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.”
Semi On Em
Gucci Mane Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So much money that my pitbull got a diamond choker
I'm on a yacht, me and my plug, and yeah, we playin' poker
Sippin' coladas, smokin' ganja, yeah, he's a heavy smoker
I started right here in the city, they call me a loco
I rob you blind and burn the money like the fuckin' Joker
And if you don't believe me, ask these hoes are ?
So much money in the air, can't even see the sofa
They say I cook so many deuces my arm need a motor
Half a pint in the Mountain Dew, now that's a dirty soda
And I sell so many chickens, think I work for Kroger
I'm flexin', countin' gualas, parkin' Lexus side on ?
Bad yellow bitch, passin' unless she a rider
She is down to ride with me and she gone hold my Glock
And she see an opp, I tell her pop her and she gone pop off
All us like 2Pac, Notorious, bitch I'm like Big Papa
If I see an opp, I spot him, shot him, bitch I got him
Drive through, in and out, I throw 'em up, Benihanas
Ridin', hemi, semi on me, catch his ass, semi on him
I been shot and ? Since I hit the lotto, ballin'
My diamonds novel, they not fufu bitch, bitch they from New Orleans
Ring, ring, money callin', I gotta go you not important
I'm smokin' ? And countin' money, tourin'
My Ruger hold a thirty, you can hold a fuckin' chorus
That's 80 shots at your face, better be good at duckin' bullets
Pull up in that ?, that's that shit them hoes adore
I pull up to the club and tell a bitch to hop aboard
Baby I'm a king, I know I am not a Lord
But Almighty So' and that's that shit that ? For
I'm smokin' ? With a Glock on tours
Make that bitch sing a melody, you get lot's of chorus
I'm flexin', countin' gualas, parkin' Lexus side on ?
Bad yellow bitch, passin' unless she a rider
She is down to ride with me and she gone hold my Glock
And she see an opp, I tell her pop her and she gone pop off
All us like 2Pac, Notorious, bitch I'm like Big Papa
If I see an opp, I spot him, shot him, bitch I got him
Drive through, in and out, I throw 'em up, Benihanas
Ridin', hemi, semi on me, catch his ass, semi on him
In the song Semi On Em, Gucci Mane and Chief Keef are boasting about their wealth and power. Gucci Mane starts off by declaring his reputation for being crazy and rich with the line, "Bitch, I'm Gucci Mane, you heard that I go coco-loco." He then goes on to describe his extravagant lifestyle, including his diamond-choker-wearing pitbull, playing poker on a yacht with his supplier, and drinking coladas and smoking ganja. Gucci Mane also references his past as a "loco" or crazy criminal, saying he burns money like the Joker, and challenges anyone to ask the women in his life if they doubt his street credibility. He raps about having so much money, he can't see the sofa and so much kush smoke in the air that he can't help but smell it. He also brags about his drug-dealing prowess, cooking so many deuces (bags of drugs) that his arm needs a motor, and selling so much chicken that he could work for Kroger.
Chief Keef's verse continues with the theme of violence and gun violence, saying he and his crew are like 2Pac and Biggie but boasting that he's even more powerful than they were. He talks about his bad yellow bitch who will ride with him and hold his Glock and pop off if she sees an opp (opposition or enemy). He references his own nickname, Almighty So, and says that he's smoking loud (a type of high-quality weed) and counting money while on tour. He brags about his Ruger holding 30 bullets and threatens his enemies, saying they'd better be good at ducking if they want to avoid being hit by 80 shots from his gun.
The song overall glorifies violence, drug dealing, and wealth. It's meant to be a braggadocious anthem for those who live outside the law and achieve success through criminal means.
Line by Line Meaning
Bitch, I'm Gucci Mane, you heard that I go coco-loco
As a well-known rapper, my behavior is often seen as wild and crazy.
So much money that my pitbull got a diamond choker
I am so wealthy that even my dog has expensive jewelry.
