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.”
On Me
Gucci Mane Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You lose your life, fuckin' right, try me and bleed (Burr)
I put my first gat first, instinct, I don't think
I get your head to the white, make your shit pink
All OG pink, don't fuck with me
I need a detox 'cause I've been smoking kush all week
And if I piss some dirty urine then I'm up shit creek
My money lanky, taller than a man 6 foot 3
My left pinky nine karat diamond cut so neat
And if I told you what it cost, you would say "golly"
I spend 50k a month and that's just on chains
I got your girlfriend rolling blunts in the VIP
I got a carbon 15 sitting on my front seat
And plus my shoes'll eat your face like bon appetit
The feds looking at me, know they got they eyes on me
I feel like 2Pac when he made All Eyez On Me
I keep the Glock on me
Stupid Glock on me
I can't let 'em get the drop on me
I keep a nine on me, stupid nine on me
Lord knows I got guap on me
Stupid rocks on me, crazy rocks on me
I paid a million for this watch on me golly
And my bricks so young, my birds gon' need ID
I feel like 2Pac when he made All Eyez On Me
Bitch you misdemeanor I'm raisin hell like felonies
Mr. Makaveli straight outta jail to sellin' these
Intoxicated we duplicated but never faded
Now that we made it my adversaries is player hatin'
Got a Mercedes for these tricks, that thought I quit
Then got a drop top Jag for these bitches that's on my dick
Go to a club in a pack, I'm smokin' bud in the back
I'm waitin' for niggas to trip, 'cause bitch I love to scrap
Now mama raised me as a thug nigga, where the love niggas?
I'm a millionaire started as a drug dealer
I went from rocks to z's, writing raps and movies
I went from trustin' these tricks now they all want to sue me
So fuck em' all
I keep the Glock on me
Stupid Glock on me
I can't let 'em get the drop on me
I keep a nine on me, stupid nine on me
Lord knows I got guap on me
Stupid rocks on me, crazy rocks on me
I paid a million for this watch on me golly
And my bricks so young, my birds gon' need ID
What you know 'bout me? You ain't got nothin' on me
It get so lonely at the top, I need some company
My swears so stupid that these hoes be holding domes for me
She wanna stay with me, know that unfaithfully
I'm like a drug to her, she can't walk away from me
Niggas don't play with me 'cause I keep AK's with me
Police surveillance I know they fuckin' taping me
But all they gonna see is diamond cars and currency
I'm currently out the country chasin' currency
I got some weed on me now and some ecstasy
30 grams and a nine and a knife on me
Watch your mouth 'bout me, dirty South I be
Do your momma teach you don't talk when grown folks speak? (It's Gucci)
In Gucci Mane's song "Me," the rapper narrates a lifestyle of luxury and hustle. The verses are filled with references to money, guns, and drugs, as well as a certain awareness of the risks that come with such a lifestyle. The chorus repeats the phrase "I keep the Glock on me/Stupid Glock on me," emphasizing the importance of always being prepared for danger.
The first verse starts with the confident assertion that Gucci Mane has a "big, big, big pistol" and that anyone who tries to "try me and bleed" will lose. He then describes his quick instincts and his ability to think on his feet in dangerous situations. The second half of the verse takes a more introspective turn, as Gucci Mane reveals that he needs to detox from smoking weed and that his life as a touring musician leaves him sleepless.
The second verse continues with the theme of money and power. Gucci Mane brags about his expensive jewelry and his ability to spend $50,000 a month on chains alone. He also mentions having a gun (a carbon 15) in his front seat and shoes that are so intimidating that they could "eat your face like bon appetit." The chorus repeats once again, underscoring Gucci Mane's focus on always being prepared for danger.
The final verse begins with a reference to Tupac Shakur ("I feel like 2Pac when he made All Eyez On Me") before returning to the theme of money and women. Gucci Mane describes his ability to attract women who are like "holding domes" for him and compares himself to a drug that they can't resist. The verse ends with Gucci Mane asserting that he's out of the country chasing money, with drugs and weapons on him.
Line by Line Meaning
Big, big, big pistol me (Still on Guc’)
I always carry a big gun with me for protection.
You lose your life, fuckin' right, try me and bleed (Burr)
If you mess with me, you'll regret it and might end up losing your life.
I put my first gat first, instinct, I don't think
If I feel threatened, my first instinct is to use my gun.
I get your head to the white, make your shit pink
My gun will kill you and cause your blood to mix with your brain matter.
All OG pink, don't fuck with me
I'm a gangster and should not be messed with.
