by Gucci Mane
There was one person who did. Todd Moscowitz. Todd had just been named president of Asylum Records, the storied label founded by the legendary David Geffen. Asylum built its reputation on classic rock but had reinvented itself by specializing in hip-hop and R & B. Todd had signed a bunch of artists from Houston, a hotbed of talent at the time. So he, more than any of the other label heads, seemed to be genuinely excited about music coming out of the South.
But I didn’t know what to make of this guy. Here was this white Jewish dude from New York City with a Mohawk basically telling me he wanted to write me a blank check. Somehow he got Lyor and Kevin Liles on board, and even the pioneering exec Chris Lighty was in the mix. Todd wanted me bad.
But his enthusiasm scared me off. I had trust issues from my dealings in the streets and I was coming from a group where our worst nightmare was getting fucked over in a deal. Todd telling me he’d give me whatever I wanted was just too brazen. So Jacob and I headed back to Atlanta without a deal. I didn’t know what to make of these labels, but my trip to New York had opened my eyes, giving me a sense of my worth in the larger industry.
Jacob wasn’t sold on doing a deal with the majors anymore either. He didn’t feel they understood the southern rap scene and was concerned that I’d be mismanaged as an artist under a New York–based label. So when we got back to Atlanta, Jacob set up a meeting with a small, local independent label named Big Cat Recordings.
Big Cat was Marlon Rowe. This man was fat as hell, well over three hundred pounds. He was a friend of Jacob’s from New York but was from Kingston, Jamaica, and had spent a good portion of his life in Fort Lauderdale. As funny-looking as this dude was, I quickly gathered he was no dummy and I sensed he’d been in the streets prior to the music game.
Cat was a street dude and a millionaire but he wasn’t the type to tell you all about it. He flew under the radar. Reserved and quiet, but a very smart, savvy independent businessman.
Like Grand Hustle, Cat wanted to do a fifty-fifty partnership, except that he offered money up front to reimburse me for all I’d spent investing in my career to date, which was a lot.
Doo Dirty, Red, and the rest of the Zone 6 Clique weren’t pleased with the idea of me signing with Big Cat. By no means were we broke, and the buzz from “So Icy” was getting bigger by the day. Why not just wait it out? But I saw things differently.
Unlike Doo Dirty, Cat had real experience putting out albums, and Big Cat Records was way more legit than Z6C. His other artists were bullshit but he had an office, studio, radio contacts, DJs in pocket, and a whole promotional street team. Plus Jacob would be involved and Jacob had a track record. I knew at this stage I was better positioned to make it if I partnered with these guys.
And that’s what I did. As part of a joint venture with Big Cat, with distribution through Tommy Boy Records, I formed my own label, LaFlare Entertainment.
As all this was going on Def Jam decided they wanted “So Icy” for Jeezy’s upcoming debut album. Jeezy was the shit at the time. He’d followed up The Streets Iz Watchin’ mixtape with Trap or Die, a release that was the soundtrack of the city. He was ridin’ with BMF, and they were running the show in Atlanta. He had a solo deal with Def Jam and then a group deal with Boyz N Da Hood under Puff Daddy’s Bad Boy Records.
But even with all that hype and industry backing, Jeezy didn’t have a breakout song. “So Icy” was the first time a Jeezy song had gone into radio rotation. Jeezy had “Over Here” and don’t get me wrong, that was definitely killing the clubs, but the radio wasn’t playing him. That wasn’t even out of the ordinary. That’s how records break out of Atlanta, from the strip clubs up. Having my second single played across the country—that was out of the ordinary.
Def Jam offered me a hundred thousand dollars for the rights to “So Icy.” Before that offer came in I’d finally met Meech, who wanted to get the song for himself and put his artist Bleu DaVinci on there. I requested some crazy amount from him and he passed. Even then Meech was cool about the situation and continued to promote the song in the clubs regardless. Meech and I were always cool. It wasn’t until I declined Def Jam that things started to turn sour.
