Freaky Gurl Pits Gucci Mane Against Big Cat Records

Gucci Mane - Trap-A-Thon [on Big Cat Records]

When I saw that Gucci Mane's upcoming Atlantic release, Back To The Traphouse, was preceded by a Big Cat Records release, Trap-A-Thon, I assumed Big Cat was doing the usual, dragging out old tracks from a star that's gone on to bigger things and trying to squeeze out some more bucks in the process.

When Gucci Mane released a statement condemning Big Cat Records for the "unauthorized" release of Trap-A-Thon, it seemed to confirm that reading.  However Jeff Leeds of the NY Times digs in to the story behind current court proceedings to reveal Big Cat Records may have been the ones wronged.

The short version:
Gucci Mane leaves Big Cat Records for Atlantic Records, can't get a hit single but his earlier Big Cat release, Hard To Kill, has one with Freaky Gurl.

Maybe Atlantic tried to buy the use of Freaky Gurl and maybe Big Cat asked too much but suddenly Gucci Mane's got a new recording of Freaky Gurl featuring Ludacris out without having cleared up issues with Big Cat Records.

Big Cat retaliates with their own Freaky Gurl remix and the release of Trap-A-Thon to which Gucci Mane and Atlantic Records yell foul.

I'm not sure what to think of this but mostly I see gangsters over here and gangsters over there.

So why am I running the cover of Trap-A-Thon and not that of Back To The Traphouse?  Because Big Cat Records posted the cover art at Amazon while Atlantic has not.  While that doesn't prove that Big Cat is doing a better promotional job than Atlantic, let's use that as an excuse to give Big Cat Records' Marlon Rowe the last words:

Mr. Rowe, watching to see where his new Gucci Mane release enters the chart this week, sees the affair as a sign of the scrambles set off as rap sales continue a drastic decline.

"It's hard to get a real hit record," he said. "We spent a lot of money getting this guy hot." Atlantic, he added, is unfairly sponging off of his own promotional efforts. "They want you to do all the groundwork and then come and take all the credit, like they're the one who made this artist who he is. I really think it's a desperate move."