Itβs said that art mirrors life. In hip-hopβs case, thereβs always been a deliberate entanglement of perception and reality. Fans demand their MCs be realβ¦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.
βI wish everybody well whoβs making money in this rap game,β the Atlanta-raised rapper says, dismissing the controversy that followed him in the past. βMy own rap game is going so good, Iβve got so many things on my plate at my label, that I donβt got time for other peopleβs business.β 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.
βI live my life with no regrets. I just wish that a lot of things never happened, but anybody can wish,β says Gucci. Sounds like a man with his eyes on the prize. And youβd 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 βBlack Tee,β 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 βIcyβ single, featuring Jeezy. Clamor over song rights sparked dispute, and the resulting rift grew.
Controversy notwithstanding, Maneβs independence was cemented: βI was on the independent scene for about two years,β he recalls. βItβs 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 itβs a gamble out there with the independent circuit. One thing youβd better have is good music because without that, you go downhill fast in the independent game.β
Good music firmly in hand, Gucci was fast approaching stardom when more tragedy befell him. But letβs backtrack; how did the man born Radric Davis in Bessemer, Alabama, become Gucci Mane, mouthpiece for Atlanta stuntinβ? Mane remembers little from his time in Alabama, just that it was rural, and that itβs changed dramatically since he left at the age of nine. βI gotta shout out Alabama though, because they holdinβ it down,β he affirms. βEvery time I go there to do a show, Iβm impressed with how hip-hop culture has taken root.β
Maneβs identity coalesced when he moved with his mother to Atlanta. βI lived all of my adolescent and adult life in Atlanta,β he explains. βIβm from East Atlanta Zone Six; it was hard, man, it was real rough. I grew up in the Starter jacket era: theyβd take your Starter jacket, your 8Ball jacket, theyβd 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 youβd get jumped. It was wild when I came up.β
Itβs 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. βI was just a young dude in a single parent house most of my life. I canβt complain that much. I would guess itβs like any black child growing up in a single parent household. There are a lot of people who know how that is. I didnβt 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; sheβs been there through the whole struggle. Thereβs a lot that goes along with that; it made me who I am today.β
A stepfather would enter the picture during Maneβs adolescence, introducing not only a male figure, but also inspiration for Maneβs unusual moniker. βMy father came in, the original Gucci Mane; thatβs what people in the neighborhood called him, and thatβs 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.β Drawing inspiration from a pantheon of rappers before him βBig Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, Ice Cube, the Beastie Boys, N.W.AβMane went on to release Trap House, a lethal brew of his signature sound: βI call my music straight Gucci: going hard and whatever beats you make you for me, if Iβm feeling it, if Iβm rocking with it, Iβm gonna crush it. When you hear me, you hear a lot of pain, a lot of hood; you hear whatβs going on in the inner city in Atlanta.β
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. βI learned to keep better company, watch where I go, and be mindful of my surroundings at all times,β he reveals. βWatch what I say, watch what I do and how I do it, just keep myself out of the wrong crowd.β
βI always stand up man,β he continues. βIβm one of the toughest guys I know. Itβll take a lot more than that to break me down.β Undeterred, Mane was back in the studio, preparing 2006βs 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: βThere was a bidding war going on, and I liked Atlanticβs approach. They made it known that they wanted me, they felt where I was going and that I could grow with them.β
Asylum/Atlantic Records welcomed Gucci Mane in early β07, 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 ββI got them in training; they be in the weight room, pumping iron, doing pushups, shopping at the mall, buying iceββGucci is focused on his magnum opus, Back to the Trap House. βI started working on the album, and by the third song, I was like βThis is going back to the Trap House.β 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.β
