Itโs said that art mirrors life. In hip-hopโs case, thereโs always been a deliberate entanglement of perception and reality. Fans demand their MCs be realโฆbut 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.
โI wish everybody well whoโs making money in this rap game,โ the Atlanta-raised rapper says, dismissing the controversy that followed him in the past. โMy own rap game is going so good, Iโve got so many things on my plate at my label, that I donโt got time for other peopleโs business.โ 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.
โI live my life with no regrets. I just wish that a lot of things never happened, but anybody can wish,โ says Gucci. Sounds like a man with his eyes on the prize. And youโd 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 โBlack Tee,โ 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 โIcyโ single, featuring Jeezy. Clamor over song rights sparked dispute, and the resulting rift grew.
Controversy notwithstanding, Maneโs independence was cemented: โI was on the independent scene for about two years,โ he recalls. โItโs 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 itโs a gamble out there with the independent circuit. One thing youโd better have is good music because without that, you go downhill fast in the independent game.โ
Good music firmly in hand, Gucci was fast approaching stardom when more tragedy befell him. But letโs backtrack; how did the man born Radric Davis in Bessemer, Alabama, become Gucci Mane, mouthpiece for Atlanta stuntinโ? Mane remembers little from his time in Alabama, just that it was rural, and that itโs changed dramatically since he left at the age of nine. โI gotta shout out Alabama though, because they holdinโ it down,โ he affirms. โEvery time I go there to do a show, Iโm impressed with how hip-hop culture has taken root.โ
Maneโs identity coalesced when he moved with his mother to Atlanta. โI lived all of my adolescent and adult life in Atlanta,โ he explains. โIโm from East Atlanta Zone Six; it was hard, man, it was real rough. I grew up in the Starter jacket era: theyโd take your Starter jacket, your 8Ball jacket, theyโd 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 youโd get jumped. It was wild when I came up.โ
Itโs 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. โI was just a young dude in a single parent house most of my life. I canโt complain that much. I would guess itโs like any black child growing up in a single parent household. There are a lot of people who know how that is. I didnโt 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; sheโs been there through the whole struggle. Thereโs a lot that goes along with that; it made me who I am today.โ
A stepfather would enter the picture during Maneโs adolescence, introducing not only a male figure, but also inspiration for Maneโs unusual moniker. โMy father came in, the original Gucci Mane; thatโs what people in the neighborhood called him, and thatโs 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.โ Drawing inspiration from a pantheon of rappers before him โBig Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, Ice Cube, the Beastie Boys, N.W.AโMane went on to release Trap House, a lethal brew of his signature sound: โI call my music straight Gucci: going hard and whatever beats you make you for me, if Iโm feeling it, if Iโm rocking with it, Iโm gonna crush it. When you hear me, you hear a lot of pain, a lot of hood; you hear whatโs going on in the inner city in Atlanta.โ
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. โI learned to keep better company, watch where I go, and be mindful of my surroundings at all times,โ he reveals. โWatch what I say, watch what I do and how I do it, just keep myself out of the wrong crowd.โ
โI always stand up man,โ he continues. โIโm one of the toughest guys I know. Itโll take a lot more than that to break me down.โ Undeterred, Mane was back in the studio, preparing 2006โs 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: โThere was a bidding war going on, and I liked Atlanticโs approach. They made it known that they wanted me, they felt where I was going and that I could grow with them.โ
Asylum/Atlantic Records welcomed Gucci Mane in early โ07, 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 โโI got them in training; they be in the weight room, pumping iron, doing pushups, shopping at the mall, buying iceโโGucci is focused on his magnum opus, Back to the Trap House. โI started working on the album, and by the third song, I was like โThis is going back to the Trap House.โ 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.โ
โSince I went major, I want everybody to know Iโm still keeping it street, keeping it hood,โ Gucci maintains. โIโm trying to take it back to all my fans that I had when I first started my career. And at the same time, Iโm trying to open up my new album to a new fan base. So itโs a mix for everybody coming together, like my first album was.โ Gucci has always prided himself on his innate ability, and his refusal to let guest appearances dictate the tone of his records. โI just want people to know Iโm a great songwriter, man,โ he asserts. โIโm passionate about what I do, and itโs 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; itโs a God-given gift and I just get paid for it. It come from God, itโs like wondering what makes a bird fly. He made me a poet like the great poets of the past.โ
