Gucci Mane facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gucci Mane
Gucci Mane performing in 2017
Born	Radric Delantic Davis (1980-02-12) February 12, 1980 (age 44) Bessemer, Alabama, U.S.
Other names	Guwop Mr. Zone 6 Wizop East Atlanta Santa LaFlare
Occupation	Rapper songwriter record executive actor
Years active	2001–present
Agent	Paradigm Talent Agency
Spouse(s)	Keyshia Ka'Oir ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	3
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop trap
Labels	GUWOP 1017 Atlantic RBC Asylum Warner Bros. Tommy Boy Big Cat

Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, as the style gained mainstream popularity into the 2000s and 2010s. In 2005, Gucci Mane debuted with Trap House, followed by his second and third albums, Hard to Kill in 2006 and Back to the Trap House in 2007.

Following a series of regionally acclaimed independent mixtapes, Gucci Mane released his fourth studio album and major label debut, The State vs. Radric Davis (2009) to critical and commercial success. He found similar success with its sequel, The Appeal: Georgia's Most Wanted (2010). Following a two year incarceration between 2014 and 2016, he re-emerged with several retail projects beginning with his ninth album Everybody Looking (2016), which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. His 2016 collaboration with hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd on their hit single "Black Beatles" provided Gucci Mane with his first number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Gucci Mane has released sixteen studio albums and seventy-one mixtapes since embarking on his career in 2001. He founded the Atlantic Records-distributed label imprint 1017 Records in 2007, which has signed artists including Young Thug, Waka Flocka Flame, Chief Keef, and Pooh Shiesty, among others. Throughout his career, he's worked with artists spanning numerous genres such as the Weeknd, Drake, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Selena Gomez, Mariah Carey, Usher, Bruno Mars, and Marilyn Manson. His prolific output and influence has earned him the titles of "[an] avatar of East Atlanta," and "the most influential underground rapper of the 2000s".

Early life

Davis was born on February 12, 1980, in Bessemer, Alabama, to former U.S serviceman and power plant worker Ralph Everett Dudley (born August 23, 1955), and social worker and teacher Vicky Jean Davis (born 1955). Davis's family had a strong military background. His paternal grandfather, James Dudley Sr. served in the military for twelve years, including during World War II, as a chef, and his maternal grandfather, Walter Lee Davis, served in the Pacific during World War II and on the USS South Dakota. Davis's father also served in the military, being stationed in Korea for two years.

Davis's parents met in 1978; Davis's mother had a son, Victor Davis, from another relationship. When Davis was born, Davis's father was not present to sign the birth certificate, and Davis took his mother's last name.

Growing up, Davis was raised by his paternal grandmother while his mother attended college to get her degree. Davis's mother was a teacher who taught him to read at a young age, and spent most of her time teaching him scriptures from the Bible. Davis's first school was Jonesboro Elementary, where he attended kindergarten and the first several grades of elementary school. His older half-brother Victor introduced Davis to hip hop when Davis was six years old by bringing Davis to a Run-DMC, Beastie Boys and LL Cool J concert. Before moving to Atlanta with his mother, Davis had a distant relationship with his father, who would visit at irregular intervals; the visits stopped when Davis's father had two children with another woman and began to prioritize his children in Atlanta over Davis.

Davis moved with his single mother to Atlanta when he was nine years old due to family problems in Bessemer. Davis's mother had a boyfriend in Atlanta and planned to move in with him, but she decided otherwise at the last minute. They later moved in with someone Davis's mother met in church. Davis's family was kicked out of the house and did not have a stable living environment until his father set them up in a Knights Inn. Davis grew up in an area which was high in crime.

Davis's mother moved Davis and Victor to East Atlanta and Davis attended Cedar Grove Elementary School. He was generally good in school and considered himself athletic although he did not participate in school sports.

