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Here is a not at all exhaustive list of names Gucci Mane has been known by:
Gucci Mane, Guwop, La Flare, Mr. Zone 6, Trap God, Radric Davis (but only if you’re his mother).
Whilst collecting names, he’s also pioneered trap as a genre, elevated Migos to fame, been in and out of prison multiple times and released more music than most artists manage in a lifetime.
But we’re going to level with you here, a lot of that music isn’t very good. You can’t drop a mixtape every fortnight without a severe lack of quality control, so getting into Gucci Mane can be a daunting task.
Here at Soapbox we don’t like the idea of you facing such a mountain of trap music alone, so we’ve put together a quick audio introduction to Big Gucci Guwop La Flare Zone 6 Trap God Davis for your listening pleasure.
Thankyou gifts to the usual address, cheers.
Icy-2005
Gucci Mane’s breakout hit, you could probably date ‘Icy’ by the hook alone, which sounds more like a Nelly track than an early trap anthem. Icy is also notable as the song that started the long-running feud between Gucci and Young Jeezy, which resulted in Gucci killing a would-be attacker in self-defence. Hey, nobody ever said trapping was easy.
Lemonade-2009
An ode to the colour yellow, ‘Lemonade’ is a perfect example of pre-transformation, lean-addicted Gucci Mane, who churned out upwards of 100 mixtapes in a decade. ‘Lemonade’ is taken from The State VS Radric Davis, arguably one of the best out of the 100, and is a good barometer of trap before it got trendy.
1st Day Out Tha Feds-2016
‘1st Day Out Tha Feds’ was released after Guwop’s release from prison in 2016, where he’d been held for 3 years on gun charges. Pre-incarceration Gucci’s career was floundering somewhat, but three years behind bars cemented him as a trap legend. It also gave him time to kick the lean, get in shape and come back better than ever. ‘1st Day Out Tha Feds’ isn’t his best work post-release, but it still shows just how much more polished his style has become.
Both-2016
A collaboration between Gucci Mane, Drake and producer Metro Boomin, ‘Both’ was Gucci’s first ever number one single. A combo of Drake’s massive star power, trap’s current place at the forefront of hip-hop, and Gucci cleaning up helped propel this track to the top spot. It’s also an absolute banger.
Met Gala-2017
‘Met Gala’ is the absolute embodiment of Gucci’s new sound. Taken from the mixtape Droptopwop, which clocks in at a modest 37 minutes, it’s focussed and polished in a way that his earlier work isn’t, and showcases exactly why is now getting consistent mainstream attention, despite having been around for over a decade. Gucci Mane still released 4 projects in 2017, but compared to his previous output that shows serious restraint on his part. It looks like he may have finally realised the benefits of quality over quantity.
