Artist: G-Eazy
Album: These Things Happen
Genre: Hip Hop

What can be said about Bay Area native G-Eazy that has not already been written? Still nestled in his twenties, G – otherwise known as Gerald Gillum – created and curated a unique brand of music that has permeated the international music community. He’s played Warped Tour, opened for Lil Wayne, appeared in Billboard, and more than likely made out with your sister. He’s been everywhere without a deal and now he’s primed to take things to a whole new level with the release of his debut album, These Things Happen.

It’s important to keep in mind that every move young Gerald makes is a calculated effort done in hopes of pulling you further into his world. Endless Summer, the mixtape that put G on the map, taught us all to have fun and not take ourselves too seriously even though we were determined to make our dreams a reality. Must Be Nice, which followed a few years later, offered a more mature perspective on the party life, as well as reflections on the price of chasing dreams. With These Things Happen the price of fame has not been forgotten, but rather coupled with scenes from the party life and with the notion that the best thing you can do is to be true to yourself and make the most of the time you have been given. When you put your all into something the world takes notice, dreams become reality and, well, these things happen. (Get it?)

A number of tracks off These Things Happen made their way online in advance of the album’s release, including “Far Alone,” “I Mean It,” “Almost Famous,” “Lotta That,” “Let’s Get Lost,” and “Tumblr Girls.” These songs are spread throughout These Things Happen and in many ways serve as the sonic backbone for the record. The title track, along with “Far Alone” and “I Mean It,” lead the album off with a series of tracks ripe with insight on G’s rise and the cocky swagger he has developed as a result. “Almost Famous,” however, eases us into the middle of the record with a more laid back flow accompanied by topics ranging from the come up, love, and the troubles any romance has to face when touring. It’s almost as if G is slowly peeling back the layers of his own psyche as the album progresses, starting with the cocky and ego-fueled walls he built to seem tough, then unraveling his soft and understanding soul. He can hang with the boys just as easily as he can swoop a beautiful girl off her feet, and it’s in his ability to transition between those two styles that G has found his niche.

Though a handful of songs near the center of the album make a strong argument for G-Eazy’s ability to make uptempo tracks his own, the majority of These Things Happen rides a laid back groove that is no doubt inspired by the time Gerald spent in New Orleans several years before. The album finds this groove about halfway through the opener and rides it straight on through to the final note of the inspirational “Just Believe,” making room along the way for a handful of short skits that the album really has no need to include in the first place. It’s hard to describe in specifics, but it’s on the livelier side of slow, with pulsing synth or bass guiding tracks that otherwise sound incredibly atmospheric. If that works for you, the album goes down like a top shelf liquor on Saturday night. If not, you may find yourself reaching for the ‘skip’ button more than once.

The world of G-Eazy is one most often viewed in black and white. It’s a time-bending landscape where the greaser fashion of the 1950s collides with the cocky attitude of modern-day hip hop and unpredictable tendencies of New Orleans’ bred jazz to create a sound that is at once familiar and undeniably unique. It pulls no punches, though you cannot really say it throws many either. G is not about proving himself because that has already been done. He’s here to share stories from his life and adventures on the road, which in recent years has, at times, become the type of fodder one might expect to find in a bodega-bought porn magazine. If any of that appeals to you, These Things Happen has a good chance at being the soundtrack to your summer. Don’t sleep. Buy it.

SCORE: 9/10

Written By: James Shotwell Follow @utgjames

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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