Gucci Mane

Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream audiences during the 2000s. His debut studio album, Trap House (2005) was released by the independent label Big Cat Records and entered the Billboard 200; it was followed by Hard to Kill (2006), which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 entry with its second single, "Freaky Gurl". That same year, he released his third album, Trap-A-Thon before signing with Atlantic Records to release his fourth album, Back to the Trap House (2007).

During this time, Davis continued independently releasing mixtapes and collaborative projects. He signed with Atlantic's sister label, Warner Bros. Records to release his sixth album and mainstream breakthrough, The State vs. Radric Davis (2009). Preceded by the double platinum-certified single "Lemonade", it peaked within the top ten of the Billboard 200, while the album's sequel, The Appeal: Georgia's Most Wanted (2010), peaked at number four. Following a two year incarceration between 2014 and 2016, he re-emerged with several retail projects beginning with his ninth album, Everybody Looking (2016), which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. He guest appeared on Rae Sremmurd's single "Black Beatles" that same year, which became his first song to peak atop the Billboard Hot 100.

Gucci Mane has released sixteen studio albums and seventy-one mixtapes since embarking on his career in 2001. He founded the Atlantic Records-distributed label imprint 1017 Records in 2007, which has signed artists including Young Thug, Waka Flocka Flame, Chief Keef, and Pooh Shiesty, among others. Throughout his career, he has worked with artists spanning numerous genres, including the Weeknd, Drake, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Selena Gomez, Mariah Carey, Usher, Bruno Mars, and Marilyn Manson. His regional influence has earned him the titles of "[an] avatar of East Atlanta," and "the most influential underground rapper of the 2000s". He was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2020.

Radric Delantic Davis was born on February 12, 1980, in Bessemer, Alabama, to former U.S serviceman and power plant worker Ralph Everett Dudley (born 1955), and social worker and teacher Vicky Jean Davis (born 1955). Davis's family had a strong military background. His paternal grandfather, James Dudley Sr. served in the military for twelve years, including during World War II, as a chef, and his maternal grandfather, Walter Lee Davis, served in the Pacific during World War II and on the USS South Dakota. Davis's father also served in the military, being stationed in Korea for two years.

Davis's parents met in 1978; Davis's mother had a son, Victor Davis, from another relationship. When Davis was born, his father was on the run from the police for dealing crack cocaine and heroin, and had fled to Detroit, Michigan. Davis's father was not present to sign the birth certificate, and Davis took his mother's last name.

Growing up, Davis was raised by his paternal grandmother while his mother attended college to get her degree. Davis's mother was a teacher who taught him to read at a young age, and spent most of her time teaching him scriptures from the Bible. Davis's first school was Jonesboro Elementary, where he attended kindergarten and the first several grades of elementary school. His older half-brother Victor introduced Davis to hip hop when Davis was six years old by bringing Davis to a Run-DMC, Beastie Boys and LL Cool J concert. Before moving to Atlanta with his mother, Davis had a distant relationship with his father, who would visit at irregular intervals; the visits stopped when Davis's father had two children with another woman and began to prioritize his children in Atlanta over Davis. Davis would later use a nickname given to his father, "the Gucci Man", as his stage name.

Davis moved with his single mother to Atlanta when he was nine years old due to family problems in Bessemer. Davis's mother had a boyfriend in Atlanta and planned to move in with him, but she decided otherwise at the last minute. They later moved in with someone Davis's mother met in church. Davis's family was kicked out of the house and did not have a stable living environment until his father set them up in a Knights Inn. Davis grew up in an area which was high in crime.

Davis's mother moved Davis and Victor to East Atlanta and Davis attended Cedar Grove Elementary School. He was generally good in school and considered himself athletic although he did not participate in school sports. Davis dealt drugs, mainly selling cannabis with his older brother. Davis sold cannabis on his own and ended up using his Christmas money to acquire crack cocaine while in the eighth grade, starting his career as a drug dealer.