Why did Gucci Mane want to change his name?
Rappers are constantly changing their stage names. Kanye West wanted to be known as Ye, Young Jeezy dropped the first half of his name, and Puff Daddy became Diddy. In 2013, Gucci Mane joined the popular trend, deciding to ditch his popular name in favour of Guwop. However, the change lasted just ten minutes.
The Atlanta rapper took to X (then known as Twitter) in March that year to inform his followers that he would be going by his nickname, Guwop, from that summer onwards. “July 2nd, I’m officially changing my rap name to Guwop and retiring the great Gucci Mane,” he wrote. “Thanks, fans, for eight years as Gucci, now it’s Wop turn.”
At that point in his career, Gucci had already released eight albums, not to mention dozens of mixtapes. The change would have confused the masses and affected his sales, with some people unaware of his moniker change. Gucci’s announcement received backlash from fans, which was enough for him to reverse his decision.
In another post that same day, he stated, “I am officially NOT changing my name to Guwop. It will officially stay Gucci Mane due to my fans’ response… Trap House 3 & Juug House July 2.”
So what happened?
Gucci’s rap career began in the early 2000s, naming himself after his father. Born Radric Davis, the rapper went 12 years before deciding he wanted to distance himself from the name. “Originally I decided I was gonna call myself ’cause Gucci Mane ’cause that was my father’s name,” he told The Fader. “His nickname was Gucci Mane. That’s what my grandmother called my father.”
He continued, “People would call me Gucci Mane every now and then, but honestly, that was his name. But when I wanted to be professionally known as a rapper, I said I wanna take the moniker Gucci Mane. But all the people in my hood, not even my closest friends, but everybody in Atlanta, calls me Guwop. I didn’t start it. I can’t put my finger on how it spread.”
Friends, family, collaborators and fans started calling him Guwop, giving him the idea to make it his stage name. “I know it started from my boys, but then everybody who I collaborate picked up on it and they’d say it to me,” he said. “Even girls in my life and my relatives started saying it. People close to me and people really in the know would say Guwop, so I thought it might be a good idea to push it, since everybody loves to say it so much.”
Gucci has received several nicknames throughout his career, including LaFlare, Mr Zone 6, Wizop, and East Atlanta Santa. He once revealed that he wanted people to call him The Machine, but the name didn’t catch on.
“The difference between me and the average entertainer is they dream of signing to a major label so they can have this giant machine push them and propel them to stardom, but I don’t have that dream,” he told fans in a handwritten letter. “My reality is I am all I got. I am the machine behind me. The streets signed me, and the Trap named me God. I am a Machine. They call me Gucci, some call me Guwop, but they should call me The Machine.”