The girl famous for her long black hair, the “Ill Na Na” and Christion Dior apparel along with the self proclaimed, “King of the sSouth” had a song years ago celebrating life in the “Trap.”  T.I.’s “Dope Boyz,” remix featuring Foxy Brown was a song that glamorized “dope boys” and “dope girls” across the globe and maybe, just maybe that song was a reflection of an Alabama native, by the name of Gucci Mane.

Never heard of him?  Maybe you have or maybe you didn’t know that you did.  

With his most famous song, “So Icy” and his latest hit “Freaky Gurls,” the now Atlanta “Trapster” has made his way from being an independent artist to a major deal with Atlantic records and a album set for release on November 13, 2007.

The hood born kid with a history in writing poetry and short stories sat down with HipHopDX.com to talk about his current works, his rap beefs and how southern emcees might not be the “best lyricist,” but his destiny guarantees that he gains his respect.

If you don’t know Gucci Mane, it won’t take long for you to get to know.

HipHopDX: What’s good, are you excited?
Gucci Mane: Yeah, I am.  I can’t even lie.  

DX:  Let me know about why you’re so excited.
GM: I’m excited to get back in the studio.  I got another album on the way and I’ve worked so much on this album as well. I didn’t know if they were going to put the CD out, this early or not. This album is going to come out before the end of the year and I’m excited to be back in the game.

DX: The new album is called, Back to the Trap House, the first one was called, Trap House and then you had Hard to Kill.  Why did you already make a return with this title?
GM: I called it Back to The Trap House, because on my first album I was so hungry, I was steady grinding and I was thirsty for the game. I feel like that now [just getting; out of jail or whatever].  I also have a distribution deal.  I’m so hungry to get back on the scene and to be doing my thing again.  I feel like my career is [just] starting over.  

DX:  When you refer to “The Trap” for everybody who doesn’t know, can you explain what the “Trap” is?
GM: For me, I feel like the Trap is different for different people.  I look as a place where you can get money.  It’s the place where you do your job and the place where you make your money.  For a teacher the “Trap House” is the classroom, for a judge it’s the courtroom.  For the police, the “Trap House” is the streets. You know what I mean?

DX: You’ve been pretty popular in the southern and in mid-western region of the United States.  Why do you think it’s taken so long for you to cross over to the Eastern portion of the country?
GM:  'Cause this is what I do; my music is reporting live from my neighborhood.  Anybody with a neighborhood like mine is going to be a huge fan of mine.  It’s like an awkward for somebody who’s never been to the hood.  My music is raw and uncut.  Somebody from the hood gotta love it because it’s addictive and it’s great.  That’s why I gotta fan-base in the mid-west and the south like that, because they can identify with it.

DX: Let people know how you got the name, Gucci Mane.  I always wanted to know, why does this man call himself “Gucci Mane.”  Where did you get that name?
GM:  That’s a good question.  My pops name was Gucci Mane. This was a family name and it’s always been in my family.  I just took the name and made it my rap name, after my daddy.

DX:  Why was your daddy named Gucci Mane?  Did he wear a lot of Gucci?
GM:  Nah.  Being born in a small town in Alabama, my moms and my pops side are both from down there.  It’s real country down there and my grandmother gave my daddy a lil’ country name- she didn’t know nothing about them clothes.

DX: [Laughs]. You’re pretty big on the mix-tape scene and you have a couple popular mixtapes.    What do you think is the hardest part about being on the underground scene and making that transition into commercial success?
GM: I haven’t had commercial success yet, so I really don’t know the formula.  I’m just going hard at it, putting my all into it and just being on time.  I’m telling everybody how excited I am, being honest and being passionate about what I do.   I hope that will gain my commercial success.  All I know is the business part of it.

DX:  How many records did you push independently?
GM: I put out two albums. The first one did 40,000 and the second one did 70,000.

DX:   Let us know about your childhood and some of the people you listened to and your influences in regards to Hip Hop.
GM:  Growing up it was hard on the block…there were cops and robbers and I was never a cop. I said that on the Hard to Kill album.  It’s a harsh statement but coming up, I was very smart guy but I’ve always had my foot in the streets. I listened to a lot of N.W.A. and a lot of 2 Live Crew.   Continued on page 2 »