| Trap Back | ||||
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| Released | February 5, 2012 | |||
| Recorded | December 2011 | |||
| Studio | PatchWerk Recording Studios, Atlanta | |||
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| Length | 64:05 | |||
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| Producer | ||||
| Gucci Mane chronology | ||||
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Trap Back is a mixtape by American rapper Gucci Mane. The mixtape was released online on February 5, 2012, coinciding with Super Bowl Sunday, at 10:17 a.m.—a reference to Gucci Mane's label, 1017 Bricksquad. It was Gucci Mane's first major recording project following his release from jail at the end of 2011, after spending a total of six months incarcerated that year. Trap Back was conceived as a "comeback mixtape" to revive the rapper's reputation and career, which had stalled for years due to ongoing legal troubles and other personal setbacks.
Hosted by DJ Holiday, Trap Back features 19 tracks of trap music by nine producers: Mike Will Made It, Zaytoven, Southside, Sonny Digital, Lex Luger, Polow da Don, Fatboi, and K.E. on the Track. Lyrically, Gucci Mane raps on the mixtape about topics familiar to his past work, such as drugs, sex, and life in the trap. There are guest appearances from Future, 2 Chainz, Waka Flocka Flame, Jadakiss, Yo Gotti, Rocko, and Chilly Chill. According to reviewers, the mixtape's musical moods and lyrical tones fluctuate from the menacing and sinister to the playful and humorous.
The recording sessions marked Gucci Mane's first sustained collaboration with Mike Will Made It, who was at the time an up-and-coming producer in the Atlanta hip hop scene. While the two had previously worked together on individual tracks, Gucci Mane's lead producer had usually been Zaytoven; Mike Will had never before been as deeply involved with the rapper's musical direction or recording process until these sessions. In addition to producing five songs, Mike Will stayed in-studio for the duration of the sessions to provide the rapper with both encouragement and, at times, blunt critiques. Though Gucci Mane was unaccustomed to recording with a producer who had such a demanding, unvarnished approach, he came to appreciate the creative results of their collaboration.
Trap Back, and especially the song "Plain Jane", were popular successes for Gucci Mane. On the mixtape website DatPiff, Trap Back has been designated "2× Platinum" with over 500,000 downloads. Critics generally praised the mixtape for Gucci Mane's clever lyricism and its innovative production, particularly Mike Will Made It's contributions. Most reviews cited the mixtape as a marked improvement compared to Gucci Mane's recent preceding material. In retrospect, critics and Gucci Mane himself have described the mixtape as the launch of a mid-career resurgence in both the quality of his music and his popularity.