The Return of East Atlanta Santa

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The Return of East Atlanta Santa
Studio album by
Gucci Mane
ReleasedDecember 16, 2016 (2016-12-16)
Genre
Length42:54
Label
Producer
Gucci Mane chronology
1017 vs. the World
(2016) 		The Return of East Atlanta Santa
(2016) 		Droptopwop
(2017)
Singles from The Return of East Atlanta Santa
  1. "Last Time"
    Released: September 2, 2016
  2. "Drove U Crazy"
    Released: December 2, 2016
  3. "Both"
    Released: January 31, 2017

The Return of East Atlanta Santa is the tenth studio album by American rapper Gucci Mane. It was released on December 16, 2016, by GUWOP Enterprises, RBC Records and Atlantic Records. The record serves as Gucci Mane's third commercial release of the year, following his release from prison, after Everybody Looking (2016) and Woptober (2016). The album features guest appearances from rappers Drake and Travis Scott, alongside singer Bryson Tiller, while the production was handled by Metro Boomin, Southside, Bangladesh, Zaytoven, Mike Will Made It and Murda Beatz, among others.

The Return of East Atlanta Santa was supported by three singles: "Last Time", "Drove U Crazy" and "Both", along with two promotional singles, "St. Brick Intro" and "Stutter".

Background[edit]

In October 2016, The Return of East Atlanta Santa was announced after the release of Mane's commercial mixtape Woptober, along with its release date.[1] The album title is a continuation of Gucci Mane's Christmas-themed East Atlanta Santa mixtape series. It is the third installment of the series, succeeding East Atlanta Santa (2014) and East Atlanta Santa 2: The Night GuWop Stole X-Mas (2015).[2]

Singles[edit]

The album's lead single, "Last Time", was released on September 2, 2016.[3] The song features a guest appearance from American rapper Travis Scott, while the production was provided by Zaytoven.

The album's second single, "Drove U Crazy", was released as the album's third single on December 2, 2016.[4] The song features a guest appearance from American singer Bryson Tiller, while the production was provided by OZ.

"Both" was released as a promotional single on December 15, 2016.[5] It was later sent to urban contemporary radio on January 31, 2017, as the album's third official single.[6] The song features a guest appearance from Canadian rapper Drake, while the production was provided by Southside and Metro Boomin.

Promotional singles[edit]

The album's first promotional single, "St. Brick Intro", was released on November 25, 2016.[7] The song was produced by Zaytoven.

The album's second promotional single, "Stutter", was released on December 9, 2016.[8] The song was produced by Murda Beatz.

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic70/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Exclaim!5/10[11]
The Guardian[12]
HipHopDX3.7/5[13]
The Irish Times[14]
Pitchfork7.6/10[15]

The Return of East Atlanta Santa was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 70, based on four reviews.[9]

Renato Pagnani of Pitchfork commented on the improvement of Gucci Mane's performance and vocals, and that the album shows a "more playful side of Gucci's personality, proving along the way that back to business doesn't have to mean an absence of fun".[15] Narsimha Chintaluri of HipHopDX said, "The flows are slicker, and the hooks more engaging. His writing is still standard fare for Gucci, but he doesn't hesitate to play with his delivery".[13]

In a mixed review, The Guardian's Lanre Bakare stated: "These [guest appearances] are mostly successful, with Gucci's one-note delivery providing ballast for the crooning of Tiller, the emo-rap of Drake and the Auto-Tuned oddness of Scott. But Gucci is at his best when solo."[12] The Irish Times stated that "Mane gets on with the gig he's had all year long of celebrating the fact that he currently has his freedom back".[14] Chris Dart of Exclaim! said, "It comes in flashes, and then it's back to a sort of dull, flat affect".[11]

Track listing[edit]

The Return of East Atlanta Santa track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."St. Brick Intro"
2:25
2."I Can't"
3:28
3."Walk on Water"
  • Davis
  • Ricky Harrell, Jr.
Ricky Racks3:35
4."Both" (featuring Drake)
  • Metro Boomin
  • Southside
3:10
5."Stutter"
3:11
6."Drove U Crazy" (featuring Bryson Tiller)
OZ3:09
7."Crash"
TM883:03
8."Yet"
  • Davis
  • Lindstrom
  • K. Gomringer
  • T. Gomringer
  • Murda Beatz
  • Cubeatz
3:08
9."Nonchalant"
3:32
10."Last Time" (featuring Travis Scott)
Zaytoven4:08
11."Bales"
3:40
12."No Smoke"
3:48
13."Greatest Show on Earth"
  • Davis
  • Williams II
Mike Will Made It2:37
Total length:42:54

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[21] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Gucci Mane on Twitter: "#Woptober in the streets right now. Coming right back with #TheReturnOfEastAtlantaSanta on 12/16! RT that!!"". Twitter. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ "East Atlanta Santa 2 by Gucci Mane on Apple Music". iTunes Store. December 25, 2015. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ "Last Time (feat. Travis Scott) – Single by Gucci Mane on Apple Music". iTunes Store. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ "Drove U Crazy (feat. Bryson Tiller) – Single by Gucci Mane on Apple Music". iTunes Store. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ Goddard, Kevin (December 15, 2016). "Gucci Mane – Both Feat. Drake". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  6. ^ "Urban/UAC future releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on January 27, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  7. ^ "St. Brick Intro – Single by Gucci Mane on Apple Music". iTunes Store. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ "Stutter – Single by Gucci Mane on Apple Music". iTunes Store. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ^ a b "Reviews and Track for The Return of East Atlanta Santa by Gucci Mane". Metacritic. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  10. ^ Yeung, Neil Z. "The Return of East Atlanta Santa Review – Gucci Mane". AllMusic. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Dart, Chris (December 26, 2017). "Gucci Mane The Return of East Atlanta Santa". Exclaim!. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  12. ^ a b Bakare, Lanre (January 5, 2017). "Gucci Mane: The Return of East Atlanta Santa review – Christmas album with white stuff". The Guardian. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  13. ^ a b Chintaluri, Narsimha (January 5, 2017). "Gucci Mane The Return of East Atlanta Santa Album Review". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  14. ^ a b Carroll, Jim. "Gucci Mane – The Return of the East Atlanta Santa album review: Hip-hop and ho-ho-ho". The Irish Times. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  15. ^ a b Pagnani, Renato. "Gucci Mane: The Return of East Atlanta Santa". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  16. ^ "Gucci Mane Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  17. ^ "Gucci Mane Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  18. ^ "Gucci Mane Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  19. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  20. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  21. ^ "American album certifications – Gucci Mane – The Return of East Atlanta Santa". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
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