Who Is Gucci Mane? Rapper Dealt With Drug Addiction, Gave Himself Self Therapy In Prison

Gucci Mane was born as Radric Delantic Davis back on February 12, 1980, in Bessemer, Alabama. He has been one of the most famous and influential rappers in hip-hop. Recently, he opened up about being diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He has been known for his distinctive voice, lyrics that are raw, and has a pivotal role in shaping the 'trap' genre. Gucci's career has been marked by chaos, during which he reinvented himself. He has had struggles of various kinds, served jail sentences, and seen a lot of turbulence in his life.

Gucci had grown up in a very tough environment in Bessemer, Alabama, before moving to East Atlanta, Georgia, with his mom. There was a lot of instability early in his life as Gucci's dad was always absent, and the neighbourhood he grew up in was kind of surrounded by violence and also drugs. Despite these things, Gucci, a.k.a. Radric, had excelled academically and had a fondness for poetry, which helped him develop his lyrical knowledge.

Gucci Mane was addicted to drugs

Gucci, earlier in an interview with Hip Hopnc.com, claimed that he had never been sober since the age of 17. Since he was a teenager, he was attracted to the street life of selling drugs and making money. His passion for creating music was like an escape route. He shared he felt like he was not being able to enjoy making music sober. In his words:

"I couldn’t enjoy my money sober. Why would I wanna go to a club and couldn’t smoke or drink? I felt like s** wouldn’t be good sober. I associated everything with being high. In hindsight I see it for what it was: I was a drug addict. I was naïve to the fact that I was numb. You told me that I was doing good or told me I was doing bad, you hated me or loved me, either which way I greeted with nonchalance. It was sincere nonchalance — like, I really didn’t care.”

Gucci Mane also shared that he had been smoking weed and drinking alcohol since he was a teenager, and drinking lean (or syrup, the prescription-strength cough syrup concoction) since he was 21. His love for music was like his escape muse. He took rapping seriously back in the early 2000s and released mixed tapes that captured the reality of Atlanta's street culture. However, in 2016, after serving about 3 years in federal prison, Gucci became a changed man. The once-upon-a-time bloated rapper became slim, mentally fine, and also sober. His fans were shocked to see his transformation and used to tease him by calling him 'Clone Gucci'.

Gucci Mane gave himself self-therapy when he was in the jail

Gucci's career was filled with a lot of controversy. His fight with American rapper, Young Jeezy, had amped back in 2005 when a violent fight occurred because of the ownership of the song, Icy. Guccy was reported guilty of murder after shooting a man who claimed to have been sent to attack the rapper. Gucci was dropped from the charges, but while in prison, he stuck to his routine. He used to pray, work out, read the Bible along with self-help books by Tony Robbins and Deepak Chopra. Gucci told the same publication:

"I’m my own therapist. I been changed from before I even got out. People seeing now the effect of how I started thinking from maybe early 2014.” 

Gucci Mane wanted to be drug addiction free and come out clean from prison

The prison incident did add to Gucci's street-legend persona. In jail, his favourite track was No Flocking. For the unversed, between 2005 and 2013, the rapper faced many legal issues- from assault, drug possession charges, to parole violations. His reputation became volatile in prison, but his artistic talent grew. From the jail, he did work on albums, mixtapes, and also recorded in advance and also produced via his team. He also shared that he was taking rehab, but when he was in prison, there was a turning point in his life. Gucci told the same publication of feeling like death came from the drug withdrawal. He said:

"It feel like death. Your body just craving lean bad. Stomach tore up, can’t think straight. Just mad at the world. Temper so short, so violent, so aggressive. So just rude and toxic.”

Gucci Mane's road to fame with the Trap Movement

In 2005, Gucci, with the song, Icy, had his ultimate breakthrough. The song featuring American rapper Young Jeezy became a regional hit and showcased Gucci's raunchy voice and a street story to a huge audience. Gucci had also released his debut album called the Trap House back at this time, which gave him a lot of success. Gucci then created a base in the trap music genre and gave hits such as Hard To Kill, Trap A Thob, and Back To The Trap. Gucci worked to build his reputation on the streets of Atlanta, and fans could not help but admire his work ethic. Gucci has been known for songs such as Lemonade, Wasted, and Freaky Girl, which have made him very famous in clubs and on the radio. 

What do you think of Gucci Mane rising from the trap that messed up his life in terms of drug addictions and going to prison?

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