Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980),[2][3] known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, particularly in the 2000s and 2010s.[4] 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 string of critically and commercially successful mixtape releases in 2009, Gucci Mane released his fourth studio album, The State vs. Radric Davis, his first gold-certified album. Following time spent in prison between 2014 and 2016, he re-emerged with several new retail projects, including Everybody Looking (2016), which was released to critical praise. His 2016 collaboration with Rae Sremmurd, titled "Black Beatles", provided Gucci Mane with his first number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. He has since released numerous albums; his latest one, Woptober II, was released on October 18, 2019.[5]
Gucci Mane has released 14 studio albums and over 71 mixtapes throughout his career. In 2007, he founded his own label, 1017 Records. He has worked with artists such as the Weeknd, Drake, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Selena Gomez, Mariah Carey, Usher, Bruno Mars, and Marilyn Manson. His mixtape releases and trap music has influenced fellow Atlanta rappers like Young Thug, Migos, Rich Homie Quan, 21 Savage, and Lil Yachty, and he has been called an "avatar of East Atlanta," and the most influential underground rapper of the 2000s.[6][7]
Early life
Growing up: 1980-1993
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),[8] and social worker and teacher Vicky Jean Davis (born 1955).[9] 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,[10] and his maternal grandfather, Walter Lee Davis, served in the Pacific during World War II and on the USS South Dakota.[9] Davis's father also served in the military, being stationed in Korea for two years.[9]
Davis's parents met in 1978; Davis's mother had a son, Victor Davis, from another relationship. When Davis was born, his father was on the run from the police for dealing crack cocaine and heroin,[11] and had fled to Detroit, Michigan.[12] Davis's father was not present to sign the birth certificate, and Davis took his mother's last name.[13]
Growing up, Davis was raised by his paternal grandmother while his mother attended college to get her degree.[14] 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.[15] Davis's first school was Jonesboro Elementary, where he attended kindergarten and the first several grades of elementary school.[11] 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.[16] Before moving to Atlanta with his mother, Davis had a distant relationship with his father, who would visit at irregular intervals;[17] the visits stopped when Davis's father had two children with another woman and began to prioritize his children in Atlanta over Davis.[18]
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.[19] 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.[18] Davis grew up in an area which was high in crime.[20]
Davis's mother moved Davis and Victor to East Atlanta and Davis attended Cedar Grove Elementary School.[15] He was generally good in school and considered himself athletic although he did not participate in school sports.[11] Davis dealt drugs, mainly selling cannabis with his older brother. Davis sold cannabis on his own and ended up using his Christmas money to acquire crack cocaine while in the eighth grade, starting his career as a drug dealer.[21]
Time as a drug dealer: 1993-2001
By the time Davis began taking his side hobby as a drug dealer as a career, he was a freshman at Ronald E. McNair High School, where he got good grades and was considered popular among his peers.[22] Davis never actually took drugs for the first few years that he was dealing drugs, though his first experience was smoking cannabis with a girl he had a crush on. He entered a friends-with-benefits arrangement with the girl with whom he regularly smoked cannabis, leading to a slight psychological addiction.[23]
Even though Davis had been selling drugs for nearly two years by 1995