•
Jeezy and I were never friends, but during the rise of “So Icy” we would occasionally hit the clubs to perform the record. When I turned down Def Jam’s offer, those joint performances stopped. Word was it was because Jeezy had a problem with me.
Jacob had known Jeezy for years, from when he was in south Georgia making crunk music as Lil’ J. So he set up a meeting at Piccadilly’s to squash whatever needed to get squashed. I’d been hearing all this junk in the streets, but I still had no idea where the bad blood was coming from. It wasn’t coming from me.
Right away it was clear nothing good was coming out of that meeting. The vibe was fucked. Honestly it caught me off guard. This guy had a real problem with me. It was no longer a business situation to sort out. It had become personal. Jacob was open to having the song included on both of our albums, but Def Jam wouldn’t agree because my album with Big Cat was scheduled to come out first. Jeezy had already put the song on his Trap or Die mixtape and we weren’t even tripping over that.
But he was pissed and couldn’t even say why.
“He knows what he did,” he mumbled, his eyes looking down at the table. That was all he said.
To his credit Jacob was able to convince Jeezy we should still shoot a video for “So Icy” and do a remix. It was no reconciliation but it would benefit both of us.
The plan was to pull Boo off the song, then Jeezy and I would record new verses for the remix. Jeezy did his and then stepped out to go to the bathroom or something. As I was recording mine Jeezy barged back into the studio.
“What the fuck?!” he shouted. “You got niggas out here trying to press me?!”
I exited the studio and found Black Magik, another rapper signed to Big Cat. Weapons had been drawn.
I wasn’t sure if Magik had tried to rob Jeezy or chump him, but some sort of altercation had just taken place. Jeezy was fuming and understandably so, and he was thinking I’d set him up. But I had no idea what was going on. So I was pissed too. What the fuck was Magik doing coming up to my session, pulling shit that was going to fuck up my money? I was here working and now Magik was coming in and causing problems.
I got Magik to leave and Jeezy seemed to understand that I hadn’t been involved. Still, he was furious. What could have been a final opportunity for us to find common ground became an opportunity for further conflict.
From there everything went downhill quick. I was working on finishing my album, but it seemed like half the city was beginning to turn on me. When Jeezy decided it was “Fuck Gucci,” a lot of dick riders seemed to fall in line out of fear of going against him and the crew he was running with. They were dominating Atlanta’s nightlife, so DJs started cutting off “So Icy” before my verse. My reputation in the city went from rising star to one-hit wonder.
•
That lit a fire inside me. I was hustling at my homeboy’s spot one day—when I wasn’t recording I was trappin’ heavy—and I’m hearing these niggas talk a whole bunch of junk about how Gucci Mane’s finished, that I’d never have another big record. I sat there taking it all in, watching the scene at the dope spot unfold. I grabbed a pen and a napkin and started writing.
Choppa on the floor, pistol on the couch
Hood rich so I never had a bank account
Junkies going in, junkies going out
Made a hundred thou, in my trap house
Money kinda short but we can work it out
Made a hundred thou, in my trap house
Bricks going in, bricks going out
Made a hundred thou, in my trap house
—“Trap House” (2005)
I didn’t even have a beat for this song but I knew it would be a hit. I decided then and there that I was no longer naming my debut album “So Icy.” It would be called Trap House and it would silence all the naysay
ers. I was charged up and three weeks later, my debut album was complete.
Jeezy showed up to Charlie Brown Field for the video shoot but neither of us had anything left to say. He’d been trying to blackball me in the city and it worked. But I knew I’d just made a great album and soon that would get me back in the fanfare. I just wanted to get this video shoot over with and be done with the guy. I was over this shit.
But it wasn’t over. At some point Black Magik took it upon himself to put out a whole bunch of songs dissing Jeezy, trying to use the Gucci-Jeezy beef to get himself some notoriety. Things were already bad, but when Magik put that shit on wax it added fuel to the fire. It also made everything public. There were no more whispers. Everything was out in the open and Jeezy was now in a spot where he really had no choice but to respond. But when he did, he didn’t come at Magik. He came at me.
