It’s said that art mirrors life. In hip-hop’s case, there’s always been a deliberate entanglement of perception and reality. Fans demand their MCs be real…but never too real. Successful hip-hop is about the hint of the danger, the tease of it, the mystique. Hip-hop is about balance.
Gucci Mane is an artist striving for that balance, volatility versus musicality. Controversy, including a feud with former collaborator Young Jeezy, has grabbed the headlines, with insufficient regard paid to his considerable mic skills, raw talent, and business acumen. Gucci is looking to wrest his name from public speculation and let his own words do the talking.
“I wish everybody well who’s making money in this rap game,” the Atlanta-raised rapper says, dismissing the controversy that followed him in the past. “My own rap game is going so good, I’ve got so many things on my plate at my label, that I don’t got time for other people’s business.” With a deal with Asylum Records as the boss of his own label, So Icey Entertainment, Gucci does indeed have a full schedule with no time to dwell on the past.
“I live my life with no regrets. I just wish that a lot of things never happened, but anybody can wish,” says Gucci. Sounds like a man with his eyes on the prize. And you’d expect nothing less from an artist who ground his way to the top via the hustle of independent records. Signing to Big Cat Records in the wake of his local single “Black Tee,” he dropped his debut record, Trap House, in May 2005. The independent album moved an impressive 140,000 units, largely on the strength of the “Icy” single, featuring Jeezy. Clamor over song rights sparked dispute, and the resulting rift grew.
Controversy notwithstanding, Mane’s independence was cemented: “I was on the independent scene for about two years,” he recalls. “It’s crazy! You gotta go into your own pocket to support your craft. You need other avenues to have money coming in, to support your stuff. You might win, you might lose, and it’s a gamble out there with the independent circuit. One thing you’d better have is good music because without that, you go downhill fast in the independent game.”
Good music firmly in hand, Gucci was fast approaching stardom when more tragedy befell him. But let’s backtrack; how did the man born Radric Davis in Bessemer, Alabama, become Gucci Mane, mouthpiece for Atlanta stuntin’? Mane remembers little from his time in Alabama, just that it was rural, and that it’s changed dramatically since he left at the age of nine. “I gotta shout out Alabama though, because they holdin’ it down,” he affirms. “Every time I go there to do a show, I’m impressed with how hip-hop culture has taken root.”
Mane’s identity coalesced when he moved with his mother to Atlanta. “I lived all of my adolescent and adult life in Atlanta,” he explains. “I’m from East Atlanta Zone Six; it was hard, man, it was real rough. I grew up in the Starter jacket era: they’d take your Starter jacket, your 8Ball jacket, they’d take your hat, your shoes. It was just no holds barred on the streets, dog eat dog. If you missed the bus, you had to be crewed up or you’d get jumped. It was wild when I came up.”
It’s a bleak portrait. When asked to describe his home life more vividly, Mane offers a look into his contemplative side, a side honed as a schoolyard poet. “I was just a young dude in a single parent house most of my life. I can’t complain that much. I would guess it’s like any black child growing up in a single parent household. There are a lot of people who know how that is. I didn’t have a lot coming up; but what I did have, I appreciated. I was blessed to have a caring mother to raise me right and to help me with my business ventures; she’s been there through the whole struggle. There’s a lot that goes along with that; it made me who I am today.”
A stepfather would enter the picture during Mane’s adolescence, introducing not only a male figure, but also inspiration for Mane’s unusual moniker. “My father came in, the original Gucci Mane; that’s what people in the neighborhood called him, and that’s where I get my name from. From then on, I grew up the son of a hustler and a schoolteacher; it was the best of both worlds because I was educated twice.” Drawing inspiration from a pantheon of rappers before him –Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, Ice Cube, the Beastie Boys, N.W.A—Mane went on to release Trap House, a lethal brew of his signature sound: “I call my music straight Gucci: going hard and whatever beats you make you for me, if I’m feeling it, if I’m rocking with it, I’m gonna crush it. When you hear me, you hear a lot of pain, a lot of hood; you hear what’s going on in the inner city in Atlanta.”
Unfortunately, Trap House was ill timed; the month of its release, Gucci was accused of murder and jailed for two days. Eventually deemed to be acting in self-defense, and without sufficient evidence to hold him, Mane was exonerated. But the ordeal left an indelible imprint on the man. “I learned to keep better company, watch where I go, and be mindful of my surroundings at all times,” he reveals. “Watch what I say, watch what I do and how I do it, just keep myself out of the wrong crowd.”
