by Gucci Mane
There was a lot to look forward to and I couldn’t wait to show every person who counted me out how mistaken they were. That my story wasn’t one to be pitied or laughed at but one to be inspired by. But I still had to prove that. Along with all the great things waiting for me out there was my biggest test. Keeping sober and working out and not letting this prison swallow me up had been the easy part. Soon I’d have to take my real stand.
My father used to say that if you keep looking back you’re going to trip going forward. That in life, sometimes you reach a fork in the road and you have to make a decision. Which direction will it be? Left or right?
To be firm in that decision you can’t keep looking back. You have to make peace with the past. It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time for wounds to heal. But I had time. Three years to think about it all. The relationships that matter most. The ones that have run their course. The mistakes I can’t afford to make again. My strengths. My shortcomings. My limits. The way I’ve got to respond when times get tough again because tough times are a part of life. It’s how you bounce back from those moments that make you who you are.
Three years to replay things in my head over and over and over until I stopped replaying them. Until I just let them go.
If you keep lookin’ back you gon’ trip going forward.
I’ve taken heed of that. To start a new chapter you’ve got to turn the page on the last one. Still, every now and then I do think it’s okay to stop and look back, just for a moment, before continuing on your way. Especially when it’s a hell of a story.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Gucci Mane would like to thank:
My wife, my brother Victor Davis, and all my fans.
Neil Martinez-Belkin would like to thank:
Gucci. What a journey it has been. Thank you for trusting me to help you tell your story. Such an honor. There are many things I respect and admire you for, my favorite might be your willingness to give anybody a shot. I’m forever grateful for mine.
My agent Robert Guinsler of Sterling Lord Literistic. Thank you for taking a chance on me and this book. For finding a home for it and sticking by me every step of the way.
My editor, Stuart Roberts, and the talented team at Simon & Schuster. Your entry into this project was a breath of fresh air. You guys were what this book needed when it needed it. Let’s do it again sometime.
I am indebted to so many of Gucci’s family members and friends for their contributions to this book, most of all Keyshia Ka’oir, Victor Davis, Brandon Putmon, Amanda Dudley, and Demeria Evans. Thank you for taking my calls and visits and always helping connect the dots.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their Gucci memories with me: Zaytoven, Mike WiLL Made It, Todd Moscowitz, Amina Diop, Sean Paine, Suge Sheppard, Fatboi, Kori Anders, Shawty Redd, Drumma Boy, Honorable C.N.O.T.E., DJ Drama, DJ Holiday, DJ Burn One, DJ Ace, DJ Mad Linx, Young Dolph, Jacob York, Johnny Cabbel, Harmony Korine, Caveman, Throwback, and Ralph Dudley.
Thank you to Geordie Wood, Zach Wolfe, Cam Kirk, Diwang Valdez, Quang Le, and Gunner Stahl, for blessing this book with your photographs and for your dedication to documenting culture in such striking ways.
Thank you to the staff at Atlantic Records for getting involved in this effort and supporting this book’s release.
To Benjamin Meadows-Ingram. Thank you for shepherding me throughout this process and for tossing me several alley-oops along the way for no reason other than that’s the type of person you are. I’m inspired by your character and I’ll pay it forward.
To Adam Fleischer. Thank you for putting me on and being the first person to ever put a dollar in my pocket for something I wrote. I never forgot it.
To the rest of the XXL gang: Carl Chery, Ralph Bristout, Tzvi Twersky, Eric Diep, Dan Buyanovsky, Sean Ryon, Manny Maduakolam, Jaeki Cho, Emily Cappiello, Mark Lelinwalla, Alex Gale, Vernon Coleman, Jayson Rodriguez, Mariel Concepcion, and Josh Clutter. Thank you for being friends and mentors as I was finding my footing in this industry.
Thank you to every writer and editor I’ve had the pleasure of working with and learning from as well as those whose work inspired me to think differently and step my game up.
To Paul. Thank you for supporting my writing from an early age and for all your words of wisdom and encouragement as I pursued this.
To my family and friends. Thank you for cheering me on as I chased a dream. I am one lucky guy.
To my parents. Thank you for teaching me about this world and giving me the compass I navigate it with.