Career

2005–2006: Trap House and Hard to Kill

In 2005, Davis released his independent debut album entitled Trap House, which featured the single "Icy" with Young Jeezy. Disputes over the rights to this single caused a rift between the two artists. Trap House was considered a success for an independent artist. The album crept into the Top 20 of the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts and landed at the top spot on the Billboard Heatseekers Album chart. Guest appearances include Bun B, Killer Mike, Lil Scrappy, Jody Breeze and Khujo of Goodie Mobb. Hard to Kill followed in 2006. It included the hit single "Freaky Gurl", which peaked at number 12 on the Hot Rap Tracks, number 19 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and at number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also shot videos for the tracks "Street Nigazzz" and "Pillz."

2007–2010: Mixtapes, Back to the Trap House, The State vs. Radric Davis

The official remix of "Freaky Gurl" featuring Ludacris and Lil' Kim was included on his 2007 commercial debut album, Back to the Trap House. Gucci Mane appeared on OJ da Juiceman's "Make Tha Trap Say Aye" and began working on various mixtapes. Following the success of his mixtapes Bird Money and Writing on the Wall, Gucci Mane signed to Warner Bros. Records in May 2009.

He appeared on remixes of the songs "Boom Boom Pow" by The Black Eyed Peas, "Obsessed" by Mariah Carey and "5 Star Chick" by Yo Gotti and made a guest appearance on Mario's "Break Up." He made a total of 17 guest appearances in 2009. Gucci Mane's second studio album, The State vs. Radric Davis, was released by Warner Bros. Records on December 8, 2009. Its first single, "Wasted" featuring Plies, was originally from Gucci Mane's 2009 mixtape Guccimania. It peaked at number 36 on the Hot 100, number 3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and number 3 on the Rap Songs, making it Gucci Mane's most successful single to date. The second single was "Spotlight" featuring Usher. The third single was "Lemonade." The fourth single was "Bingo", featuring Waka Flocka Flame and Soulja Boy. On October 2, 2009, Gucci Mane was listed at number 6 on MTV's annual Hottest MC in the Game list.

2010–2012: The Appeal: Georgia's Most Wanted and other projects

After being released from jail, Gucci Mane stated that he would start or change the label name from So Icey Entertainment to 1017 Brick Squad Records. The Appeal: Georgia's Most Wanted, was released on September 28, 2010. The first single from this release was "Gucci Time", produced by and featuring Swizz Beatz. It premiered on Gucci Mane's MySpace page on August 6 and was released to US urban radio stations on August 24, 2010.

On March 18, 2011, Gucci Mane released his 10th EP, The Return of Mr. Zone 6, mostly produced by Drumma Boy. It debuted at #18 on the Billboard 200, and is his highest charting EP. The album also debuted at #2 on the Rap albums chart and #8 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. He also released a collaboration album with Waka Flocka Flame named Ferrari Boyz on August 5, Gucci Mane's first collaboration album. Its first single was "She Be Puttin On" featuring Brick Squad labelmate Slim Dunkin. Ferrari Boyz debuted at #21 on the Billboard 200. Gucci Mane released another collaboration album, this time with rapper V-Nasty, called BAYTL, on December 13. The album's first single was "Whip Appeal" featuring P2theLA.

Gucci Mane performing on August 29, 2010

Three days after BAYTL's release, while traveling to the video shoot of "Push Ups", Slim Dunkin, who was featured on the song, was shot and killed after an argument at an Atlanta recording studio. On February 5, 2012, Gucci Mane released his Trap Back mixtape. ..... The first single was the mixtape's title track. Music videos were filmed for the songs "Quiet", "Face Card", "In Love With a White Girl" featuring Yo Gotti, "Chicken Room" featuring Rocko, the title track, and "Sometimes" featuring Future. Trap Back was met with positive reviews, scoring a 7.8 from Pitchfork Media, a 7.5 from AllHipHop, and an "L" from XXL.

On May 25, 2012, Gucci Mane released another mixtape, I'm Up. ..... Gucci Mane released yet another mixtape, Trap God, on October 17, 2012. The mixtape included features from Brick Squad affiliate Waka Flocka Flame and frequent collaborators Rick Ross, Future, Meek Mill and Birdman, among others. On September 13, 2012, he appeared on Waka Flocka Flame's mixtape Salute Me Or Shoot Me 4 on two tracks.

