Gucci Mane has made a complete turnaround since being released from prison.
The rapper, who has faced various drug and assault charges, spoke to author and journalist Malcolm Gladwell about turning his life around.
Gucci told Gladwell, who he calls his favorite author, that going to jail ‘100 percent’ saved his life. “I was outta control,” Gucci said. “I wouldn’t want to do it over, but in hindsight it helped me.”
The rapper plead guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in 2014 and was released in May 2016, more than three months ahead of his September 2016 release date.
Gucci and his fiancé Keyshia Ka’oir are also set to marry on Oct. 17 with the ceremony airing on BET. The guestlist includes names like Drake, Rihanna, Diddy, Pharrell, and Solange.
The rapper says that while he faced challenges in prison and often spoke with people who were incarcerated for life, there were still positives to his time behind bars. “I got off drugs,” Gucci told Gladwell. “I was 90 pounds overweight, I lost the weight. I did a lot of reading.”
He added that despite being famous, he didn’t lean on that in prison. “I pride myself on just being a man. I didn’t stand on the fact that I was a rapper. I stood on the fact that I’m Radric Davis the man and I made everybody who dealt with me deal with me as Radric Davis the man, from the corrections officers, from the judge, from the lawyer, from federal prisoners.”
“I’m not rapping in prison, I’m in the same suit you in….I wasn’t in the mood to play the celebrity game.”