And to Danielle. Thanks for being you and loving me. I love you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gucci Mane, born Radric Delantic Davis, is a critically acclaimed, platinum-selling recording artist. He has released eight studio albums and dozens of mixtapes. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, Keyshia Ka’oir. The Autobiography of Gucci Mane is his first book.
www.guccimaneonline.com
Twitter: @gucci1017
Instagram: @laflare1017
Snapchat: GuwopSnap
Facebook: Gucci Mane
Neil Martinez-Belkin is the former music editor at XXL Magazine and has written extensively about contemporary hip-hop with a regional focus on Atlanta. He lives in Boston.
Twitter: @neil_mb
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
SimonandSchuster.com
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Gucci-Mane
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Neil-Martinez-Belkin
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INDEX
A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning of that page in the print edition. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your reading system’s search function.
Ace, 93
Akon, 124
Alabama, 3–16, 17, 50, 57–60, 69, 80, 220
drug trade, 58–60
Allen, Albert, 52–53
AllHipHop.com, 207
America’s Most Wanted, 109
Anchor Hospital, 190
Anders, Kori, 231–32
Antney, Deborah, 117, 119–20, 124, 125, 132, 137, 146–47, 150, 152, 153, 155, 182–83, 198
A1 Recordings, 197
Army, US, 6, 35
Asylum Records, 83, 125, 129–33, 146, 152, 153, 171, 185
ATF, 249–50
Atlanta, 15–16, 17–26, 48, 50
drug trade, 18–19, 24–33, 44
Gucci moves to, 15–16, 17–26
rap, 46–53, 73–89, 197, 218
Atlanta Child Murders, 20
Atlanta Civic Center, 166
Atlantic Records, 82, 125, 152, 153, 214–15, 230, 236–37, 269
Gucci fired by, 236–38
ATL Twins, 211
Baby, 47, 51
“Bachelor Pad,” 143
“Back That Azz Up,” 130
Back to the Trap House, 129–33, 135, 136, 138, 139, 141, 152, 154, 166, 185, 214
“Bad Bad Bad,” 163, 164
Bad Boy Records, 85
Bam, 266, 268
“Bando,” 223
Bangladesh, 156–58
Bankhead, 120–21
Bankroll Fresh, 224–25, 267
BAYTL, 205
Beam Me Up Scotty, 138, 155
Beasley, 218, 267
Beastie Boys, 12
Benson, Ashley, 211
Bessemer, Alabam
a, 3–16, 17, 58
BET, 95
Hip Hop Awards, 164–66, 184–85
“Betcha Can’t Do It Like Me,” 120
“Better Baby,” 194
Beyoncé, 179
Big Boi, 155
Big Cat Records, 83–89, 103, 105, 115–18, 120, 121, 124–25, 130
Gucci’s departure from, 117–18
Big Dame, 187, 188
Bigga Rankin, 127, 138
Big Meech, 65, 77, 79, 85, 110
Big Tymers, 47
Billboard charts, 120, 135, 154
“Bingo,” 169
“Bird Flu,” 129, 131
Birdman, 254
Birmingham, Alabama, 58, 60, 69
Biz Markie, 12
Black Bike Week, 231
Black Magik, 86–87, 88
“Black Tee,” 73–79, 80, 120, 121, 130
remix, 75–79
video, 75
Blaze1, 135
Blazin’ Saddles, 93
Bleu DaVinci, 85
Blue Flame, 121, 122
BMF Records, 65, 77, 84, 105
Boogie Down Productions, 12
Boomtown, Mr., 169, 174, 211
boxing, 36, 124
“Boy from the Block,” 175
Boyz N Da Hood, 85
BP, 40, 41, 50, 57, 197
Brandy, 124
“Break Up,” 153–54, 165