But donโt mistake Gucciโs confidence for self-absorption. The vicissitudes of his career have dictated a longer view. Lyrics aside, heโs less preoccupied with visible means and more so with acting as an emissary from his under-repped block. โIโm not the one to glorify what goes on in the hood,โ he insists. โWe have everything there, the whole range from violence to people getting on the bus and going to work. Thereโs a lot more to the hood than just drugs. Itโs a bigger story, thereโs 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. Iโm 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.โ
And Gucciโs professional aims have matured as well. While other rappers stress platinum plaques, Gucci hasnโt forgotten the route he took to stardom. โI made a lot of CDs on my own. People fucked with me and supported me, and just made me the man I am today. Thatโs 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 jobโs been done.โ
Fortunately for Gucci, he should be prepared to welcome an army of new fans with Back to the Trap House. But longstanding fans shouldnโt fear; theyโll recognize โFreaky Gurl,โ 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 Gucciโs 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 โBird Flu,โ the albumโs number two single, laced by New-York based Supa Sonics. Elsewhere, firm guest verses from Rich Boy and Pimp C of UGK round out Gucciโs regional flavor, while Bay-area producer Zaytoven (of โIcyโ renown) locks down Gucciโs 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. โIโm best known for controversy but Iโm 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. Iโll be banging them out till I canโt bang no more.โ
Last Time
Gucci Mane Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nigga with an attitude, this shit gettin' easy to me
The last time I drunk some lean I was out of my mind
Tried gave me 20 years and that's a whole lotta time
A married woman divorce her husband to spend the weekend with me
He think it nasty when she squirt but that shit sexy to me
The last time I took some molly, took a gram and a half
Niggas think they know 'bout Gucci but they don't know the half
Niggas thought I was a clone, they heard me speak proper
Convicted felon worth 10 million, I'm a well known robber
Like Shawty Lo I got 10 children, yeah, Lo my partner
Wop
Last time I took drugs I just took half of it (Hah)
'Cause last time I took pills I had to smash a bitch (Geek)
And last time I smoked gas I almost crashed a whip (Skrt)
Last time I took drugs I just took half of it (Half)
Last time I took drugs I just took half of it (Hah wow)
Last time I took drugs I just took half of it
Last time we took drugs you just took half of it (It's lit)
Stretchin' out my jeans just to make cash fit in (Yeah)
Wake up every morning to some ass and grits
Raw dog all my birds, I'm tryna have some chicks
Fi-fie-fie-fo (yeah) Zone 6 to the Mo
La Flame linked with La Flare, yeah, that's heat and snow
Goin' in all year, 300 plus days long (Straight up)
Makin' money all year, talking 52 weeks strong
Better back up, give me space (Yeah)
I'm with ice cream on the face
Goin' Pharrell Williams on the case (Oh my God)
Ohhhh, then we skate-skate-skate away
720 with the grind, landed, landed all fine
Last time I took drugs I just took half of it
'Cause last time I took pills I had to smash a bitch
And last time I smoked gas I almost crashed a whip
Last time I took drugs I just took half of it
Last time I took drugs I just took half of it (Hah)
Last time I took drugs I just took half of it (Hah)
The last time I went to Onyx man I ordered a dub
Tried to leave with every big booty bitch in the club
I bought a Rolex and a Lambi' when I went to Miami
The last time I seen little mama she wasn't wearin' no panties
Last time I went to Vegas, spent 200k gamblin'
I'm just an east Atlanta nigga servin' junkies in Chamberlain
The last time I tricked out I brought 4 hoes to my place
They call me Gucci Mane Picasso 'cause I painted they face
Guwop
Last time I took drugs I just took half of it (Hah)
'Cause last time I took pills I had to smash a bitch (Geek)
And last time I smoked gas I almost crashed a whip (Skrt)
Last time I took drugs I just took half of it (Half)
Last time I took drugs I just took half of it (Hah wow)
Last time I took drugs I just took half of it
Burrr, Trav, blaow, it's Gucci
(Straight up)
Hah, burrr, wow, bling, burrr
(Yeah, oh my God!)
The song "Last Time" by Gucci Mane is a celebration of the rapper's hedonistic lifestyle and the risks that come with it. Throughout the song, Gucci reminisces about his past experiences with drugs and alcohol and the reckless behavior that came with them. The opening lines of the song speak to his love for when his girlfriend is drunk because she talks "greasy" to him. It's a window into the rapper's mindset, where he seems to enjoy reckless and provocative behavior.
The song's chorus is a repeated phrase where Gucci admits that he takes only half of the drugs he takes, highlighting his self-awareness of the dangers of drug abuse. He refers to taking pills, smoking gas, and taking molly (MDMA), acknowledging the dangerous consequences of drug use. He mentions situations like smashing a woman and almost crashing his car under the influence of drugs.
The last part of the song is Gucci recounting some of his wild experiences, like ordering a dub of weed and wanting to leave the club with every big booty woman there, purchasing a Lamborghini and a Rolex, and bringing several women to his place. All these details convey a sense of danger and recklessness, revealing the rapper's lifestyle and his addiction to living on the edge.