βSince I went major, I want everybody to know Iβm still keeping it street, keeping it hood,β Gucci maintains. βIβm trying to take it back to all my fans that I had when I first started my career. And at the same time, Iβm trying to open up my new album to a new fan base. So itβs a mix for everybody coming together, like my first album was.β Gucci has always prided himself on his innate ability, and his refusal to let guest appearances dictate the tone of his records. βI just want people to know Iβm a great songwriter, man,β he asserts. βIβm passionate about what I do, and itβs 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; itβs a God-given gift and I just get paid for it. It come from God, itβs like wondering what makes a bird fly. He made me a poet like the great poets of the past.β
But donβt mistake Gucciβs confidence for self-absorption. The vicissitudes of his career have dictated a longer view. Lyrics aside, heβs less preoccupied with visible means and more so with acting as an emissary from his under-repped block. βIβm not the one to glorify what goes on in the hood,β he insists. βWe have everything there, the whole range from violence to people getting on the bus and going to work. Thereβs a lot more to the hood than just drugs. Itβs a bigger story, thereβs 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. Iβm 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.β
And Gucciβs professional aims have matured as well. While other rappers stress platinum plaques, Gucci hasnβt forgotten the route he took to stardom. βI made a lot of CDs on my own. People fucked with me and supported me, and just made me the man I am today. Thatβs 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 jobβs been done.β
Fortunately for Gucci, he should be prepared to welcome an army of new fans with Back to the Trap House. But longstanding fans shouldnβt fear; theyβll recognize βFreaky Gurl,β 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 Gucciβs 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 βBird Flu,β the albumβs number two single, laced by New-York based Supa Sonics. Elsewhere, firm guest verses from Rich Boy and Pimp C of UGK round out Gucciβs regional flavor, while Bay-area producer Zaytoven (of βIcyβ renown) locks down Gucciβs 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. βIβm best known for controversy but Iβm 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. Iβll be banging them out till I canβt bang no more.β
Money Habits
Gucci Mane Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every time I see some money, you know I gotta
Dope boy, I do magic with some raw rapper
The same old bricks than the contractor
And you canβt bring it back if you donβt bust around
My daughter four months, bricks in aβ¦
Iβm a raw master, I loveβ¦
You say youβre from the streets, then I got aβ¦
If money do what you do, then you ainβt gonna make it
The streets will get it to you, and the streets will take it
Every nigga in the streets got no pacing
Chorus:
I got money habbit, I got money habbit
Every time I see some money, yeah I gotta have it!
Daydreaming, see the money, talking being framing
I got money habbit, I got money habbit
Every time I see some money, yeah I got it, baby!
I got money habbit, I got money habbit
Daydreaming, see the money, talking being framing
I go loco about the⦠or the chopper with the chopper
Like a rusta I was shot, block, block, Waka Floka
I got youngers in the hood, Iβll kill your way for fifty dollar
Holler river I get you scared, nigga I never holler
Donβt be bothered, that scrap is... Oh right to your father
I brought tape to aβ¦
Knowing about a anathem, but I got a bunch of baby bottles
For instance I bag dough, the digger neverβ¦
Is this part of a chargerβ¦
My B goes and still sends the bills across the border
Up the boat, weβre just splashy like she came out the water
... And they donβt need this harder
Chorus:
I got money habbit, I got money habbit
Every time I see some money, yeah I gotta have it!
Daydreaming, see the money, talking being framing
I got money habbit, I got money habbit
Every time I see some money, yeah I got it, baby!
I got money habbit, I got money habbit
Daydreaming, see the money, talking being framing
In Gucci Mane's song "Money Habits," he talks about being addicted to money and doing whatever it takes to get it. He admits to having trouble sleeping because of this, and every time he sees money, he feels the need to get his hands on it. As a "dope boy," he prides himself on being able to do magic with raw rap, referring to his skills as a musician and as a drug dealer. He has been in the game for a long time, using the same old bricks as a contractor would. Gucci warns that once you have money, you can't let your guard down, or else you'll lose it all.
