It was June 2014. The Tumblr era was peaking. Black skinny jeans and leather jackets were the unofficial uniform of every teenager trying to look cool on the internet. Then came Gerald Gillum. Most people just knew him as G-Eazy, the lanky kid from Oakland with the slicked-back hair who looked more like a 1950s greaser than a modern rapper. When the G-Eazy album These Things Happen finally dropped, it didn't just debut at number three on the Billboard 200. It shifted the trajectory of white rappers in the post-Eminem landscape.
Honestly, it’s hard to overstate how much this record felt like a moment.
Before this, G-Eazy was a relentless touring machine. He was playing Warped Tour. He was opening for Lil Wayne. He was selling out small clubs while handing out mixtapes like The Endless Summer. But These Things Happen was different. It was his major-label debut under RCA and BPZ, and it carried the weight of a local hero trying to go global. It succeeded. People weren't just listening to the music; they were buying into the aesthetic. The booze, the heartbreak, the blurry nights in San Francisco, and the relentless ambition. It was all there.
The Sound of the Bay Meets Global Ambition
You can’t talk about the G-Eazy album These Things Happen without talking about Christoph Andersson. He was the secret sauce. While everyone else in 2014 was chasing DJ Mustard’s "ratchet" sound or heavy trap drums, Andersson and Gerald crafted something moody. It was cinematic. It felt like driving through the Berkeley hills at 2:00 AM with the windows down.
Songs like "I Mean It" became instant anthems. It’s a ridiculous song if you think about the lyrics too hard—Gerald is essentially just bragging about being better than you—but the Remo the Hitmaker production was undeniable. It was catchy. It was arrogant. It was exactly what the mid-2010s wanted.
But then you have the title track, "These Things Happen." It’s slower. It’s introspective. It deals with the weird, often uncomfortable transition from being a broke college student at Loyola University New Orleans to being a guy who can’t walk down the street without getting recognized. That duality is what made the album stick. It wasn’t just party music. It was the sound of a guy realized his life was changing in real-time.
The Tracklist That Defined a Generation
Look at the features. You had A$AP Ferg on "Lotta That," which gave the album some New York grit. You had E-40 on "Far Alone," which was a massive nod to G-Eazy's Bay Area roots. Getting 40 Water on your debut is like a literal baptism for any Northern California artist. It’s a stamp of approval that says, "Yeah, he’s one of us."
"Far Alone" is arguably the heart of the album. It’s an ode to his upbringing, his friends who stayed down since day one, and the reality of the grind. "I'm just a guy from the Town," he raps. It felt authentic because, at the time, it was. He wasn't the superstar he is now. He was a guy who had spent years in a van.
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Then there’s "Tumblr Girls."
If any song captures the specific cultural zeitgeist of 2014, it’s this one. Featuring Christopher Andersson, it’s a hazy, drug-fueled trip through the world of internet-famous aesthetics. It’s melancholy. It’s beautiful. Even now, nearly twelve years later, that song gets millions of streams. It tapped into a specific loneliness that existed on the early social media web.
Why Critics Were Split But Fans Were Obsessed
Critics weren't always kind. Some called it "frat rap" or dismissed Gerald as a vanilla version of Drake. Pitchfork wasn't exactly handing out 9.0 scores. They saw the polish and the image and assumed there wasn't any substance.
They were wrong.
The fans saw something else. They saw a DIY success story. G-Eazy wasn't an industry plant; he had built his following brick by brick. By the time the G-Eazy album These Things Happen arrived, he already had a cult-like fan base. The album went Gold by 2015 and eventually hit Double Platinum. That doesn't happen by accident. It happens because people feel a connection to the narrative.
The album explores a lot of dark themes that get glossed over in the faster tracks. "Opportunity Cost" is a heavy look at what you lose when you chase fame. You lose time with your family. You lose your privacy. You lose the person you were before the money showed up. Gerald’s flow is simple, sure, but his storytelling on this specific record was sharp. He knew exactly who he was talking to.