Line by Line Meaning
I love when my bitch get drunk 'cause she talk greasy to me
I enjoy it when my partner gets drunk and speaks boldly to me
Nigga with an attitude, this shit gettin' easy to me
I have a tough persona, and it's becoming easier for me to maintain it
The last time I drunk some lean I was out of my mind
The last time I consumed cough syrup with codeine, I was in a state of delirium
Tried gave me 20 years and that's a whole lotta time
I was nearly given a 20-year prison sentence, which is a significant amount of time
A married woman divorce her husband to spend the weekend with me
An individual who was married separated from their partner to spend time with me
He think it nasty when she squirt but that shit sexy to me
The former partner was repulsed by their wife's ejaculation, but I find it alluring
The last time I took some molly, took a gram and a half
When I last consumed MDMA, I ingested 1.5 grams of the substance
Niggas think they know 'bout Gucci but they don't know the half
Individuals believe they have knowledge about me, but they're only aware of a portion of my life
See I'm an ex-X popper and online shopper
I used to take ecstasy and frequently purchase items online
Niggas thought I was a clone, they heard me speak proper
Some people believed I was a duplicate or copy because I spoke eloquently
Convicted felon worth 10 million, I'm a well known robber
I am a criminal who has been found guilty of a crime, yet I possess a net worth of $10 million and am notorious for my thievery
Like Shawty Lo I got 10 children, yeah, Lo my partner
I have ten children, much like the late rapper Shawty Lo, who was my associate
Last time we took drugs you just took half of it (It's lit)
The last time we used narcotic substances, you only consumed half of it (It's great)
Stretchin' out my jeans just to make cash fit in (Yeah)
I am expanding my pants to make room for the amount of cash I am carrying
Wake up every morning to some ass and grits
I start each day with some sex and a southern breakfast dish
Raw dog all my birds, I'm tryna have some chicks
I engage in unprotected sex with all of my partners to increase my chances of having offspring
Fi-fie-fie-fo (yeah) Zone 6 to the Mo
I am proud to represent Zone 6, a region in Atlanta, and beyond
La Flame linked with La Flare, yeah, that's heat and snow
Travis Scott and I have collaborated, and it's a combination of heat and cold
Goin' in all year, 300 plus days long (Straight up)
I have been working hard for the entire year, over 300 days
Makin' money all year, talking 52 weeks strong
I am making a profit all year long, for a full 52 weeks
Better back up, give me space (Yeah)
Please step back and give me some room
I'm with ice cream on the face
I am accompanied by individuals wearing masks in the likeness of ice cream cones
Goin' Pharrell Williams on the case (Oh my God)
Like Pharrell Williams, I'm working on some significant projects (Oh my God)
Ohhhh, then we skate-skate-skate away
We then leave quickly and urgently
720 with the grind, landed, landed all fine
I expertly performed a skateboarding trick and landed smoothly
The last time I went to Onyx man I ordered a dub
The most recent time I went to the strip club Onyx, I purchased $20 worth of drugs
Tried to leave with every big booty bitch in the club
I attempted to exit the establishment with every woman who possessed a large posterior
I bought a Rolex and a Lambi' when I went to Miami
During a trip to Miami, I purchased both a Rolex watch and a Lamborghini vehicle
The last time I seen little mama she wasn't wearin' no panties
The last time I saw my partner, she was not wearing any undergarments
Last time I went to Vegas, spent 200k gamblin'
During my most recent trip to Las Vegas, I spent $200,000 on gambling
I'm just an east Atlanta nigga servin' junkies in Chamberlain
I identify as a resident of East Atlanta, and I provide drugs to addicts in Chamberlain
The last time I tricked out I brought 4 hoes to my place
The most recent time I paid for sex, I brought four women to my home
They call me Gucci Mane Picasso 'cause I painted they face
I am often referred to as Gucci Mane Picasso because I have a talent for applying makeup to the faces of women
Lyrics ยฉ Ultra Tunes, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Radric Davis, Jacques Webster, Xavier Lamar Dotson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
So Lao
Travis' verse on this song is really strong, it still blows my mind that this song was never huge, or even remotely acknowledged
Nicholas Kester
2023 still one if the best produced songs I've ever seen
Cryptic
Travis Scott's hooks are always on point ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
J-Face
This will be a hit for as long as we live. #LaFlame ๐ฅ
Noey Bae
Travis deserves more credit than what he gets . STRAIGHT UP ! ๐ฏ
Sensational Dub
FACTSSS ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐
Stefa1312
2 much autotune :D
Lil Draco
@Stefa1312 That's been his trademark. Stop playing.
buggs c
What??? Hes the number 1 entertainer in the world lol
buggs c
Some of his songs have over 200m views lol how much more credit can you get