...
- rapreviews.com
2009-07-21
★★★★★
I'll admit my own bias, I've been anxiously anticipating this album since I first heard Yo Gotti's "Full Time" last year. Even with the actual album having arrived I still find it difficult to stray from having that one track on repeat. But thankfully, "Back 2 Da Basics" is filled with enough quality music to give me reasons to venture away from Yo Gotti's super-catchy lead single...
- rapreviews.com
2009-07-21
★★★★★
Yo Gotti? Yo Gaudy is more like it. One could be forgiven if, after examining the cover art for Yo Gotti's new album, Life, he or she mistook it for a Wayans Brothers project skewering the worn-out conventions of hardcore rap. From the stacks of bills that tower over an ostentatious white mansion in the background, to the sparkling rims and dollars hovering before of a crouching Yo Gotti in the foreground, the whole joint is way beyond the limits of good taste...
- www.popmatters.com
2008-11-11
★★★★★
Yo Gotti? Yo Gaudy is more like it. One could be forgiven if, after examining the cover art for Yo Gotti's new album, Life, he or she mistook it for a Wayans Brothers project skewering the worn-out conventions of hardcore rap. From the stacks of bills that tower over an ostentatious white mansion in the background, to the sparkling rims and dollars hovering before of a crouching Yo Gotti in the foreground, the whole joint is way beyond the limits of good taste...
- www.popmatters.com
2008-08-03