I was on the road headed out of town for a pair of shows in Florida when I heard “Stay Strapped” on the radio. Jeezy talked a lot of shit on there, but it was something he said at the end that really got my attention. Something about how he had ten grand for whoever brought him my “So Icy” chain.
I remember at first I was just pissed that he was calling my chain some bullshit. I’d paid forty thousand dollars for that piece. Now folks were going to see me rocking it and might think it was fake. But then it hit me. If it was open season on my chain, it was open season on me. There was another bounty on my head.
IX
* * *
SPRINGSIDE RUN
This part has to be brief. There are some things I can never really talk about.
I wrote “Round 1,” my response to “Stay Strapped,” in the car coming back from Tampa. As soon as I got back to Atlanta I went to the studio to record it. Black Magik ended up coming by to tack on a verse. I wasn’t a fan of how Magik had involved himself in my and Jeezy’s fallout, but that didn’t matter anymore. I was at war and outnumbered. I needed all the allies I could get.
The dope game hard
The rap game easy
This is Round 1 of Gucci Mane vs. Jeezy
Gucci Mane vs. Jeezy
This is Round 1 of Gucci Mane vs. . . .
The East Atlanta boss
Dirty South like Slim Thugga
Jeezy couldn’t make a hit with a Louisville Slugga
Slapped Coach K, pissed on Slick Pulla
Punched Kinky B dead in his dick sucka
Poppin’ on the radio
Boy that’s a bitch thang
Ridin’ round with HB, smokin’ on the cheap junk
Played you out a verse ’cause I know you was a big crab
Made Lil’ Will sing the hook for a 50 slab
Did investigations, now I know ya background
Heard you from Hawkinsville
30 Miles from Mac Town
Think you got a buzz ’cause you known at Strokers?
Got 3 deals but the nigga still local
The dope game hard
The rap game easy
This is Round 1 of Gucci Mane vs. Jeezy
Gucci Mane vs. Jeezy
This is Round 1 of Gucci Mane vs. . . .
You a perfect example of what a crab is
Choppa hit ya make ya scream out ya ad-libs
Yeaaaaaahhhh, let’s get it
Gucci voice on it then the hood gon’ feel it
That 645 he leasin’ it
In “Icy” video wearin’ Meechy shit
3 cents off a album what Jeezy get
Put a dress on nigga you Meech’s bitch
You a thug imposta, you deserve an Oscar
Album ain’t hot, Def Jam finna drop ya
Hangin’ round the Ball Park, claimin’ you from Boulevard
Old ass Ferrari, you bought that shit from Pull-A-Part
Nothin’ to lose, nothin’ to prove
Might as well beef with ya, nothin’ betta to do
Think ya on ’cause you probably sold a bird or 2
Outside 285 no one has heard of you
Since I’d been out of town I already felt like I was late in responding to “Stay Strapped,” so “Round 1” needed to get out right away. Ace, my DJ and road manager at the time, told me he’d handle circulating the diss to the clubs and radio stations, but I thought this was something I needed to go out and put in people’s hands myself. I didn’t want anyone thinking I was hiding out while my DJ went around doing my bidding.
“Chill out, Ace,” I told him. “I’m just going to Blaze.”
My buddy had been fucking this stripper who danced at a club on Moreland called Blazin’ Saddles. This girl can be found in the album booklet of Trap House. She’s one of the two naked girls cooking crack on the stove. So I knew her too and I wanted to see if she could get the DJs at Blaze to play “Round 1” and some other new songs I had. So me and my friend went over there.
We weren’t at Blaze long before she and her friend invited us back to her place, a house located on a dead-end street in Decatur named Springside Run.
And that’s where it happened.
RAPPER WANTED IN SLAYING TURNS SELF IN
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 20, 2005
An up-and-coming Atlanta rapper whose debut album hits record stores Tuesday was expected to turn himself in to DeKalb County authorities Thursday night on a murder charge. The rapper, known as Gucci Mane, is wanted by DeKalb police in a shooting last week that left one man dead.
