“I want you to see me for who I am,” Tama Gucci declares on his debut album Notes to Self, and what we see is nothing short of dazzling. The Miami-raised, NYC-based producer has spent years perfecting his craft in the underground, and this record feels like the moment he finally steps into the spotlight – though don’t expect him to play by anyone’s rules but his own.
Best known for turning warehouse raves into his personal laboratory, Gucci has concocted a debut that’s equal parts love letter to Y2K pop and love child of jungle breaks. On Runaway Pup, warped rock riffs collide with throttling beats and breathy vocals – think t.A.T.u meets Frou Frou. Didn’t Have To is a masterclass in rewiring R&B for the club, its tender confessions punctuated by seismic bass drops.
The record’s secret weapon is its ability to be brutally honest while keeping you moving. Good Morning Babe turns the banality of daybreak into something close to religious ecstasy, while See You Later makes post-breakup clarity sound like the world’s most cathartic rave.
There’s a delicious irony in how Notes to Self manages to sound both intensely personal and ruthlessly functional. Gucci has crafted these tracks to slip seamlessly into DJ sets, leaving just enough negative space for remixers to work their magic. It’s the work of someone who knows the dancefloor isn’t just an escape – it’s where we go to find ourselves.
By the time ambient pop darling Colle shows up to whisper sweet nothings on the brooding techno of You Lost Me, you’re fully invested in Gucci’s world – one where heartbreak and euphoria are just different shades of the same feeling, and every tear shed could be the start of the next big tune.