2013: Trap House III and The State vs. Radric Davis II: The Caged Bird Sings

On February 12, 2013, Gucci Mane released his mixtape Trap God 2. By the end of March, Gucci Mane released three more mixtapes – Free Bricks 2 with Young Scooter, Trap Back 2 and EastAtlantaMemphis with Young Dolph. Gucci Mane announced in February 2013 that he was releasing a new studio album entitled Trap House III, the third installment of his Trap House series. It was released on May 21, 2013. On May 31, 2013, Gucci Mane also announced he was releasing a new album entitled Mr. GuWop later that year, featuring appearances by personal friend and industrial rock performer Marilyn Manson, who also helped him to give shape to the album's sound and musical direction. On June 5, 2013, Gucci Mane announced that 1017 Brick Squad would release their first group compilation album, Big Money Talk, in 2013.

On September 7, 2013, various members of 1017 Brick Squad and Brick Squad Monopoly traded shots back and forth on Twitter, including Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka Flame, Frenchie, Wooh Da Kid, and OJ da Juiceman. ..... Frenchie also accused Gucci Mane of paying for Young Vito's lawyer, the accused murderer of former 1017 Brick Squad artist Slim Dunkin, which Gucci Mane denied. Frenchie would release a diss record towards Gucci Mane the following day. During the following days, it was revealed that OJ da Juiceman, Young Dolph, Frenchie and Wooh da Kid were no longer, or in some cases had never been, signed to 1017 Brick Squad Records. It was also revealed that 1017 Brick Squad had lost their distribution deal with Atlantic Records, and the label might be disbanded.

On September 9, 2013, Gucci Mane advertised on Twitter that he sold the recording contracts of what he considered his main artists: Waka Flocka Flame, Young Scooter, and Young Thug. During his Twitter tirade he dissed many rappers and producers such as Nicki Minaj, Plies, Drake, Rocko, Polow da Don, 2 Chainz, Rick Ross, Jeezy, T.I., Yo Gotti, Frenchie, 808 Mafia, Waka Flocka Flame and Tyga among others. The following day he released a new single, "Stealing", featuring OJ da Juiceman, produced by Zaytoven. On the song he disses T.I., Jeezy, and Yo Gotti. That night he also released a new mixtape Diary of a Trap God. Following the mixtape's release his barrage of tweets stopped, and he claimed his Twitter account was hacked by his former manager Coach K for $5,000. Subsequently, he deleted all the controversial tweets and hours later deleted his Twitter account.

On September 22, 2013, Gucci Mane admitted to making the tweets, and claimed he was binging on codeine and promethazine during the time. He went on to apologize to the fans, his family, and the music industry members he offended. Gucci Mane also said that he would be going to rehab while incarcerated on his gun charge. Plans to release his album Mr. GuWop were scrapped indefinitely, and Gucci Mane would go on to release his tenth studio album, The State vs. Radric Davis II: The Caged Bird Sings, on Christmas Day 2013.

2014–2016: Incarceration; multiple project releases from prison

Gucci Mane released his first music of 2014 on April 20, a free collaborative mixtape with Young Thug called Young Thugga Mane La Flare. He later released another collaborative project with 1017 BrickSquad artists, Brick Factory Vol. 1, on May 24. Then, he released three digital albums on the same day, The Purple Album (with Young Thug), The Green Album (with Migos) and The White Album (with Peewee Longway), collectively known as World War 3D. His eighth digital album, Trap House 4, was released on July 4, 2014. The album features guest appearances from Chief Keef, Young Scooter, K Camp and Fredo Santana.

On July 17, 2014, he released a collaborative album with Young Dolph and PeeWee Longway (labeled as Felix Brothers) called Felix Brothers. On July 22, 2014, Gucci Mane announced that he would release a new album, titled The Oddfather, on the day he would go back to court, July 28, 2014. On August 15, 2014, Gucci Mane released his tenth digital album, Gucci Vs Guwop. Gucci Mane released the follow-up digital album to the mixtape Brick Factory Vol. 1, Brick Factory Vol. 2, on September 3. On September 13, Gucci Mane released a free mixtape called The Return of Mr. Perfect, the follow-up to his mixtape Mr. Perfect. Following his September releases he started promoting Trap God 3, which was released on October 17, 2014, and became the highest-charting release during his prison sentence. On October 31, 2014, Gucci Mane and Chief Keef released a collaborative mixtape titled Big Gucci Sosa.