The Production Quality
We need to give more credit to the engineering. This album sounds expensive. The low-end is thick, the synths are lush, and the vocal layering is crisp. For a debut, the sonic cohesion is incredible. Most debut albums are a mess of different styles as the artist tries to find their "voice." On These Things Happen, G-Eazy had already found it. He knew he was the "James Dean of Rap." He leaned into the aesthetic of the black T-shirt and the Saint Laurent boots.
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The Cultural Ripple Effect
What happened after this album? The floodgates opened. G-Eazy became a fixture on Top 40 radio with "Me, Myself & I" on his follow-up album, but the foundation was laid here.
Without the G-Eazy album These Things Happen, the Bay Area might not have had that specific bridge to the mainstream in the 2010s. He brought a certain level of pop sensibility to the Hyphy-adjacent culture he grew up in. He made it accessible without completely stripping away its soul.
It also proved that an independent-minded artist could transition to a major label without losing their core identity. He kept his producers. He kept his friends. He kept his style.
- Commercial Success: Debut at #3 on Billboard.
- Longevity: "Tumblr Girls" and "I Mean It" are still staples in DJ sets and playlists.
- Aesthetic Impact: Defined the "dark pop-rap" look of the mid-2010s.
- Regional Pride: Solidified Oakland's place in the modern rap conversation.
Revisiting the Album Today
Listening back in 2026, the album holds up surprisingly well. It doesn't feel as "dated" as some other records from that era. Maybe it's the moody production. Maybe it's the fact that the themes of ambition and the pitfalls of partying are timeless.
Is it a perfect album? No. There are moments where the lyrics feel a bit thin, and the "pretty boy" persona can feel a little repetitive. But as a debut, it’s a masterclass in branding and vibes. It told the world exactly who G-Eazy was and exactly what he stood for.
He wasn't trying to be Kendrick Lamar. He wasn't trying to be Jay-Z. He was trying to be the coolest guy in the room who also happened to be slightly miserable despite having everything he ever wanted. That’s a relatable angle for a lot of people. It’s the "success is great but it kind of sucks" trope, and he played it perfectly.
Key Insights for Fans and Artists
If you are a new fan discovering the G-Eazy album These Things Happen for the first time, or an artist looking to replicate that success, here are the takeaways.
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First, niche is better than broad. Gerald leaned into his specific look and his specific Bay Area background. He didn't try to appeal to everyone; he appealed to the kids who felt like him.
Second, production is everything. The partnership with Christoph Andersson was the most important part of this record. Finding a producer who understands your "world" is better than buying a beat from a big name.
Lastly, the "hustle" is real. This album was the result of five years of constant touring and smaller releases. It looks like an overnight success, but it was a long road.
To truly appreciate the record now, listen to it from start to finish on a night drive. Skip the singles. Listen to "Almost Famous" and "Been On." Look at the way the album flows from high-energy bangers to low-energy reflections. It’s a snapshot of a moment in time that hasn't quite faded yet.
Next Steps for the Listener:
- Check the Deluxe Tracks: Songs like "Get Away" and "Netflix" (with Rockie Fresh) provide more context to the hedonistic lifestyle Gerald was living during the recording process.
- Watch the "These Things Happen" Documentary: It’s available on YouTube and shows the grueling tour schedule that led up to the album's release.
- Compare to "These Things Happen Too": His 2021 sequel offers a fascinating look at how his perspective changed after seven years of superstardom. The contrast in maturity and tone is striking.
- Explore the Producers: Look into Christoph Andersson’s other work to see how that "moody Bay" sound evolved after 2014.
The G-Eazy album These Things Happen remains the high-water mark for a specific era of hip-hop. It’s the record that turned a local kid into a global force, and it did so without sacrificing the aesthetic that made him unique in the first place. Whether you love him or hate him, you have to respect the blueprint he created.