Ten years ago today, on October 14, 2016, two very different rap veterans hit the shelves on the same Friday. Out West, The Game released 1992, a look back at growing up in Compton. Down in Atlanta, Gucci Mane released Woptober, his second full project since coming home from prison that spring. One was a memoir. The other was a victory lap.
The Game’s ‘1992’: Compton Through a Kid’s Eyes
Released through Blood Money Entertainment, Fifth Amendment Entertainment and eOne, 1992 is built around The Game’s childhood memories of Compton, with the LA riots, the O.J. Simpson trial and the Dream Team all part of the backdrop, according to Wikipedia.
The lead single, “All Eyez,” featured Jeremih and was produced by Scott Storch. It reached No. 79 on the Billboard Hot 100. Cool & Dre produced “Baby You” with Jason Derulo. But the track everybody talked about was “92 Bars,” the Meek Mill diss that premiered on Power 105.1 and turned the album rollout into a full-blown beef.
1992 debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 with 32,000 album-equivalent units, including 25,000 in pure sales.
Gucci Mane’s ‘Woptober’: The Comeback Kept Rolling
Gucci walked out of prison in May 2016 after nearly three years, and he did not waste a minute. Everybody Looking debuted at No. 2 that summer, the highest debut of his career at the time, XXL noted. Three months later came Woptober, released through Atlantic and GUWOP Enterprises.
The production list reads like an Atlanta hall of fame: Zaytoven, Metro Boomin, Southside, London on da Track, Honorable C.N.O.T.E., Drumma Boy, TM88, Will-A-Fool and Cubeatz. The lead single, “Bling Blaww Burr,” paired Gucci with Young Dolph over a Metro Boomin beat, and Zaytoven produced the promo single “Icy Lil Bitch.” Rick Ross showed up on “Money Machine,” which XXL singled out as a standout along with “Hi-Five” and the closer “Addiction.” The project peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard 200.
The Legacy
1992 showed The Game still knew how to turn his life story into a concept album, and still loved a fight. Woptober was less about one big moment and more about momentum. Within a few months of his release, Gucci had put out multiple projects and reminded everybody that the trap blueprint so many artists were running started with him. As XXL put it, Gucci proved himself “the exception” to the idea that prison stalls a rap career.
Which one are you running back today: 1992 or Woptober? Let us know.
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Sources: Wikipedia: 1992, Wikipedia: Woptober, Wikipedia: 2016 in hip-hop, XXL