“I always stand up man,” he continues. “I’m one of the toughest guys I know. It’ll take a lot more than that to break me down.” Undeterred, Mane was back in the studio, preparing 2006’s eerily apropos Hard To Kill. The buzz from Hard To Kill vaulted Gucci Mane from regional commodity to national treasure, and major labels responded accordingly: “There was a bidding war going on, and I liked Atlantic’s approach. They made it known that they wanted me, they felt where I was going and that I could grow with them.”
Asylum/Atlantic Records welcomed Gucci Mane in early ’07, granting him his own imprint, So Icey Entertainment. With it comes an entire stable of artists, the So Icey Boyz. As the Boyz ready for their own exposure –“I got them in training; they be in the weight room, pumping iron, doing pushups, shopping at the mall, buying ice”—Gucci is focused on his magnum opus, Back to the Trap House. “I started working on the album, and by the third song, I was like ‘This is going back to the Trap House.’ I started feeling the same way I did when I made my first album. It had the same feel to it, the same freshness. And I had the same hunger and desire I had when I first started rapping.”
“Since I went major, I want everybody to know I’m still keeping it street, keeping it hood,” Gucci maintains. “I’m trying to take it back to all my fans that I had when I first started my career. And at the same time, I’m trying to open up my new album to a new fan base. So it’s a mix for everybody coming together, like my first album was.” Gucci has always prided himself on his innate ability, and his refusal to let guest appearances dictate the tone of his records. “I just want people to know I’m a great songwriter, man,” he asserts. “I’m passionate about what I do, and it’s choreographed strategically when I do it. I bring a lot of experience, creative wordplay, and a crazy style. And my albums, I record most of the songs without writing them down; it’s a God-given gift and I just get paid for it. It come from God, it’s like wondering what makes a bird fly. He made me a poet like the great poets of the past.”
But don’t mistake Gucci’s confidence for self-absorption. The vicissitudes of his career have dictated a longer view. Lyrics aside, he’s less preoccupied with visible means and more so with acting as an emissary from his under-repped block. “I’m not the one to glorify what goes on in the hood,” he insists. “We have everything there, the whole range from violence to people getting on the bus and going to work. There’s a lot more to the hood than just drugs. It’s a bigger story, there’s a big picture. I went to school in that neighborhood, I worked there, I trapped there, I hustled there, and I got my name there. I’m proud to be from East Atlanta Zone Six, and I claim there. I hold that on my back and carry that, to be the first one from there to really rock.”
And Gucci’s professional aims have matured as well. While other rappers stress platinum plaques, Gucci hasn’t forgotten the route he took to stardom. “I made a lot of CDs on my own. People fucked with me and supported me, and just made me the man I am today. That’s my blueprint right there, and I stay mindful of it. So now, my only concern is that people feel my music; at the end of the day, I do it for people to feel it. If one person feel it, two people feel it, I feel like my job’s been done.”
Fortunately for Gucci, he should be prepared to welcome an army of new fans with Back to the Trap House. But longstanding fans shouldn’t fear; they’ll recognize “Freaky Gurl,” reprised from its previous appearance from Hard To Kill. Luda, upon hearing the joint, asked for a guest spot on the remix. Said remix now appears as the lead single on Back to the Trap House, following in Gucci’s theme of mating old and new. Over a bouncing, meandering beat from Cyber Sapp, the two cook up the requisite concoction of whips, chips, and chicks. Also look out for “Bird Flu,” the album’s number two single, laced by New-York based Supa Sonics. Elsewhere, firm guest verses from Rich Boy and Pimp C of UGK round out Gucci’s regional flavor, while Bay-area producer Zaytoven (of “Icy” renown) locks down Gucci’s West Coast appeal.
Gucci Mane has something for everyone, and with the struggles of the past in his rearview, Gucci is settled in for his ride to the top. “I’m best known for controversy but I’m trying to gain respect as a songwriter and entertainer. I plan to hit them so hard with this album; who knows what the future will bring. I’ll be banging them out till I can’t bang no more.”