RAPPER IS WANTED AFTER SHOOTING DEATH
– The Augusta Chronicle, May 20, 2005
DECATUR - A murder warrant has been issued for the rapper known as Gucci Mane in a May 10 shooting in which a man was found dead, an attorney said.
The 25-year-old rapper, whose real name is Radric Davis, was notified Wednesday that he was wanted by DeKalb County authorities for the shooting of Henry Clark, said his attorney.
RAPPER WANTED FOR DEKALB MURDER SURRENDERS
– WSB-TV, May 20, 2005
Attorney for Man Says Shooting Was Self-Defense.
DECATUR - The rapper known as Gucci Mane turned himself in Thursday night after a murder warrant was issued for him in a May 10 shooting in which a man later was found dead.
ATLANTA RAPPER GUCCI MANE FACES MURDER CHARGE
– MTV, May 25, 2005
“Icy” Rapper Turned Himself in on Thursday, Claims He Fired in Self-defense.
X
* * *
THERE’S BEEN A MURDER
I was in New York City on set at BET’s Rap City when they told me. TRAP HOUSE was set to come out the following week.
For years I had imagined being a guest on Rap City and getting the chance to freestyle on Tha Basement. Now here I was, performing on TV, days away from the release of my debut album. I signed my name on the wall of the booth bigger than anyone else’s. I wanted everyone who stepped inside to see it. But my dream come true transformed into a nightmare when I walked off the set.
•
“We need to get you back to Atlanta,” Jacob told me. “There’s a murder warrant out for your arrest.”
There’s no good time to find out you’re wanted for murder, but learning like that, right there on the set of Rap City, fucked me up. There it was, right on the TV for everyone at BET to see: Gucci Mane was a murder suspect. Moments earlier I’d been on such a high, proud of myself, but the rug had been pulled out from under me.
Jacob took a flight back to Atlanta but I drove back with my buddy Throw, Ace, and my security guard. We wanted to avoid a scene at the airport in case the police tried to scoop me there.
That was a long, quiet drive. First we stopped in New Jersey to pick up weed and get White Castle burgers. That was my first time eating White Castle. Then we headed home.
I was smoking like a chimney the whole ride. We were burning so much that we had to find more by the time we reached Washington, DC. We also made it a point to stop at a few strip clubs on the way and fuck some hoes too. But all that was a diversion from the reality of my
situation.
I was sitting there in the backseat of that smoke-filled sedan, high as a jaybird, with John Legend’s “Ordinary People” playing over and over and over again. That was my favorite song at the time.
My nerves grew as we approached Georgia, knowing what awaited me.
“Let’s run, Throw,” I suggested at one point. “Let’s hide out in Alabama.”
“You can’t run, bro.” He laughed. “You’re too famous now. But don’t worry, we’ll beat this shit.”
I wasn’t so sure. Not a lot of people walked away from murder charges where I came from.
When we got to Atlanta we drove straight to the DeKalb County Jail; in the parking lot I met the attorney Jacob and Cat hired for me. He was an ex-cop turned defense attorney.
“Can you beat it?” I asked. Part of me still wanted to make a run for it.
“It’s going to take a lot,” he said. “But we can beat it.”
Our brief meeting was interrupted by the flash of cameras. The media had arrived and Channel 2 Action News wanted to know what I had to say for myself.
“He’s not going to say anything, okay?” my attorney told them. “He’s a murder suspect and I’m his lawyer and I’m not going to let him say anything. Basically what happened, to make a long story short, he visited a young lady, went over to her place. She was there, he was there. At one point she opened up a door. Five guys come running in. One of them had green tape. One of them had a weapon. One of them had brass knuckles and hit him with the brass knuckles, hit him real hard. The other guy who had a weapon hit the other guy with a weapon. It became a situation where he defended himself. One of the five guys yelled ‘Shoot him,’ or something to that effect. He grabbed a gun that was nearby and opened fire. He defended himself. It was just him and a girl in there and five guys came in there to hurt him.”