Arguably the most influential trap rapper, Gucci Mane has built a legacy filled with too many accolades to mention. After establishing himself as one of the most dominant rappers of his generation, the 41-year-old artist began to focus on his true life goal: building an empire and finding undiscovered talent through his own label. Finally, five years after getting out of prison, Gucci Mane has accomplished that much, building The New 1017 from the ground up and developing artists like Pooh Shiesty, Foogiano, Big Scarr, Enchanting, and more.
Five years ago to the day, Gucci was released from prison. Today, he's the cover star for Billboard, detailing his five-year plan since getting out and revealing that he's accomplished all his goals. His plan, which included getting out, getting his life together, and building a label empire, took some time to come to fruition but it's Wop's time to show what he can do as a rap mogul now.
During his interview with Billboard, Gucci spoke about his not-so-friendly Verzuz battle with Jeezy last year, which broke records for viewership at the time. "Looking back at it, it was tense but it was real," he said. During the event, Gucci performed his diss record against Jeezy, in which he references the rapper's dead partner Pookie Loc. "It was a good step forward. For us to do that and for nothing bad to happen, that was great. If you wait on [the world] to give some credit, either they’re going to do it when you’re dead or when somebody has fallen off and they’re not relevant anymore. They never give it to the person when they’re still in the moment."
The legendary rapper also spoke about his artist Foogiano's recent arrest, saying: "Foogiano getting arrested and locked up, that put a damper on everybody’s spirit. He’s going through the same things that I went through. It has been tough seeing him go through that, especially with him having a little boy. Me and him had a son right around the same time. He’s in good spirits, but it’s still unfair to him, and we’re going to try and appeal it."
The rapper has been building something special with his label but he says that in the next few years, The New 1017 will be even bigger. "We’ve been like a family. I want to make my artists a part of everything I do. And we’re going to all grow together," he said, stating that 1017 is more of a "niche mom-and-pop" label right now but will eventually turn into "a big Walmart."
Read the full cover story at the link below.