On Christmas Day, Gucci Mane released his 13th mixtape, East Atlanta Santa, featuring artists such as Raury, Shawty Lo and OJ da Juiceman. He capped off the year by teaming up with producer Honorable C Note for a Christmas mixtape release titled C-Note Vs. Gucci, a compilation of old collaborations between the two and new records. In total, he released over twelve projects in 2014 and made over $1,300,000 from prison.

Gucci Mane released his 14th mixtape on January 3, 2015, 1017 Mafia: Incarcerated. On his birthday, February 12, 2015, he released the third installment of his Brick Factory series, Brick Factory 3. Soon after, on February 18, 2015, Gucci Mane released a surprise EP titled Views From Zone 6. The title is a play on words on the upcoming album from Drake Views From The 6. Gucci Mane released a triple digital album for the third time on March 20, 2015: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. It includes guest features from iLoveMakonnen, Waka Flocka Flame, Chief Keef, Rich The Kid, Andy Milonakis and others. Four days later, Gucci Mane released a follow-up EP entitled Dessert, containing production from Mike Will Made It and Honorable C-Note.

On April 6, 2015, Gucci Mane released the final installment of his Trap House series, Trap House 5 (The Last Chapter), the first installment in the series to be released as a mixtape. Production was handled by Mike Will Made It, Zaytoven and Honorable C-Note, and it had guest features from Young Thug, Peewee Longway and Chief Keef. On May 20, 2015, La Flare released his tenth project of the year, King Gucci, with appearances from Fetty Wap, Migos, PeeWee Longway and RiFF RAFF and production from Chief Keef, TM88, Metro Boomin, and Zaytoven. On December 25, 2015, Gucci Mane released a mixtape titled East Atlanta Santa 2.

On April 26, 2016, Gucci Mane released a 36-track compilation album on iTunes consisting of his Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Dessert projects called Meal Ticket.

2016–2018: Release, Everybody Looking, The Return of East Atlanta Santa, Mr. Davis & Evil Genius

On May 26, 2016, Gucci Mane was released from prison five months early: it was ruled that the five months he had spent in prison waiting for his trial had not yet been deducted from his sentence when they should have been. The next day, Gucci Mane released the first single under his new deal with Atlantic Records, "First Day Out tha Feds". On June 3, 2016, Gucci Mane appeared on "Champions", the first single off of GOOD Music's Cruel Winter album. On June 17, 2016, Gucci Mane made his first performance since being released from prison at the Elan Mansion, an Atlanta club. On June 25, 2016, he announced his ninth studio album and first since his release from prison, Everybody Looking, which was released on July 22, 2016. One day later he headlined the "Gucci & Friends" concert at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta; the show featured Fetty Wap, 2 Chainz, Future and Drake.

Following his release from prison, Gucci Mane became the subject of an internet conspiracy theory that stated he was a clone of the "real" Gucci Mane, citing the rapper's new slim physique, a slight change in his voice and his shift towards a healthier lifestyle as supposed proof. Gucci Mane denied that he was a clone and poked fun at the theory in an Instagram post.

In September 2016, Gucci Mane collaborated with Rae Sremmurd on the single "Black Beatles", which in November 2016 reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, Gucci Mane's first number-one single as a featured artist. The song was described by Billboard as the "unexpected commercial high point for Gucci" as it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 7 non-consecutive weeks between November 2016 and January 2017.

He released Woptober on October 14, 2016, and released a side project called Free Bricks 2 with Future.

On November 23, 2016, Gucci Mane and Lil Uzi Vert released a collaborative 7-track EP, "1017 vs. The World".

His tenth studio album, "The Return of East Atlanta Santa", was released on December 16, 2016.

On May 26, 2017, Gucci Mane released Droptopwop, a collaborative mixtape with Metro Boomin. The 10-track mixtape features Rick Ross, Offset of Migos, Young Dolph and 2 Chainz.

