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.”
Brinks
Gucci Mane Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Big Gucci) It's yo' time
I'ma give you the blueprint
Ain't nobody harder
We got money in the matress, old money
I got credit cards, Gucci got cash money
It's the billion kid, Gucci, we went half on a bank
He go hard in the paint, he got hard at the bank
Waka Flocka, Gucci Mane, I'm goin hard on the drinks
And I get pussy every day, I guess you is what you drank
Cause y'all pussycat is bigger than the diamonds in my rang
Who is I? ? done run off with the scrubs
Duck or neck, but you didn't share the love with the thugs
And the rap game paralyze the street life, I'm not sellin drugs
I'm, selling CD's globally, my Brinks truck pullin up
I get offers for a million dollars just to throw it up
I made two thundred thousand today I feel like throwin up
Gucci
I got Hummer trucks, pullin up, but I'm buyin other trucks
Master P and Gucci Mane done pulled up in the wealth with our
Brinks ? we threw our rap in the rink
Chop Squadron pullin up, drophead pullin up
Drop dead, I don't skate, froze up, we pullin up
Brinks ? we threw our rap in the rink
Up, the ? bad nigga, Brinks
I'm 'bout to pull a Mike Vick on 'em dude
Get money, street boys; I love the kid
Iced green Peedy, I got the streets heated
I left a minute now I'm back the game really needs me
Gucci Mane called me, man I got that flipper
Everybody come and tryin to get in my hair for dipper
With that dola, trap boy, granolas
Brick Squad soldiers, gon' run 'til it's over
I had chills for a minute, still screamin No Limit
Had changed my life, dem fools thought I wasn't in it
Drumma B and we winnin; and y'all never done it
Tried to play the game but none of y'all never won it
Don't need to be replaced - I'm already a legend
From the streets to the hood to my little brother up in heaven
I'm a ghetto star
[Chorus]
In the song "Brinks" by Gucci Mane, he is bragging about his wealth and success in the rap game. He starts off by saying he is going to give the listener the blueprint for success, and then declares that nobody is harder than him. He talks about having so much money that he keeps it in his mattress and has credit cards, while his friend Gucci has cash money. The two have even gone half on a bank, showing just how much wealth they have amassed.
Later in the song, Gucci talks about how he is not selling drugs but instead selling CDs globally, and his Brinks truck is constantly pulling up to deliver his earnings. He has even received offers of a million dollars just to throw it up. Master P and Gucci Mane have pulled up in their Brinks trucks, and they are joined by Chop Squadron and Drophead. Gucci talks about being a legend, from the streets to the hood, to his little brother in heaven.
Overall, the song is a braggadocious ode to wealth and success, with Gucci Mane proclaiming his place at the top of the rap game.
Line by Line Meaning
Ungghhhhh, Gucci!
Gucci Mane starts the song with a confident grunt.
(Big Gucci) It's yo' time
Gucci refers to himself as 'Big Gucci' and acknowledges that this is his moment to shine.
I'ma give you the blueprint
Gucci is going to share his recipe for success with his listeners.
Ain't nobody harder
Gucci is asserting himself as the toughest rapper around.
We got money in the matress, old money
Gucci has so much cash that he keeps some of it hidden in his mattress, and he's had it for a long time.
I got credit cards, Gucci got cash money
Gucci prefers to use credit cards, but his friend Gucci Mane prefers to pay with cash.
It's the billion kid, Gucci, we went half on a bank
Gucci Mane is also very wealthy, and together they have invested in a bank.
I'm a walkin ? happenin, I live in a tank
Gucci is constantly on the move and feels invincible, like he's living in a tank.
He go hard in the paint, he got hard at the bank
Gucci and his friend Waka Flocka Flame are tough in both the music game and financial world.
Waka Flocka, Gucci Mane, I'm goin hard on the drinks
Gucci and Waka Flocka are partying hard, consuming a lot of alcohol.
And I get pussy every day, I guess you is what you drank
Gucci is having casual sex frequently, and connects this to what he drinks, suggesting that he is like the liquid he consumes.
Cause y'all pussycat is bigger than the diamonds in my rang
Gucci is criticizing other rappers for their lack of toughness, and suggests that their manhood is smaller than the diamonds in his ring.
Who is I? ? done run off with the scrubs
Gucci is questioning the identity of someone who has betrayed him and left him with lesser people.
Duck or neck, but you didn't share the love with the thugs
Even though this person may have tried to get away from danger, they didn't treat the people who helped them with respect.
