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.”
dope man
Gucci Mane Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ima Dope Man Dope Man Dope Man Dope Man
Gucci Stay Fresh Like The Dope Man Dope Man
Everybody Hollin At The Dope Man Dope Man
Come And Spend Some Dollaz Wit The Dope Man Dope
[Verse 1:]
Yea Im The Dope Man Sumthin Like The Bird Man Ridein Otta Town
I Aint Talkin Bout Detergent Young Nigga Coppin 9s And 4s Got Me In My Trap House Standin Over The Stove
My Money Long Like Pinokeo Nose Thats Why My Trap Open Early And The Bitch Dont Close...
Man I Luv The Trap And If My Arms Wuz Bi Enough I Would Hug The Trap Because I Still
Do The Dirt Im In Tha Car Pool Lane Cuz Its Me And My Work Uh I Got A Trick Up My Sleave
Otta 5 Grand Plate Quarter Brick Up My Sleave Niggaz Call Me The Dope Man The Whole Hood
Shoppin Gucci Man Im Tha Dope Man
[Chorus x2]
[Verse 2:]
Im The Dope Man's Dope Man Neva Cut Tha Coke Man Gucci Man Tha Flair Got Em Smokin Otta Coke Cans
Rubba Bands Extra Grams Gucci Man Yes I Am Can You Cook This Work I Think I Can I Think I Can
First Ya Count Ya Money And Get Cha Shit Together Mane Gucci Mane Tha Flair Perdict Snow Like The Weather Man
A Hundred Packs A Granda Stacks Chain Doin Jump-In-Jacks Cops Commin Back-To-Back Hustlein Where Tha Money At
Nitty On The Track Gucci In The Vocal Booth Huntin Mamas T.V.S Thatz Wut A Crack Smoke Will Do She Dance At The Spot The Gurl So Thick
But She Known In The Hoop Az The Dope Mans Bitch A Hundred Grand A Day I Seen Dat Shyt Im Tha Dope Man's Dope Man I Mean That Shyt
Uhhh I Dont Rap I Trap Made A Hundred Gands Profit Thats Good Count
[Chorus x2]
[Verse 3:]
Uh Trap House In The Hood The And Heat Dont Work But The Stive Work Goood Damn I Dun Broke A Nail Weighed So Much Coke Tha I Broke The Scale
Nitty On The Track The Beat So Wick-I-Ed B4 A Quarter Brick Cant Be My Tickit Ggucci Shades On Cant See My Eyes
Pluse Im Ridein In The Wip That A Dope Man Drive..Uh Gucci Man Not The Snow Man Im Good Rite Now U Can Call Me The Dope Man
Gu-Cci U Hot Money Blow My Nose Wit It So I Call That Snot Money.. Im Tha Dope Man Babe The Dope Gurlz See Me And Them Hoes Go Crazy
Gucci Man The Flair Shawty Im That Dude My Wrist Game Rude And Im So Brand New
[Chorus x2]
The song "Dope Man" by Gucci Mane is about his life as a drug dealer or "dope man" and the success and wealth that he has gained from the illegal trade. In the chorus, Gucci sings about being a "dope man" while staying fresh like a "dope man" and inviting people to come and spend money with him. Gucci talks about the amount of drugs he has, calling himself the "bird man" with 50 birds in his suburban, and boasts about his money being long like Pinocchio's nose. He also mentions how much he loves the trap and doing the dirty work, standing over the stove in his trap house.
In the second verse, Gucci talks about being the "dope man's dope man" and never cutting the coke. He raps about how he predicts snow like a weatherman and makes a hundred grand a day. He also mentions a woman who dances at the spot and is known as the "dope man's bitch" but he never wavers from his life as a drug dealer and has made a hundred grand in profit. In the third verse, Gucci talks about his life in the trap house and how his heat doesn't work but his stove does, showing the harsh realities of the trade. He also raps about the "dope girlz" going crazy when they see him and calling himself the "dope man" and "not the snow man".
Line by Line Meaning
Ima Dope Man Dope Man Dope Man Dope Man
I am the dope man, there's no one else like me
Gucci Stay Fresh Like The Dope Man Dope Man
Gucci is always fresh, just like me
Everybody Hollin At The Dope Man Dope Man
Everyone wants to talk to me and hang out with me
Come And Spend Some Dollaz Wit The Dope Man Dope
Come and spend some money with me, I'm the man to see
Yea Im The Dope Man Sumthin Like The Bird Man Ridein Otta Town
I'm like a legendary drug dealer, traveling around in the best of style
50 Birds In Mt Burban Survin Splurgin U Can Say Im Workin Got Washin Powder
I've got 50 birds (kilos of drugs) in my suburban, they're valuable and I'm making a lot of money from them
I Aint Talkin Bout Detergent Young Nigga Coppin 9s And 4s Got Me In My Trap House Standin Over The Stove
I'm not talking about cleaning supplies, I'm dealing with drugs in my trap house, cooking them over the stove
My Money Long Like Pinokeo Nose Thats Why My Trap Open Early And The Bitch Dont Close...