I need a detox 'cause I've been smoking kush all week
I've been smoking weed for a week and need to detox my body.
And if I piss some dirty urine then I'm up shit creek
If I get drug tested and fail, I'll be in trouble.
I'm major tourin' shows everyday, I gets no sleep
I'm busy with touring and work and don't have time to rest.
My money lanky, taller than a man 6 foot 3
I have a lot of money.
My left pinky nine karat diamond cut so neat
I have a diamond ring on my left pinky finger that is very valuable.
And if I told you what it cost, you would say "golly"
It cost a lot of money and would surprise you.
I spend 50k a month and that's just on chains
I spend a lot of money on jewelry.
I got your girlfriend rolling blunts in the VIP
Your girlfriend is with me and doing drugs.
I got a carbon 15 sitting on my front seat
I have a gun in my car.
And plus my shoes'll eat your face like bon appetit
My shoes are so expensive and flashy that it will distract you.
The feds looking at me, know they got they eyes on me
The police are watching me closely because I'm a criminal.
I feel like 2Pac when he made All Eyez On Me
I feel like a successful rapper just like 2Pac was.
Bitch you misdemeanor I'm raisin hell like felonies
I don't care about minor crimes, I commit serious ones.
Mr. Makaveli straight outta jail to sellin' these
I'm like 2Pac, who sold a lot of records after getting out of jail.
Intoxicated we duplicated but never faded
I drink and do drugs, but I still remain successful.
Now that we made it my adversaries is player hatin'
My enemies are jealous of my success.
Got a Mercedes for these tricks, that thought I quit
I have a nice car for the women who didn't think I'd make it.
Then got a drop top Jag for these bitches that's on my dick
I bought another car for the women who are attracted to me.
Go to a club in a pack, I'm smokin' bud in the back
I go to clubs with my friends and smoke weed in the back.
I'm waitin' for niggas to trip, 'cause bitch I love to scrap
I'm looking for a fight because I enjoy fighting.
Now mama raised me as a thug nigga, where the love niggas?
My mother taught me to be a gangster, not caring about love.
I'm a millionaire started as a drug dealer
I used to sell drugs and now I have a lot of money.
I went from rocks to z's, writing raps and movies
I used to sell drugs and now I'm a rapper and actor.
I went from trustin' these tricks now they all want to sue me
I used to trust women but now they all want to take advantage of me.
So fuck em' all
I don't care about anyone but myself.
It get so lonely at the top, I need some company
Being successful can be lonely and I want someone to share it with.
My swears so stupid that these hoes be holding domes for me
My jewelry is so expensive that women will give me blowjobs just to wear it.
She wanna stay with me, know that unfaithfully
Women want to be with me even though I'm not faithful.
I'm like a drug to her, she can't walk away from me
Women are addicted to me and can't leave me alone.
Niggas don't play with me 'cause I keep AK's with me
People fear me because I'm heavily armed.
Police surveillance I know they fuckin' taping me
The police are recording my every move.
But all they gonna see is diamond cars and currency
The police will only see that I have money and expensive things.
I'm currently out the country chasin' currency
I'm out of the country making money.
I got some weed on me now and some ecstasy
I have drugs on me right now.
30 grams and a nine and a knife on me
I have drugs, a gun, and a knife on me.
Watch your mouth 'bout me, dirty South I be
Don't talk about me because I'm from the dangerous Dirty South.
Do your momma teach you don't talk when grown folks speak? (It's Gucci)
Don't talk when I'm talking because I'm important and well-respected in the community.
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave
Written by: Radric Davis, Tupac Shakur
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Adriano Santana
2 pac se destacou-se entre o mundo do rap 2pac humilde do jeito de ser cara olha so a voz a força de vontade falar enfrentar de frente com garra coragem so tem um 2 pac thug life ......
Real Rap Subtitles
PQP Muito Fodaa! bom trampo
Anderson Madrid
Tu pac maior rapper americano de todos os tempos
Vinícius Moreira
foda pra caralho!!
Anderson Madrid
Tu pac é o melhor repper americano de todos os tempos
C-JayyTheDJ
good to hear some old school samples for once
NICK BIENIEK
everybody lookn was straight 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💯
Rafael Nunes Rodrigues
FIKO BOM ESSE SOM RAPA....SO QUE NA MORAL NA PARTE Q O PAC CHEGA FALA AI N TEM PRA NINGUEN ESSE NEGO REPRESENTA......THUG LIFE
RAP É FODA
chega arrepiar mano
baby pink
This go hard