I'm on a yacht, me and my plug, and yeah, we playin' poker
My drug dealer and I are enjoying a luxurious lifestyle by playing poker on a fancy boat.
Sippin' coladas, smokin' ganja, yeah, he's a heavy smoker
We are drinking cocktails and smoking marijuana heavily.
I started right here in the city, they call me a loco
I began my music career in this city and am now famous for being unconventional and unpredictable.
I rob you blind and burn the money like the fuckin' Joker
I will steal from you without hesitation and destroy the money as if I were the villain The Joker.
And if you don't believe me, ask these hoes are ?
If you doubt my words, ask these women who can vouch for me.
So much money in the air, can't even see the sofa
I have so much wealth that there is money everywhere, even covering the sofa.
So much kush smoke in the air, I can't help but smell the odor
We are smoking so much marijuana that the smell is overwhelming.
They say I cook so many deuces my arm need a motor
I sell so much cocaine that it feels like I need a motor on my arm to keep up with making deals.
Half a pint in the Mountain Dew, now that's a dirty soda
Mixing cough syrup with Mountain Dew, like a dirty soda, is a way to get high.
And I sell so many chickens, think I work for Kroger
I sell so much cocaine that people mistake me for an employee of the grocery store Kroger.
I'm flexin', countin' gualas, parkin' Lexus side on ?
I am showing off my wealth, counting stacks of money, and parking my Lexus next to someone.
Bad yellow bitch, passin' unless she a rider
A good-looking woman is only worth my time if she is willing to participate in my criminal activities.
She is down to ride with me and she gone hold my Glock
She is willing to be my partner in crime and hold my gun for me.
And she see an opp, I tell her pop her and she gone pop off
If she sees an enemy, I instruct her to shoot them and she will not hesitate to do so.
All us like 2Pac, Notorious, bitch I'm like Big Papa
My crew and I are like famous rappers 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G, and I am like the legendary Biggie Smalls.
If I see an opp, I spot him, shot him, bitch I got him
If I see an enemy, I will quickly and easily shoot and kill them.
Drive through, in and out, I throw 'em up, Benihanas
I am quickly moving through places like a drive-thru, quickly leaving and arriving and making an impression at fancy restaurants like Benihana's.
Ridin', hemi, semi on me, catch his ass, semi on him
I am driving with powerful weapons, ready to catch and kill anyone who tries to cross me.
I been shot and ? Since I hit the lotto, ballin'
I have survived being shot and have been living a life of luxury since winning the lottery.
My diamonds novel, they not fufu bitch, bitch they from New Orleans
My high-quality diamonds are not fake, they are authentic and from the city of New Orleans.
Ring, ring, money callin', I gotta go you not important
When my phone rings with the sound of money, I ignore anyone who is not essential to my success.
I'm smokin' ? And countin' money, tourin'
I am smoking marijuana and counting my profits while on tour as a musician.
My Ruger hold a thirty, you can hold a fuckin' chorus
My gun is capable of shooting thirty rounds at once, while you can only handle singing a chorus.
That's 80 shots at your face, better be good at duckin' bullets
My gun has the ability to shoot eighty bullets at once towards someone's face, so they better have great reflexes to dodge them.
Pull up in that ?, that's that shit them hoes adore
I arrive in a desirable vehicle that women love and are attracted to.
I pull up to the club and tell a bitch to hop aboard
I pull up to a club and invite a woman to join me in my criminal lifestyle.
Baby I'm a king, I know I am not a Lord
I am the leader of my group and have power and influence, but I am not a nobleman or religious leader.
But Almighty So' and that's that shit that ? For
I am known as Almighty So' and that notorious reputation is what I strive for.
I'm smokin' ? With a Glock on tours
I am smoking marijuana and carrying my gun while on tour as a musician.
Make that bitch sing a melody, you get lot's of chorus
I force people to sing for me and give them little in return, only promising them a chorus or a small part of a song.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Keith Cozart, Radric Davis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind