Gucci Mane's long-awaited memoir The Autobiography of Gucci Mane, written with Neil Martinez-Belkin, comes out on Tuesday (Sept. 19). It's as wild, unpredictable, and fascinating as the man himself, and you can and should cop it here.
We got an advance look at Guwop's life story, and learned a whole lot about the man and his music (and the drugs he did. Boy, oh boy, did he do some drugs). Below are 10 things we learned from his memoir.
1. "Gucci Mane" was his father's nickname first
Gucci's grandfather, James Dudley Sr., was in the military for a dozen years, and served in WWII. His time in the service brought him to Italy, where he flipped out over Gucci. Later on, James Sr. would give the nickname "Gucci" to one of his nephews, who in turn would pass it on to an annoying younger cousin who was always hanging around—Gucci's dad, Ralph, who would become known as the "Gucci Man."
2. Gucci's first name is a combination of his parents' names
The rapper's given name is Radric Davis. "Radric" is a combo of his father's name, Ralph, with his mom's name, Vicky.
3. When he first met Zaytoven, he was writing songs for a kid rapper
Gucci tells the story of first meeting Zaytoven in 2001. At the time, Guwop had no interest in rapping. Instead, he had written a bunch of songs for a 14-year-old rapper named Lil' Buddy, and was looking for beats. The kid, as kids do, lost interest in the project, so Zay suggested that Gucci get on the mic himself.
4. He met OJ da Juiceman while collecting cans
Gucci met his protégé OJ da Juiceman when they were both picking up aluminum cans in order to hustle up some money.
5. His favorite of all his mixtapes is Chicken Talk
"More than any other release of mine Chicken Talk captured my state of mind during the time I was making it," he writes.
6. He kept vampire hours in the studio
Gucci once told his record label head Todd Moscowitz to never call him during daylight—only after dark.
7. "Lemonade" was inspired by... actual lemonade
One time, Gucci ran out of Sprite for his lean and had to use lemonade instead—thus inspiring perhaps his most-beloved song.
8. He got paid a lot to record with V-Nasty
Gucci confused a lot of fans when he released a mixtape with Oakland rapper V-Nasty, who was more known for being a white person who liked to use the n-word than she was for her music. Guwop claims he didn't know anything about her when he rapped on their joint project. All he needed to know was that it paid "a couple of hundred grand."
9. He never met Selena Gomez while making 'Spring Breakers'
Despite persistent rumors of on-set romance during the filming of Spring Breakers, Gucci says he never met his co-star at the time, since they didn't have any scenes together.
10. He almost made an El Chapo-themed mixtape
Gucci was locked up when Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman made a daring escape from prison in 2015. Guwop was so amazed by the story that he was on the verge of making an entire El Chapo-themed mixtape. However, he thought—probably rightfully—that such a project might hurt his chance for early release, so he scrapped the idea.
