Ganger is the debut studio album by American rapper Veeze, released on June 27, 2023, through Navy Wavy and Warner Records. It follows his 2019 debut mixtape Navy Wavy and features collaborations with Lucki, Babyface Ray, Icewear Vezzo, Lil Yachty, and Lil Uzi Vert. The album received acclaim from critics, several of whom ranked it as one of the best albums of the year. It peaked at number 97 on the US Billboard 200.

Ganger
A caricature of Veeze falling through the sky holding a microphone, as pills and cups of lean fall around him
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 27, 2023 (2023-06-27)
GenreHip hop
Length59:20
Label
Veeze chronology
Navy Wavy
(2019)
Ganger
(2023)

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]
HipHopDX4.5/5[2]
Pitchfork8.0/10[3]

Matthew Ritchie of Pitchfork wrote that Veeze "wield[s] vocal oddities and chuckle-inducing, stream-of-consciousness bars" and "oscillates between laid-back joints fit for an evening smoke session (the penultimate 'Tony Hawk' and dreamy 'Safe 2') and boisterous, percussive beats that could soundtrack a late-night car chase ('OverseasBaller')".[3] Reviewing the album for HipHopDX, Yousef Srour noted that "at no point on Ganger [...] does he lend himself to any singular subgenre, theme, or era within Hip Hop", describing it as a "drug-induced coma of shit-talking, flexing, reflections on an assortment of lovers, and babbles of unusually mundane banter with Lil Uzi Vert".[2] AllMusic's Fred Simpson felt that "Veeze's entire style seems to be centered around trying hard to sound unfazed, yet he does appear to be putting effort into his witty rhymes and clever pop culture references. His delivery on Ganger is even more mush-mouthed than it was before, but it fits the syrupy, not-quite-trap beats".[1]

Ganger on year-end lists
Publication Accolade Rank
Complex[4] The Best Albums of 2023
16
The Fader[5] The 50 Best Albums of 2023
20
Pitchfork[6] The 50 Best Albums of 2023
35
Rolling Stone[7] The 100 Best Albums of 2023
39
Stereogum[8] The 50 Best Albums of 2023
33
The Washington Post[9] Best Albums of 2023
2

Track listing

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Ganger track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Not a Drill"3:44
2."OverseasBaller"2:10
3."No Sir Ski"2:20
4."You Know I"2:16
5."GOMD"2:51
6."Sexy Liar"2:20
7."Broke Phone" (featuring Lucki)3:28
8."7sixers" (featuring Babyface Ray and Icewear Vezzo)3:00
9."Robert de Niro"3:03
10."Boat Interlude" (featuring Lil Yachty)2:37
11."Tramp Stamp"2:32
12."Weekend"2:38
13."Kinda $"2:53
14."GAIG"2:59
15."Whoda1"3:32
16."Unreleased Leak"3:33
17."Lick"2:13
18."Safe 2"2:31
19."Gangermatic"2:35
20."Tony Hawk"1:29
21."GOMD" (featuring Lil Uzi Vert; remix)4:36
Total length:59:20
Ganger deluxe tracks
No.TitleLength
1."Get Lucki"2:59
2."Rich No Duh"2:18
3."Luv the Tour"2:23
4."Rich Rockstar"2:10
5."Amusing"2:39
Total length:71:49

Notes

  • The deluxe edition adds the five additional tracks as the first five, moving the original 21 tracks from 6–26.
  • "You Know I" contains a sample of "Thuggish Ruggish Bone", written by Anthony Henderson, Stanley Howse, Bryon McCane, Kenneth McCloud, Steven Howse, Tim Middleton, and Charles Scruggs, as performed by Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony.
  • "Sexy Liar" features uncredited vocals from Lil Uzi Vert.
  • "You Know I" is stylized as "You know i".
  • "Sexy Liar" is stylized as "SEXY liar".
  • "Broke Phone" is stylized as "Broke phone".
  • "Tramp Stamp" is stylized as "tramp Stamp".
  • "Whoda1" is stylized as "WHOda1".
  • "Unreleased Leak" is stylized as "Unreleased leak".
  • "Lick" is stylized in all caps.

Charts

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Chart performance for Ganger
Chart (2023) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[10] 97
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[11] 41

References

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  1. ^ a b Simpson, Paul. "Veeze – Ganger Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Srour, Yousef (August 11, 2023). "Veeze Ganger Album Review". HipHopDX. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Ritchie, Matthew (July 5, 2023). "Veeze: Ganger Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  4. ^ Rose, Jordan (December 15, 2023). "Best Albums of 2023: Doja Cat, Gunna, Drake, Bad Bunny". Complex. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  5. ^ Helfand, Raphael (December 12, 2023). "The 50 best albums of 2023". The Fader. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  6. ^ Hyland, Samuel (December 5, 2023). "The 50 Best Albums of 2023". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  7. ^ Reeves, Mosi (November 30, 2023). "The 100 Best Albums of 2023". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  8. ^ Srour, Yousef (December 5, 2023). "The 50 Best Albums of 2023". Stereogum. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  9. ^ Richards, Chris (December 6, 2023). "The best albums of 2023: Top pop from Peso Pluma to Sexyy Red". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  10. ^ "Billboard 200: Week of July 15, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  11. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Week of July 15, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2023.