As a kid growing up just south of Atlanta, rapper Gunna, a.k.a. Sergio Kitchens (born 1993), used to practice what he and his friends called “six-month runs”: cut all extraneous spending for six months and save, save, save. The discipline and deferred gratification served him well: After spending his late teens and early twenties quietly exploring his style and releasing only one mixtape, Gunna broke big in 2016 with a feature on Young Thug’s “Floyd Mayweather”—a cosign that helped him bypass the hustle and made him one of the most sought-after new voices in the game. Later that year, Thug’s YSL label released the first of his multi-part Drip Season series, which synthesized his influences into an airy trap sound: smooth and mellow, blending spacious beats with a relaxed, highly melodic delivery and off-the-cuff humor. Between a couple more seasons of Drip and features with Travis Scott (“Yosemite”) and Metro Boomin (“Space Cadet”), Gunna also forged a productive collaboration with Atlanta rapper Lil Baby, releasing Drip Harder in late 2018. The pairing was anointed GOAT status from a sometime GOAT himself, Future, with whom Gunna also featured on “Unicorn Purp.” Like Thug, Gunna has a thing for fashion; “drip” is his slang for personal style. “The salesmen that know me in Barneys say I smell like Biscotti mixed with Creed,” he raps on “Idk Why,” from his official 2019 debut album, Drip or Drown 2. In subsequent years, Gunna propelled himself to new heights, with albums like WUNNA (2020) and DS4EVER (2022) crystallizing his status as one of Atlanta's most dynamic stylists. The latter LP produced "pushin P," a single assisted by Young Thug and Future that bubbles with charisma and understated yet emphatic authority. Unfortunately, it was the last moment before Gunna was arrested and jailed as part of Georgia's RICO case against Young Thug. Following his release from jail in late 2022, Gunna returned with a Gift & a Curse. Fueled by his indelible single "fukumean," the single reestablished his status as a master of melody and dismissive cool.