Rapper Gunplay

When Florida rapper Gunplay released his Almost Free album back in April, the accolades simply rained down. Fresh off the success of his sophomore set and those shattering collaborations with Pharrell Williams, Kendrick Lamar and Lil Wayne, it felt like Gunplay couldn’t aim any higher.

Then George Lynch arrived. A staple of the same late 70s Sunset Strip scene that bred Quiet Riot and Van Halen, Lynch was a co-founder of the mighty Dokken; and has been ranked among Gibson’s Top 10 Metal Guitarists of All Time, and Guitar World’s 50 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

And still “Ain’t No Love,” the stunning collaboration that pairs Lynch with Gunplay, can be rated one of his greatest performances ever.

“I cannot tell you how much fun I had with this track,” exclaims Lynch. “That week we got three different projects to work on and two of them were, you know, straight up rock tracks that I did some solos and maybe a little rhythm on and it was fine. They came out great.

“Then I got to the third track, Gunplay, and I just lit up, smiled ear to ear and I played over everything I could get my hands and guitar on. I probably overdid it, but you know what? I would’ve kept playing if we hadn’t run out of time in the studio. I’ve been really craving to get on a track like this and see what I can do with it, put my style of riffage on it.”

Dramatically overseen by Derek Hughes (Missing Persons, Dead Groove, Cherie Currie), “Ain’t No Love” manifests today in two startling incarnations, the Mobbed Mix and the Recoil Mix. Both, needless to say, are very aptly titled.

In addition, the single includes instrumental versions of both, with Lynch’s shredding guitar solidly to the forefront, but without losing an iota of Gunplay’s personal passion and power.

Crank it up!