Gucci Mane is the one of the most notable rappers and one of the pioneers who established trap music. He influenced thousands of rappers and proved his significance after he landed his 2016 No.1.Billboard hit called “Black Beatles”.
Early life:
Gucci Mane was born as Radric Delantic Davis on February 12, 1980 in Bessemer, a small town in the state of Alabama.
He came from a military family: his father Ralph Everett Dudley is a former soldier who served two years in Korea, and his grandfather James Dudley served in WW II just as his grandfather from the mother’s side who served in the Navy in the Pacific.
His family was always focused on important things in life, teaching their children to focus on the importance of moral.
His mother Vicky Jean Davis is a very educated woman who worked both as a teacher and a social worker. She spent a lot of time and effort in the rapper during his childhood and he is very thankful for it.
Radric himself never felt that he could have a career in the military. He was always interested in making beats and rhymes. He was more of a creative type rather than being someone who could be commanded.
Ralph Dudley and Vicky Jean have met after she ended her failed relationship from which she gained only one good thing: her loved son Victor.
After they have started their relationship Ralph was forced to hide from the police who were searching for him due to some drug allegations against him. That meant that his father had to run to Detroit and wasn’t with his mother when Radric was born. That is the reason that Radric has his mother’s surname Davis instead of father’s Dudley.
His childhood wasn’t easy because of the constant marrital and financial problems of his mother and father.
His grandmother (from the father’s side) mostly raised him and he loves her very much. He mentioned her in his songs and written a lot about her in his autobiography.
His mother Vicky Jean started new studies at college so Victor and Radric spent a lot of time at granny’s. The connection they had with her was a marvelous thing that the rapper oftenly speaks about.
One thing that Gucci Mane never seems to forget to mention is how much he appreciates and respects his family. Not only has he been taught to be thankful for all of the effort that was invested into him, but be was also very connected to his family members so it was natural for him to be so personal.
Radric was a pupil at Jonesboro Elementary School, but didn’t like studying.
He had a great relationship with his older half-brother Victor who introduced him to hip-hop from an early age. He often took Radric to concerts, especially when Beastie Boys came to town because Victor was their huge fan.
After going to Jonesboro for a few years, he had to enroll a new school after he relocated to Atlanta with his mum in 1989. She was on her way to move in with her new boyfriend but in the end she found a new home for them, where they lived alone.
Radric started going to Cedar Grove Elementary School where he showed himself as a great athlete. His grades were also good there.
His brother who was older was already involved in crime and drug dealing so he dragged Radric into it too. However, he was never really proud of it neither did he find it something that could be a life job.
When he was an eightgrader he was already a crack dealer going up to dealing cocaine. It was his way to get a street name and to earn money the easy way. This was something they used as a method of getting quick cash without working too hard.
After a while he began using the drugs himself, for relaxation and when he hung out with his friends. He said that he was in a stage where he almost became totally addicted to taking them, but that he started to control himself just in the right time.
Career development:
When he was fourteen he started rapping for his own pleasure and seven years later he released his first single called “La Flare”. The single was distributed in the streets.
He was arrested in 2001 under the charge for the possesion of coccaine and received a three months sentence. After that he returned to music business.
He made a collaboration with a known rapper Zaytoven who liked his music. The two of them started a new label “La Flare Entertainment” in 2002.
Big Cat Records offered him a deal and he released a single called “Black Tee”. His next deal was signed with a Tommy Boy Company who released his “Trap House” album in 2005.
The most known single from this tape was “Icy” made in collaboration with Young Jeezy. Young Jeezy was happy to be chosen to work with him just as much was Gucci pleased with him too.
In 2006 he released his hot new mixtape “Hard to Kill” which brought him into limelight with his single “Freaky Gurl” that came to No.62 on the US Billboard Hot 100 list.
He also served a six-month sentence for aggravated assault in the same year. He had anger managment problems and had a short fuse at that time.
Next year, he released his third tape named “Back to the Trap House”. The album featured a lot of artists, including Ludacris and Lil’Kim which collaborated with him on his “Freaky Gurl” remix.
In 2008 he went back to prison after violating his probation and was sentenced for one year in prison. It seemed like he just can not keep himself out of trouble.
In 2009 he signed a record deal with Warner Bros which meant only one thing: his name became worth a lot of money. He released his new album “The State vs. Radric Davis”. “The Wasted” became his new hit single.
He attacked his fan in 2011 and was arrested for it. A few months later he was arrested for the possesion of an illegal weapon. Since he had a lot of arrests and charges, he made a deal with with the court in 2014 so he was let out of prison in 2016.
After coming out of prison he had a lot of songs to perform since he had time in jail to devote to music. He released many new mixtapes, such as “Trap Back”, ” I’m Up” , “The Appeal:Georgia’s most wanted.
He released his 3rd album 2013 and it was called “Trap House III” and Gucci said that it was his last album in the Trap House series.
Another tape came the same year and it was called “The State vs. Radric Davis II: The Caged Bird Songs”.
In 2012 he acted for the first time in a movie “Birds of a Feather” and in 2013 he appeared alongside Selena Gomez in “Spring Breakers”.
Nevertheless, he published his new “Trap House IV” album in 2014. It had guest appearances by Chief Kief and F.Santana.
His last album in the Trap House series was delivered in 2015 and it was called “Trap House V (The Last Chapter).
In the two years he was in prison nis mixtapes earned him more than $1 million.
He released over 30 singles on his first album in iTunes in 2016. He wanted to stay in touch with his fans so he placed this album online.
Although he was in prison so long he hasn’t lost his fame. The fact that he is one of the most popular rappers ever was confirmed after he was approached by a big record label, Atlantic Records.
The first single released by their production was called “First Day Out Tha Feds”.
After that came his new studio album called “Everybody Looking” in 2016.
“The Return of East Atlanta Santa” was his last album.
During his career he was featured on many artists songs such as “Boom Boom Pow” by The Black Eyed Peas and “Obsessed” by Mariah Carey.
Personal life
As a child he never had a promising relationship with his father so he missed a father figure and a dad-son relationship other kids had.
He is in a relationship with Keyshia Ka’oi, a beautiful entrepreneur and a cosmetic line owner. He is also a fitness trainer and has her own fitness clothing line. They are together for eight years and she is responsible for his efforts to keep away from trouble.
You can say that he completely changed his life around. He also revealed all his past and things he has done in his autobiography from 2017 called simply ” The autobiography of Gucci Mane” written by Radric Davis “Gucci Mane” and Neil Martinez Barkin. The book became New York Times Bestseller.
He revealed the fact that he has a 10 year old son in his autobiography. He tries to avoid talking about him to the media since he wants to protect the child and provide him a peaceful childhood he never had.
The book was praised and had excellent reviews in the meaning that it was raw, truthful and realistic. He gained a lot of new fans with this book. It was somethinf not a lot of music artists, especially in this genre, decide to do and that’s why he stood out.
He released his own clothing label called “Delantic” and with the help of his girlfriend he managed to improve it.
Quick summary
Full name: Radric Delantic Davis
Date of birth: February 12, 1980
Birthplace: Bessemer, Alabama, U.S.
Age: 37
Profession: rapper and a songwriter
Height: 188 cm
Weight: 96 kgs
Net Worth: $12 million