My money is long, just like Pinocchio's nose. That's why my drug trap is open early and doesn't close
Man I Luv The Trap And If My Arms Wuz Bi Enough I Would Hug The Trap Because I Still
I love my drug trap so much that I'd hug it if I could. I really enjoy doing drug deals
Do The Dirt Im In Tha Car Pool Lane Cuz Its Me And My Work Uh I Got A Trick Up My Sleave
I'm always doing dirty work, and I use the carpool lane to avoid getting caught. I always have a few tricks up my sleeve
Otta 5 Grand Plate Quarter Brick Up My Sleave Niggaz Call Me The Dope Man The Whole Hood Shoppin Gucci Man Im Tha Dope Man
I have a quarter brick of drugs worth $5,000 up my sleeve. People call me the dope man, and I'm the one that everyone in the neighborhood shops with. I'm Gucci Mane and I'm the dope man
Im The Dope Man's Dope Man Neva Cut Tha Coke Man
I'm the best drug dealer you can find, and I never cut the drugs I sell
Gucci Man Tha Flair Got Em Smokin Otta Coke Cans Rubba Bands Extra Grams Gucci Man Yes I Am
My style and charisma convinces people to use drugs. I always have extra drugs and money from my drug business
Can You Cook This Work I Think I Can I Think I Can First Ya Count Ya Money And Get Cha Shit Together Mane
People ask me if I can prepare drugs, and I always reply positively with confidence. The first step in drug dealing is always accounting for your money and getting organized
Gucci Mane Tha Flair Perdict Snow Like The Weather Man A Hundred Packs A Granda Stacks Chain Doin Jump-In-Jacks
I'm so good at drug dealing that I can predict sales like a weatherman predicts snow. I have a lot of drugs and money, and I'm always hustling
Cops Commin Back-To-Back Hustlein Where Tha Money At Nitty On The Track Gucci In The Vocal Booth
I'm always hustling and avoiding the cops. Nitty is producing the music and I'm recording in the studio
Huntin Mamas T.V.S Thatz Wut A Crack Smoke Will Do She Dance At The Spot The Gurl So Thick
I'm always looking for new customers at bars and clubs. One girl in particular is very attractive and dances well, but she's known as the property of the dope man
But She Known In The Hoop Az The Dope Mans Bitch A Hundred Grand A Day I Seen Dat Shyt Im Tha Dope Man's Dope Man I Mean That Shyt
People know her as the dope man's girl, and I'm the one making a hundred grand a day. I'm the best drug dealer you can find, and I really mean that
Uh Trap House In The Hood The And Heat Dont Work But The Stive Work Goood
My drug trap house is in the hood and doesn't have heat, but it's still a good place to cook drugs
Damn I Dun Broke A Nail Weighed So Much Coke Tha I Broke The Scale
Dealing with so much cocaine is a lot of work, and I even broke a nail. I have so much cocaine that it broke my weighing scale
Nitty On The Track The Beat So Wick-I-Ed B4 A Quarter Brick Cant Be My Tickit
Nitty is making great music, and the beat is so good. Even with one fourth of a kilo of drugs, I can't afford to be arrested
Ggucci Shades On Cant See My Eyes Pluse Im Ridein In The Wip That A Dope Man Drive..Uh
I'm wearing Gucci sunglasses to hide my eyes and I'm riding around in a car that a dope man would drive
Gucci Man Not The Snow Man Im Good Rite Now U Can Call Me The Dope Man Gu-Cci U Hot Money Blow My Nose Wit It So I Call That Snot Money..
I'm not the snow man (another name for a drug dealer), but rather the dope man. I have a lot of hot money, so much so that I can blow my nose with it. I even call it 'snot money'
Im Tha Dope Man Babe The Dope Gurlz See Me And Them Hoes Go Crazy Gucci Man The Flair Shawty Im That Dude My Wrist Game Rude And Im So Brand New
I'm the drug dealer that every girl wants to be with, and they go crazy when they see me. I have a lot of style and charisma, and my jewelry is very flashy and expensive
Contributed by Ella V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
DayDay Rozay
Mannnnn I’m Still Banging This In 2020 & Forever 🔥🔥💯
BlackWaterBanks
Its 2022 and this shit still 🔥
We need this on a streaming platform
Jonathan Adair
It’s on Spotify
Scoob
Reason why I’m here today in 2023
Sheridan Tubbs
22 going into 23 this beat came into my head outta nowhere I almost forgot about this 🔥🔥🔥
Nellz BLerd Philantropist
One of the hardest Gucci tracks ever
blucuzzin
ever in life
Ronnie Moore
Period!!!
Amanda Raines
2022 and still bumping and smoking to this 💨💨
MzCydney89
This beat KNOCKS! Been my shit since high-school! 😩😂