Despite his devotion to getting money, Gucci Mane also acknowledges that the streets are dangerous, and he has to be careful. He mentions having a four-month-old daughter and still being involved in the drug game. But he prides himself on being a "raw master," and he loves the hustle of the street life. He challenges anyone who claims to be from the streets, saying he's sure to know them if they really are who they say they are. He name-drops Great Jackson and B Franklin, referring to the famous faces on American money, to emphasize his obsession with the green.
Overall, the song reveals Gucci's struggle and passion for making money and his skepticism of people who claim to know the game. It also showcases his talent as a rapper and his ability to make clever references to common culture, such as American currency.
Line by Line Meaning
I canβt get no sleep, I got any money habbit
I struggle to sleep because my addiction to money keeps me constantly thinking about it.
Every time I see some money, you know I gotta
Whenever I come across some money, I feel compelled to have it.
Dope boy, I do magic with some raw rapper
As a drug dealer, I have a special talent for turning raw drugs into a profitable product.
The same old bricks than the contractor
I use the same drugs as other dealers to make my product.
And you canβt bring it back if you donβt bust around
If you don't sell the drugs, you cannot take it back.
My daughter four months, bricks in aβ¦
I have a four-month-old daughter, but I still prioritize my drug business over her by keeping drugs around.
Iβm a raw master, I loveβ¦
I excel at producing and selling uncut drugs, and I enjoy it.
You say youβre from the streets, then I got aβ¦
If you claim to be from the same streets as me, then you better be prepared to deal with the harsh realities of life involving drugs and money.
Great Jackson, B Franklin
Referring to $20 and $100 bills.
If money do what you do, then you ainβt gonna make it
If your sole motivation is money, you will not succeed in the long term.
The streets will get it to you, and the streets will take it
The streets can provide you with money and success, but it can also take all your wealth and leave you with nothing.
Every nigga in the streets got no pacing
Every person in the streets is reckless and impulsive when it comes to money.
Chorus:
Repeating the hook of the song.
I go loco about the⦠or the chopper with the chopper
I get excited and aggressive when it comes to money and firearms.
Like a rusta I was shot, block, block, Waka Floka
Like a Rastafarian, I am calm yet quick to take action and use my weapons if necessary.
I got youngers in the hood, Iβll kill your way for fifty dollar
I have young associates in my neighborhood who are willing to kill for as little as fifty dollars.
Holler river I get you scared, nigga I never holler
I intimidate others with my reputation and presence, and I never back down.
Donβt be bothered, that scrap is... Oh right to your father
Don't be concerned about the violence I bring, because it will affect even your family.
I brought tape to aβ¦
It is unclear what the artist is trying to say in this line.
Knowing about a anathem, but I got a bunch of baby bottles
I have knowledge about drugs, but I also have parental responsibilities.
For instance I bag dough, the digger neverβ¦
This line is unclear and difficult to understand.
Is this part of a chargerβ¦
It is unclear what the artist is trying to say in this line.
My B goes and still sends the bills across the border
I send money outside of the country despite the risks involved in doing so.
Up the boat, weβre just splashy like she came out the water
We are flamboyant with our money and spending habits, like a person emerging from the water.
... And they donβt need this harder
The artist presents a final rhyme, but the line is unclear and lacks a clear meaning.
Contributed by Zachary Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@ncnorco
Never stopped bumpin this
@keithevans2517
One of Gucciβs hardest mixtapes π₯π₯π₯
@officialslaytovenmusic
fax
@jeffgordon6326
STILL BUMPING IN 2019π₯π₯π₯π₯
@Zstxx
This should have 20 mil views
@mooseskuimet2638
Imo if this was mainstream it wouldnβt have any hype so its better when its underground but 125k views is too low for a banger
@pablo-on-da-low4402
STILL BUMPING IN 2018π₯π₯π₯π₯
@joshuawadley2052
L'veon Bryant Brick Squad 1017 n ain't
Nobody harder
@MarkBlackMigo
I canβt get no sleep I got these money habit π₯ too bad Gucci donβt rock with Scooter no more
@JulianRides
Addicted to the pesos mang π―