12 Days of Christmas
Gucci Mane Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I used to hate Christmas
For real
On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
A half of a brick, told me feed my family
I took it to the hood, then I dropped it in the sink (skrrt, skrrt, skrrt)
Then I whipped it into a whole thing
I had old hoes on my dick when I was 13 (facts)
On the second day of Christmas, I bought an MC
SuperSport and I sat it on D's
Robbed so many niggas had to paint that bitch green
I'm the Grinch that stole Christmas, nigga ask about me
On the third day of Christmas, my old plug sent to me
Ten milk jugs full of pills and like eighty bales of weed
On the fourth day, said fuck that shit, went on a spree
I got niggas still want payback for shit did in '03
It's fire, what the fuck you want a fifth and on the sixth
On the seventh day of Christmas, got a new drum for the stick (wack em)
Shit funny now
Ain't funny then, yeah
Fuck it
On the eighth day of Christmas, I got into a beef (I did)
Ninth day of Christmas, they beggin' me for peace (they did)
Tenth day of Christmas, they callin' up police (chill)
Niggas tryna stop it, but they started it with me
Rentals called the house, they gon' terminate the lease (no)
Eleventh day of Christmas, put our shit out on the streets (fuck)
Twelfth day of Christmas, got my mama losin' sleep
It might be Christmas to you, but just another day to me
I hate Christmas
The lyrics to Gucci Mane's song "12 Days of Christmas" are an unapologetic and uncompromising look at the life of a drug dealer during the holiday season. Gucci starts off by saying that he used to hate Christmas, a common feeling among people who have struggled during the holiday season. He then proceeds to describe the gifts he received from his "true love" during the twelve days of Christmas, which include a half of a brick, ten milk jugs full of pills and eighty bales of weed.
Throughout the song, Gucci Mane openly talks about his life as a drug dealer, from having old hoes on his dick when he was thirteen to robbing so many people that he had to paint his car green to avoid being recognized. The lyrics are raw and unfiltered, with Gucci Mane making no apologies for his past actions.
The final lines of the song reveal the underlying theme: to Gucci Mane, Christmas is just another day. This statement highlights the fact that many people in our society are left out of the holiday cheer that others enjoy, and it serves as a reminder that we should reach out to those in need during the holiday season.
Line by Line Meaning
On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
A half of a brick, told me feed my family
I took it to the hood, then I dropped it in the sink (skrrt, skrrt, skrrt)
Then I whipped it into a whole thing
Jumped off the porch early, man it was '93
I had old hoes on my dick when I was 13 (facts)
My girlfriend gave me a brick of cocaine and asked me to sell it to provide for my family. I took it to the rough part of town and turned it into a lot of profit. This was back in '93 when I was just 13 and even then, I had women interested in me.
On the second day of Christmas, I bought an MC
SuperSport and I sat it on D's
Robbed so many niggas had to paint that bitch green
I'm the Grinch that stole Christmas, nigga ask about me
I bought myself a fancy motorcycle and customized it to give it a unique look. I've robbed so many people that I earned the nickname 'The Grinch that Stole Christmas.'
On the third day of Christmas, my old plug sent to me
Ten milk jugs full of pills and like eighty bales of weed
My former drug supplier sent me a large amount of pills and marijuana, packaged in milk jugs.
On the fourth day, said fuck that shit, went on a spree
I got niggas still want payback for shit did in '03
It's fire, what the fuck you want a fifth and on the sixth
I decided to let loose and went on a spending spree. However, there are still people who hold grudges against me for things I did in 2003. Despite that, I don't care and I plan on continuing to enjoy myself.
On the seventh day of Christmas, got a new drum for the stick (wack em)
I got a new drum for my gun, which I plan on using to eliminate my enemies.
On the eighth day of Christmas, I got into a beef (I did)
Ninth day of Christmas, they beggin' me for peace (they did)
Tenth day of Christmas, they callin' up police (chill)
Niggas tryna stop it, but they started it with me
Rentals called the house, they gon' terminate the lease (no)
I got into a conflict with some people, and they eventually wanted to end it and call for peace. However, they later decided to get law enforcement involved, despite being the ones who started the problem. This resulted in me facing eviction from my rental home.
Eleventh day of Christmas, put our shit out on the streets (fuck)
Twelfth day of Christmas, got my mama losin' sleep
It might be Christmas to you, but just another day to me
On the eleventh day, all of our belongings were put out on the street. As a result, my mother is very worried and upset. Although others may view this time as a joyous holiday, it holds no special meaning to me.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Anthony Germaine White, Peter J. Wilhousky, Radric Delantic Davis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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