Gucci Mane Opens Up About Time Behind Bars: "Life in Prison Was Hell"

Gucci Mane pretty much confirms what everyone ever suspected about his time behind bars, telling Fader, "Life in prison was hell." The rapper, who was serving time in a maximum security prison for two counts of firearm possession, says there was no shortage of violence going on in the place. "People were dying every week. [But] I think it helped me to get to the point I’m at now, to drive me out from the drugs. It gave me time to reflect, it made a lot of relationships that were toxic in my life just fall away."

Prior to prison, Gucci grappled with the side-effects of drug addiction. "When I was on drugs so bad, I talked different. When I was smoking weed, a damn near pound of weed every day, I was congested. When I was drinking lean like crazy every day, I was out my mind," he said. Fortunately, his time in prison helped him clean up his lifestyle, which has given him a clearer view of how he sees the world. "I was always sophisticated, but it ain’t even sophisticated now—it’s just a sober, a more conscious Gucci. And people probably ain't used to it. It took a minute for me to get used to it. But they’re gonna have to get used to it because it’s here to stay."

There was a physical difference in Gucci that was visible the day he got out of prison, but one thing that didn't change was his prolific musical output as he dropped "First Day Out Tha Feds" less than 24 hours after his release and completed his new album, Everybody Looking, in only six days. His biggest hope is that his music, raw with emotion and details of his past, doesn't bring people down. Instead, he wants to inspire them to be better. "I never really made music to make people try to feel sad. I don’t want people to feel sorry for me. I want them to feel powerful, I want them to feel aggressive, I want them to feel invincible. I want to hear the fuckery. I want to hear the shit that people probably think, 'This ain’t good to be played around kids.'"

To celebrate his Fader cover story, Gucci is currently taking over the publication's snap as he cooks some Jamaican food and hangs up some new ice cream-themed art around the house. You can read the rest of Gucci's interview here and catch Everybody Looking out now.