How Gucci Mane Glo'd Up

Oct. 17 a.k.a. #1017 is a blessed day for Sir Radric Delantic Davis, better known to mere mortals as Gucci Mane. The number 1017 represents Gucci's label, squad, and family—he actually borrowed the number from the address of his grandfather's house. So, 10/17 is unofficially Gucci Mane Day. And this year, it becomes the Day of the Wopsters. 

Tuesday night at 10 p.m. ET, BET will broadcast the wedding of Guwop and his longtime girlfriend-turned fiancée Keyshia Ka'oir, who famously held him down while he was locked away. Ahead of this matrimonious occasion, we're taking a look back at the biggest glo up moments of Gucci Mane's life and career since he rejoined us in the free world last spring.

May 26, 2016: First day out

I will never forget the first time I saw Sir Guwop post-prison. I got a text from my sister that said something along the lines of, "Bitch, go look at Gucci's Snapchat!" I did as I was told, and I found an absolute masterpiece of a human being. White smile, chiseled physique—who TF could this be? It wasn't long before Gucci started flooding all of the social feeds with the 2.0 version of himself.

While behind bars, Gucci got his shit all the way together. When he spoke with Complex late last year, he remembered the exact moment he decided to make a change. "I know clearly the moment: when I realized I had a chance to get out in a couple of years as opposed to being locked up for a couple of decades," he said. "Once I got that opportunity, once I had that chance, I treated it as if it was my last chance."

Once out, Gucci and his soon-to-be-wife Keyshia kept it right and tight by eating healthy and staying active. 

July 22, 2016: Drops 'Everybody Looking'

Everybody Looking couldn't have been a more appropriate title for Gucci's first album post-prison. He dropped the lead single, "First Day Out tha Feds," the day after he was released, and it was streamed more than one million times within the first 24 hours. The video, which has been viewed more than 30 millions times, hilariously features clones, Gucci's way of acknowledging the conspiracy theory that his new physique was the work of cloning.

Gucci followed Everybody Looking up with Woptober in Oct. 2016, The Return of East Atlanta Santa in December, and Droptopwop, which came out earlier this year on the one-year anniversary of his release from the feds. (Reminder: most rappers put out one project a year.)

Nov. 14, 2016: Scores first No. 1 with "Black Beatles"

The boys Rae Sremmurd snagged Gucci for a feature on their smash single "Black Beatles" last year, and it did numbers. Boosted by the #MannequinChallenge, which was inescapable all last winter, the song shot up to the No. 1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The song itself perfectly reflects Gucci's point in life, at that moment, and at this moment: he's a modern-day rock star. 

Nov. 22, 2016: Proposes to his ride-or-die

At the Atlanta Hawks game, Gucci and Keyshia were sitting courtside, looking fresh and whatnot. The kiss cam—which can either be a very good or very bad thing—landed on the Wopsters and they smooched it out. But then, Gucci stood up and opened a small box to reveal blindingly huge ring, officially proposing to Keyshia. 

The wheels for a lifetime of happiness were set into motion. 

Dec. 12, 2016: Visits the Tiny Desk

This was perhaps the biggest indicator that Gucci 2.0 was in full effect. Gucci Mane, a former drug dealer and doer and general man of various character flaws, made it through the doors of National Public Radio, and behind its famed Tiny Desk. Gucci looked beyond comfortable, even within an organization known mostly amongst older white people. Alongside his trusted partner and beast on the keys, Zaytoven, Gucci performed stripped down versions of "First Day Out," "Waybach," and "Last Time."

This shift to a broader audience became stronger over the next several months, when Guwop spread his feature wings and began collabing with the likes of pop group Fifth Harmony and YouTube personality Jake Paul.

June to July 2017: Travels abroad for the first time 

This summer, Gucci Mane traveled abroad for the very first time at 37 years old. And he fucking stunted on every single one of us. 

Both Gucci and his travels looked supremely lit, and further solidified his place in #theculture as a fashion icon—a role he first dove into last summer. In an August 2016 interview with Vogue, the Atlanta rapper said his most talked-about life change, a dramatic weight loss, was inspired by fashion. "Before I was incarcerated, I had gotten so overweight that I couldn't fit into any of the clothes I wanted to wear," he said. "So with the time I was away, I decided I was going to lose weight so I could be able to wear all the brands that I really like."

Sept. 6, 2017: Gets off probation two years early

Best behavior.

Sept. 19, 2017: Releases memoir

The fall of 2017 was a particularly busy one for Mr. Mane. One of the biggest moments, hands down, was the day he released The Autobiography of Gucci Mane, a memoir. There's a lot about Gucci's life and times in the book, including where he got his rap name from, how he met collaborators like Zaytoven and OJ da Juiceman, and what inspired him to record the incredibly beloved "Lemonade." You can read 10 of the most interesting things we learned from the book here.

Sept. 29, 2017: Launches Delantic clothing line

Just last month, Gucci added "clothing line owner" to his growing list of accomplishments. His new brand, Delantic, takes its title from his middle name. 

The first drop features four T-shirt designs, including Gucci-inspired work from celebrated pop artist Kristofferson San Pablo and photographer Geordie Wood. Creative directors Peter and Patty Chung (Supreme, Nike) designed the collection, which is reasonably priced at $40.

Gucci is also the (very) new face of Reebok Classics, as an official partner of the new Reebok Classic Workout Plus EG sneaker campaign. He's also rumored to be releasing his own joints called the Guwop Reebok DMX Run 10. 

Oct. 13, 2017: Drops 'Mr. Davis' album

Gucci released his 11th studio album Mr. Davis, and it boasts quite the list of collaborators: Nicki Minaj, Monica, Chris Brown, Migos, The Weeknd, ASAP Rocky, Big Sean, Ty Dolla Sign, Schoolboy Q, Slim Jxmmi, Young Dolph, and Rico Love.

LeBron, the unofficial A&R of the entire rap game, listened to it over the weekend and shouted Gucci out on his Instagram story, which Gucci gladly reposted to his own IG.

Oct. 17, 2017: Wedding day

And here we are, where two will become one. You can tune in to watch the Mane Event at 10 p.m. tonight on BET.

Congratulations to the future Mr. and Mrs. Davis.

You can catch Gucci at ComplexCon in Long Beach, California on Nov. 4-5.