In August 2017, Gucci Mane announced his eleventh studio album, Mr. Davis. The album was released on October 13, 2017. It includes "I Get the Bag" featuring Migos, which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, his most successful single as a solo artist to date.

Two months later, Gucci Mane released his twelfth studio album El Gato: The Human Glacier, produced entirely by Southside. A week after its release, in similar fashion to the announcements of previous projects, Gucci Mane announced his thirteenth album, Evil Genius, released on December 7, 2018.

2019–present: East Atlanta Santa 3, So Icy Summer and So Icy Gang Vol. 1

On July 3, 2020, Gucci Mane released the 24-track So Icy Summer compilation album, marking his first project of 2020, following East Atlanta Santa 3 in 2019. On July 30, he collaborated with rapper Mulatto for the single "Muwop", a play on his moniker "Guwop."

On October 16, 2020, a day before October 17, Gucci Mane released another compilation album with his label 1017 Records, titled So Icy Gang Vol. 1, and credited as Gucci Mane & The New 1017, indicating that new members of the label are featured.

On November 15, 2022, the rapper released the track and video "Letter to Takeoff", dedicated to the rapper Takeoff.

Other ventures

Acting career

Gucci Mane made his acting debut in the 2012 film Birds of a Feather, co-starring with Producer Zaytoven. The same year, he was featured in Spring Breakers which also featured James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson and Rachel Korine.

Delantic Clothing

In May 2016, Gucci Mane began teasing images of his upcoming clothing line called Delantic, which will feature a range of apparel, from T-shirts and hoodies to underwear.

Autobiography

In September 2017, Davis published his autobiography, The Autobiography of Gucci Mane. The book was written during Davis's time in prison and was authored with Neil Martinez-Belkin, a former XXL Magazine editor. In the weeks before the publication, Davis released a trailer for the book consisting of a short montage directed by videographer Cam Kirk. The Autobiography of Gucci Mane went on to become a New York Times bestseller. The New Yorker said the book "reads like a set of liner notes that try to impose a central order on his life story."

Gucci collaboration

In 2019, Davis started working with Italian fashion house Gucci. The brand had previously not associated itself with the rapper due to his criminal record and image. After a few years of personal development, which included Davis getting married and improving his fitness, Gucci announced he would be the face of their Gucci Cruise 2020 Campaign.

Personal life

Davis married Keyshia Ka'oir, the founder of Ka'oir Cosmetics and Ka'oir Fitness, in Miami on October 17, 2017. The wedding was paid for by BET which produced an accompanying 10-segment TV series, The Mane Event, depicting wedding preparations and the ceremony. Davis had proposed to Ka'oir after performing at an Atlanta Hawks basketball game. On December 23, 2020, Ka'oir gave birth to their son, Ice Davis. On February 8, 2023, Ka'oir Gave birth to their daughter, Iceland Ka’oir Davis.

Davis disclosed in his 2017 autobiography that he has a son born in 2007 whom he had not known about until the child was 10 months old.

Discography

Studio albums

• Trap House (2005)
• Hard to Kill (2006)
• Trap-A-Thon (2007)
• Back to the Trap House (2007)
• Murder Was the Case (2009)
• The State vs. Radric Davis (2009)
• The Appeal: Georgia's Most Wanted (2010)
• The Return of Mr. Zone 6 (2011)
• Everybody Looking (2016)
• The Return of East Atlanta Santa (2016)
• Mr. Davis (2017)
• Evil Genius (2018)
• Delusions of Grandeur (2019)
• Woptober II (2019)
• Ice Daddy (2021)
• Breath of Fresh Air (2023)

Collaborative albums

• Ferrari Boyz (2011) (with Waka Flocka Flame)
• BAYTL (2011) (with V-Nasty)
• So Icy Boyz (2021) (with 1017)

Filmography

Awards and nominations

BET Awards

BET Hip Hop Awards

Grammy Awards

iHeartRadio Music Awards

MTV Video Music Awards

See also

In Spanish: Gucci Mane para niños