And the rap game paralyze the street life, I'm not sellin drugs
Gucci recognizes the negative influence the rap game has on the streets and makes it clear that he is not selling drugs.
I'm, selling CD's globally, my Brinks truck pullin up
Gucci tells us that he's making money by selling his music around the world, and he's doing it in a big, armored truck owned by the security company Brinks.
I get offers for a million dollars just to throw it up
Gucci is so rich that people will pay him just to waste his money for entertainment.
I made two thundred thousand today I feel like throwin up
Gucci made so much money that he is overwhelmed and feels like vomiting.
Gucci
Gucci repeats his name as a way to reinforce his presence in the song.
I got Hummer trucks, pullin up, but I'm buyin other trucks
Gucci owns multiple Hummers and is now buying different types of vehicles.
Master P and Gucci Mane done pulled up in the wealth with our
Gucci is comparing himself to the successful rapper and businessman Master P, saying that they both have created wealth.
Brinks ? we threw our rap in the rink
They've put their music into the rap game arena like you would throw a boxer into the ring.
Chop Squadron pullin up, drophead pullin up
Gucci's group of friends known as the Chop Squadron and a fancy convertible car are arriving at the scene.
Drop dead, I don't skate, froze up, we pullin up
Gucci's entourage is arriving as if they caused people to drop dead or freeze in their tracks, and they are pulling up in style.
Up, the ? bad nigga, Brinks
The group is so tough that it's as if they are being announced by a radio host, and they have the Brinks truck with them.
I'm 'bout to pull a Mike Vick on 'em dude
Gucci is about to surprise his rivals with a move like the unexpected play Mike Vick made in a football game.
Get money, street boys; I love the kid
Gucci prefers to hang out with people from the streets who are focused on making money.
Iced green Peedy, I got the streets heated
Gucci is wearing expensive jewelry, and this has attracted a lot of attention from people who are jealous of him.
I left a minute now I'm back the game really needs me
Gucci took some time off, but now he is back and thinks the rap game is missing his presence.
Gucci Mane called me, man I got that flipper
Gucci Mane has contacted him, and he's happy to hear from him. The word 'flipper' refers to selling drugs.
Everybody come and tryin to get in my hair for dipper
People are constantly trying to get involved with him so they can also make money.
With that dola, trap boy, granolas
Gucci is rapping about all the different ways he makes money, including selling drugs (trap boy) and managing his portfolio (dola) which includes granola which could refer to health food venture.
Brick Squad soldiers, gon' run 'til it's over
Gucci's friends in the Brick Squad are committed to the grind until they've achieved all their goals.
I had chills for a minute, still screamin No Limit
Gucci is a fan of the No Limit record label, which has given him inspiration throughout his music career.
Had changed my life, dem fools thought I wasn't in it
People who doubted his ability to succeed had to change their minds once they saw his success.
Drumma B and we winnin; and y'all never done it
Gucci's producer Drumma Boy is helping him win and accomplish things that others have never achieved.
Tried to play the game but none of y'all never won it
Others have attempted to be successful in the rap game, but none of them have succeeded like Gucci has.
Don't need to be replaced - I'm already a legend
Gucci believes he's already made such an impact that he will be remembered as a legend.
From the streets to the hood to my little brother up in heaven
Gucci and his crew have come from difficult backgrounds to make something of themselves, and he also acknowledges the passing of a family member.
I'm a ghetto star
Gucci considers himself a star who has emerged from the ghetto and hood areas, and he's proud of where he comes from.
[Chorus]
This line indicates that the chorus is coming up.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PERCY MILLER, RADRIC DAVIS, RADRIC DELANTIC DAVIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
judah dolph
One of his BEST albums 2020 & I’m still bangin this shit like it came out yesterday 🙌🏼🤷🏼♂️
Chance Stiver
Still jamming to this 10 years later
CrankBot286
they need to make a mixtape together cause this go hard
shnoogums1
The cadence of the keyboardist! Legendary!!
mrperfect390
if u an 80s baby u understand all gucci music burr
almighty shista
Never thought master p an gucci be together ona track!!
Ghetto-Cee Tha General G.F.M.R
Master P. is the only reason I bought the whole C.D. P verse go h.a.m
Bobbyo56
master p is a beast. love that man.
Aarron Westmoreland
Shotgun 213 😭😭😭
John Silver
Don't need to be replaced , I'm already a legend.