How did Gucci Mane get his rap name?
The man born Radric Delantic Davis in 1980 is better known today by another moniker entirely: Gucci Mane.
It’s a striking stage name for a rapper, evocative of the luxury typically associated with the Italian fashion brand Gucci. But Radric Davis didn’t pull his nickname out of nowhere, just because he liked the air of opulence that it emitted; he actually inherited it from his family.
Gucci’s grandfather was a soldier during World War II, and he was sent to Italy in that capacity. While he was there, he became enamoured by all the Gucci clothing he discovered there that when he got back to the US, the brand name was on his mind.
He started referring to Gucci Mane’s father, his son, and his uncle by this ‘Gucci’ moniker. One of them was the Gucci Man, while the other was the Gucci Boy. They each bore their names for a long time, apparently, but when the young Radric arrived on the scene, it was his turn to bear it. He, like his father, became the Gucci Man.
He was initially reluctant to use his inherited nickname, as he wanted to be perceived as his own person, preferring to be called Ray or Black, and he found it weird to be known by the same nickname as his dad, but eventually it just stuck.
The Gucci Man became Gucci Mane as he kicked his rap career into gear, and the name undoubtedly served him well. It is known the world over today for helping to pioneer trap music throughout the 2000s.
However, even though his inherited nickname has become so well known, Gucci has often seemed ill at ease with it. Not only did he grow up preferring to be called Ray or Black, but he even experimented with a new stage name entirely around 2013.
Gucci took to Twitter to announce that he intended to go by the name Guwop from that point on, with the Gucci Mane moniker going into retirement, but his fans did not respond kindly to the news. There was a backlash online, and it caused ‘Guwop’ to rethink his plans.
Literally half an hour after he’d announced the name change, he rolled back on it. Guwop, once again, had become Gucci Mane, the inheritor of an old family moinker.