FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Features

The Duality of Mane: An Appreciation of Gucci Mane's Romantic Side

While I’m sure Gucci Mane relishes the level of intimidation he’s capable of, I’d argue that Gucci loves romance even more.

Art by Adam Mignanelli

The first time I heard a Gucci Mane song I was in the car with my mom. It was “Freaky Gurl,” and I remember staring out the window, squinting and fixating on anything we drove past, pretending I wasn’t hearing the lyrics. When it got to the chorus—“She’s a very freaky gurl / don’t bring her to mama / first you get her name / then you get her number / then you get some brain in the front seat of the hummer”—my mom exclaimed “This young man is nasty!” and turned the radio off.

Annoncering

That’s all it took to hook me. As soon as I got home, I searched “freaky girl song” on Limewire. It wasn’t just the catchy chorus that got me. It was the sheer hood charisma dripping over trap beats with pure, undeniable charm.

Gucci Mane is Atlanta’s most prolific rapper, and he’s responsible for much of the reputation trap music has today. For a decade, Gucci Mane has churned out tape after tape of hood classics, soundtracking everything from high-level robbery to barbecues. Gucci hates grown men doing “bitchass shit”—he once said this was the reason for his longtime beef with Young Jeezy. Gucci knows how to rap about murder — complete with news report footage — and knows how to showcase himself as rap’s Lothario antihero. After years of violent altercations and conflict with Jeezy, Gucci once attended his rival’s birthday party because he “looked so fresh he just had to go”. No one dared to remove him from the party, not even the host.

While I’m sure Gucci Mane relishes the level of intimidation he’s capable of, I’d argue that Gucci loves romance even more. There are tracks where Gucci is so sensual and charming that I’d liken it to an Isley Brothers record. The romance is tucked between other tracks about smoking too many blunts and serving fiends, but it’s present. Gucci Mane exercises a frank duality that other rappers have failed to replicate. There’s something undeniably fascinating about a man who can sing “they ain’t you babe, no they ain’t you babe, and there ain’t nothin else I can do but be with you, babe” and rap “if they knew about my life I’d get the electric chair” on the same album. The true duality of man.

Annoncering

When news broke earlier this week that he had been released from federal prison, after serving two years on charges for firearm possession and threatening police officers, it happened through his girlfriend Keyshia Ka’oir’s (f.k.a. Keyshia Dior) Snapchat. She posted a video of the two of them holding hands, which might have thrown some observers off but to longtime fans made perfect sense.

When Trap House 3 came out, I cried to it. Several times. Gucci Mane spent nearly an entire album crooning about getting chose and romantically flexing for the woman he loves. On “Use Me,” featuring 2 Chainz, Gucci sings about how he doesn’t usually get used up by women, but one in particular was so beautiful that he had to let her (and wants her to continue). “Point of My Life” showcases a mature Gucci who has come to the realization that he’s ready to embrace not only love but a future with one particular woman. He catalogues the women he’s been with—one who loves his boat, one who buys him clothes, etc.—but insists they can’t hold a candle to the woman he’s singing about. “Nuthin On Ya,” featuring Wiz Khalifa, is all about the romantic flex. Admittedly, I skip Wiz’s verse altogether, but the rest of the song is about buying matching cars, having twin daughters, and balling out at the mall together. Intimate lines of promise (“I won’t ignore ya and I won’t divorce ya”), quickly followed up by affirming ones (“I respect that girl / I accept that girl / I’ll do anything I can/to protect that girl”), make this one of my favorite tracks. I still haven’t heard anything like it.

Annoncering

Sure, your faves have put out songs and even entire albums about “love.” It’s different with Gucci, though. One of my biggest reasons for loving romantic Gucci Mane is that he is realistic and matter-of-fact about his relationships. On his feature verse for Mario's “Break Up,” Gucci quickly assesses a situation in which he's been broken up with and decides to move on. He doesn’t out his ex, her street name, and Hooters employment because she didn’t return a text or Twitter DM or whatever. Gucci doesn’t consider every girl he’s been with to be an ex-girlfriend: "I'm no longer hired, she says that I've been fired / Onto the next one, more fish in the sea / Girls are like buses, miss one next 15 one comin’,” he raps. While it sounds dismissive, it's indicative of maturity rather than a romance that is pleading and childish.

Gucci Mane wouldn’t whine about a woman taking his Bugatti to pick up Kotex from the store; a woman dating Gucci Mane would likely have a matching Bugatti that he bought for her. He talks about going to great lengths to please or impress, and he doesn’t necessarily imply being owed anything in return. He might boast about getting chosen over some other guy, but that guy is usually broke and not nearly as compelling a person. Gucci Mane is overwhelmingly charismatic outside his music, too. In a 2013 Breakfast Club interview, Angela Yee says she knows a girl who has dated Gucci and claims that he’s bipolar. He flashes a wide gold smile and responds “If a girl dated me she knows I’m not bipolar. You talk to any girl who dated me, they’ll say ‘Gucci so intelligent, so charming, so nice.’” Yee giggles and the conversation continues to rap beef.

I’m excited for the next Gucci Mane chapter. While I’m sure it will contain excerpts from the previous books of Gucci—more tracks about the work, shooting enemies, and stunting on all of us—I hope to hear more loving, candlelit, doting Gucci, too. I’m convinced that he’s ready to settle down and marry Keyshia Ka’oir. I can imagine Gucci cradling his toddler, who is wearing a onesie emblazoned with his signature ice cream cone tattoo. I can picture a beautiful spring wedding. I don’t think it’s far off. We’ll find out soon. Later Snapchats after his release showed Gucci rubbing his washboard abs and immediately getting in the studio. He’s back, we’re all ready for new music, and I’m eagerly anticipating the return of Mr. Perfect.

Follow Alyson Lewis on Twitter.