Brick Factory, ix–xii, 217–32, 233–36, 253–55, 257
“Bricks,” 147
Brown, Chris, 211
BRRRUSSIA, 166
Bubba Sparxxx, 197
Bun B, 75–76, 79, 80
Burrprint, The, 165
Burrrprint (2), 174
Buy My Album, 185
Cam’ron, 81–82, 157, 168
Carbone, Bruce, 82
Carey, Mariah, 154–55, 209
cars, 51, 77, 82, 110, 126, 130, 132, 156, 178, 188
Cash Money Records, 47, 66–67, 255
C4, 225
Chalice Studios, 179
Chicago, 124
Chicken Talk, 123–25
Chief Keef, 225
Chinx Drugz, 267
Chopped and Screwed music, 61
Chubbie Baby, 160
Civil War, 18
Clark, Henry, 94
clothing, 65, 82, 213, 248, 269
Club Life, 175
clubs, 51, 74–75, 76, 77, 79, 85, 93, 121, 198
C-Murder, 51
Coach K, 76, 79, 155, 158, 160–64, 170, 187, 188, 194–96, 199
Cohen, Lyor, 82
Cold War, The, 166, 170
Cole, Keyshia, x, 163, 164, 174–77, 210
Gucci and, 174–77, 181, 183, 226–27, 235, 243–44, 247, 249, 265, 266, 268
“Colombia,” 220, 229
“Colors,” 131
Columbus, Ohio, 136–37
Come Up, The, 137
Confessions of a Thug, 78
CorrLinks, 268
crack, 19, 26, 27–33, 37, 44
Cristal, 77
Czar Entertainment, 124, 125, 131
Da Drought 3, 137
Daily Mail, 192
Dammers, Kim, xii, xiv
Danielle, 69–72, 108
Dash, Roscoe, 174
Davis, Bettie, 7
Davis, Clive, 125
Davis, Doug, 125
Davis, Radric. See Gucci Mane
Davis, Vicky Jean, 6–8, 9, 11, 13–16, 17–18, 20–21, 26, 35–36, 62–63, 71
childhood of, 7
relationship with son Gucci, 28–29, 43, 45, 50, 119–20, 235, 268
Davis, Victor (Duke), 8, 9, 11–17, 20, 24–25, 32–33, 35, 36, 46, 60, 62–63, 170, 235, 268
Davis, Walter, Jr. (Goat), 7, 9, 13
Davis, Walter Lee, 6, 7, 9–11, 13–14
“Decapitated,” 235, 236
Definition of a G, 142
Def Jam, 84–85, 86, 110
DeKalb County Jail, xv, 45, 48–49, 96, 101–6, 107, 201, 229, 243–47, 248
Dem Franchize Boyz, 73, 75, 120
Destiny’s Child, 147
Detroit, 8, 65, 124
D4L, 120
Diary of a Trap God, 235, 236
Diplo, 170
Dirty Money Records, 137
DJ Ace, 138
DJ Burn One, 121–23
DJ Drama, 121, 142–43, 166, 167–68
DJ Holiday, 137, 138, 147–49, 151, 166, 170, 185
DJ Khaled, 178
DJ Quik, 48
DJ Rell, 138
DJ Scream, 138, 166
DJ Screw, 61
Doe B, 267
Dolla Boy, 197
domestic violence, 35–36
Dontae, 41, 50
Doo Dirty, 64–72, 76, 77, 79, 84, 110, 251–52
Dope Jam Tour, 12
Drake, 174, 198
Dreezy, 256
drugs, 18–19, 73, 124, 261–62, 267
Alabama trade, 58–60
Gucci as dealer of, 24–33, 37–39, 44–47, 55–60, 66, 121
Gucci as user of, 29–31, 61, 64, 135, 143–44, 156–66, 167, 177, 179, 181–85, 187–90, 210, 233–41, 261–62
Drumma Boy, 138, 150, 168, 173–74, 193, 207, 208, 220
Dudley, George, Sr., 3–4
Dudley, James, Jr., 18
Dudley, James, Sr., 4–5, 8
Dudley, Ralph Everett, 5, 7–8, 17–18
childhood of, 5–6
as con artist and addict, 6, 8, 21–24, 29, 36
domestic violence charges, 35–36
relationship with son Gucci, 13, 18, 21–24, 29, 36, 156, 269
“Duffle Bag Boy,” 197
Dungeon Family, 78, 197
Dupri, Jermaine, 155
Dutty Laundry, 138
EA Sportscenter, 138, 147
“East Atlanta 6,” 139–40
East Shoals Boys, 39–41
Eazy–E, 47
ecstasy, 64
EDM, 170
E–40, 48
8Ball, 47, 51
808 Mafia, 225
Ellenwood, Georgia, 17–18, 21–22, 39
Envyi, 155
Epps, Mike, 168
Eric B. & Rakim, 12
Evans, Clay, 79–80, 111
