Gucci Mane tells (almost) all in his book The Autobiography of Gucci Mane
Acting, rapping and a couple of stints behind bars were what many people associated with the Atlanta-based Gucci Mane. Now a year and a half removed from federal prison, the perception of Gucci has strayed away from negative labels and more toward his change since his release; Including now being a New York Times Best Seller.
Debuting at number 4 on the New York Times Best Sellers list, Gucci Mane’s The Autobiography of Gucci Mane has given his fans and interested readers a look behind the events that has shaped him to be
at, what many consider now, the culmination of his career. Each chapter dives into different aspects of the artist’s life from growing up in Alabama to the first time he sold drugs to reluctantly putting out music and subsequently finding his place in music – and beyond.
Book
The composition of the book is broken down into 24 chapters mixed into three major parts. It’s written in such a way that readers who have been following his career can pinpoint almost exactly the events in his life took place. Rather than listing specific years during which each event took place, Gucci provides music references. Throughout the book he included lyrics he wrote related to the event taking place.
“Young people are searching for the truth,” he wrote. “…Those kids gravitated toward me because I was the closest thing to an established artist who said what he meant and meant what he said. That’s called authenticity…They see that I’m not hiding behind my music and they respect that.”
In a hip hop world eclipsed with pseudo street lyrics, Gucci uses his book to provide transparency for some of the lyrics he’s penned in the past. More often than not, what he wrote in his music was always a reflection of his life; including a murder.
“This part has to be brief,” he opened the chapter that touched on the murder. “There are some things I can never really talk about.”
As succinct as possible, Gucci set up what happened the night of the murder and allowed the news headlines to outline the remainder of the chapter, eventually leading to his lawyer’s speech after Gucci had been freed due to the charges being dropped. His many stints in various correctional facilities ultimately lit a fire under him to make a change. A change that if he hadn’t decided to do could send him back to prison for an extended period of time, if not for good – surely affecting his then-girlfriend (now wife) and his son whom he hadn’t spent much time with.
His release
His last stay, and longest, changed him for the better. He was released from prison May 2016 and the new, now noticeably thinner Gucci Mane was out. He has often been considered a clone of the “real” Gucci Mane, though not addressed in the book, but he’s since lightly addressed it in his music.
“See I’m an ex-X popper and online shopper/
N—— thought I was a clone, they heard me speak proper” – Gucci Mane “Last Time”
Though not every single detail of Gucci’s life was covered in the book – it would quickly go from an autobiography to a series – there was enough in there to give readers an idea of what message he wanted to convey in his book. His change. Gucci doesn’t dive too much into his current self as he wrote the book while incarcerated and wanted to focus on his life and changes throughout his years up until his release.
A couple hundred pages later, a book on the life of Gucci to this point was complete.