“Everybody Lookin,” 174
Eye Candy, 174
Fader magazine, 269
“Fallin,” 179
“Fancy Bitch,” 227
fans, 169–70, 171, 181, 249
white hipsters, 169–70
Fatboi, 131, 138, 150–53, 168
Fat Joe, 125
FBI, 104–5
Federal Bureau of Prisons, 262
Fendi, 137
Ferrari Boyz, 200
Fetty Wap, 256
films, 209–11, 226
“First Day Out,” 148–50, 173
Florida, 64, 88, 104–6, 176–79
Fly Kix, 229, 230
football, 15, 20, 35, 112, 254
Fordham, Daron “Southboy,” 78
404 Soldierz, 81
Foxx, Jamie, 154
Franco, James, 210
“Freaky Gurl,” 129–32, 135, 137, 152
Freebandz, 229
Free Bricks, 200, 206, 219
Free Gucci, 170
Freeman, Olivia (Madear), 5, 8, 11, 13, 18
freestyling, 139–42, 148–49, 156–58, 173, 206, 267
Frenchie, 132, 137, 219
Fresh, Doug E., 12
From Zone 6 to Duval, 138
“Frowny Face,” 69
FTC Oklahoma City, 262
“Fuck Da World,” 213
Fulton County Jail, 106–13, 144–47, 166–72, 197, 201, 247, 261
Future, 197–200, 213, 219–20, 229
gambling, 22, 23, 156, 255
Game, 124, 125, 131
Gangsta Boo, 154
Gangsta Grillz, 121, 142
Garrett, Sean, 153
Gas, 235
Geffen, David, 83
Georgia, 16, 17–26, 47–48, 50, 53, 5
7, 64
First Offenders Act, 45
Georgia Perimeter College, 43–44, 46, 159
Georgia’s Most Wanted: The Appeal, 177, 179, 180, 181, 183, 184–85, 193, 194, 214
sales, 185
Geter, Jason, 80
Ghetty Green, 51
Goger, John J., 190
“Go Head,” 117, 119, 125
Gomez, Selena, 211
Goodie Mob, 197
Grady Hospital Detention Center, 189, 240, 241, 243
Grammys, 170
Grand Hustle, 79–81, 84
Great Brrritain, 166
Greenwald, Julie, 236, 237
“Gucci Bandana,” 148, 165
Gucci brand, 5
Gucci Mane:
as an actor, 209–11, 226
Alabama roots of, 3–16, 57–60, 69
assault charges and plea deals, 105–13, 116–17, 189–90, 195–96, 201, 228–29, 233, 247, 250, 261
Asylum deal, 125, 129–33, 152, 153, 185
Big Cat Records and, 83–89, 103–6, 115–17, 120, 121, 124–25, 130
birth of, 8
Brick Factory and, ix–xii, 217–32, 233–36, 253–55, 257
childhood of, 9–26
critics on, 169, 180, 184, 185, 207–8
debut album, 88, 93, 95, 102–4, 115, 117
as a drug dealer, 24–33, 37–39, 44–47, 55–60, 66, 121
drug use by, 29–31, 61, 64, 135, 143–44, 156–66, 167, 177, 179, 181–85, 187–90, 210, 233–41, 261–62
early music career, 46–53
education of, 20–21, 29, 40, 43–44, 46, 49
as a father, 163–64, 266
first arrest, 44–47
freestyling, 139–42, 148–49, 156–58, 173, 206, 267
influence on other rappers, 256–58
in jail, 45, 48–49, 101–13, 144–47, 166–72, 189, 196–97, 201, 229, 243–70
Keyshia and, 174–77, 181, 193, 226–27, 235, 243–44, 247, 249, 265, 266, 268
lean addiction, 60–64, 135–36, 156, 181–82, 210, 226, 233–34, 237, 244–46, 261
Nicki Minaj and, 137–38, 179
money and, 21, 24–33, 46, 56, 82, 115–17, 125, 130, 136, 156, 179, 184, 214, 217, 233, 234, 254, 258, 266
monikers of, 52–53, 214
move to Atlanta, 15–16, 17–26
Gucci Mane (cont.)
murder charge against, 93–97, 101–13, 127
1017 Brick Squad and, 153, 165, 171–72, 219–23, 229–30, 254, 255
opiate withdrawal, 244–45
paranoia and self-destructive behavior, 181–85, 187–93, 233–41
probation and community service, 143–44, 158, 167, 196, 201, 247–48