This part has to be brief. There are some things I can never really talk about.
I wrote “Round 1,” my response to “Stay Strapped,” in the car coming back from Tampa. As soon as I got back to Atlanta I went to the studio to record it. Black Magik ended up coming by to tack on a verse. I wasn’t a fan of how Magik had involved himself in my and Jeezy’s fallout, but that didn’t matter anymore. I was at war and outnumbered. I needed all the allies I could get.
The dope game hard
The rap game easy
This is Round 1 of Gucci Mane vs. Jeezy Gucci Mane vs. Jeezy
This is Round 1 of Gucci Mane vs. . . .
The East Atlanta boss
Dirty South like Slim Thugga Jeezy couldn’t make a hit with a Louisville Slugga Slapped Coach K, pissed on Slick Pulla Punched Kinky B dead in his dick sucka Poppin’ on the radio
Boy that’s a bitch thang
Ridin’ round with HB, smokin’ on the cheap junk Played you out a verse ’cause I know you was a big crab Made Lil’ Will sing the hook for a 50 slab Did investigations, now I know ya background Heard you from Hawkinsville
30 Miles from Mac Town
Think you got a buzz ’cause you known at Strokers?
Got 3 deals but the nigga still local
The dope game hard
The rap game easy
This is Round 1 of Gucci Mane vs. Jeezy Gucci Mane vs. Jeezy
This is Round 1 of Gucci Mane vs. . . .
You a perfect example of what a crab is Choppa hit ya make ya scream out ya ad-libs Yeaaaaaahhhh, let’s get it
Gucci voice on it then the hood gon’ feel it That 645 he leasin’ it
In “Icy” video wearin’ Meechy shit
3 cents off a album what Jeezy get
Put a dress on nigga you Meech’s bitch You a thug imposta, you deserve an Oscar Album ain’t hot, Def Jam finna drop ya Hangin’ round the Ball Park, claimin’ you from Boulevard Old ass Ferrari, you bought that shit from Pull-A-Part Nothin’ to lose, nothin’ to prove
Might as well beef with ya, nothin’ betta to do Think ya on ’cause you probably sold a bird or 2
Outside 285 no one has heard of you
Since I’d been out of town I already felt like I was late in responding to “Stay Strapped,” so “Round 1” needed to get out right away. Ace, my DJ and road manager at the time, told me he’d handle circulating the diss to the clubs and radio stations, but I thought this was something I needed to go out and put in people’s hands myself. I didn’t want anyone thinking I was hiding out while my DJ went around doing my bidding.
“Chill out, Ace,” I told him. “I’m just going to Blaze.”
My buddy had been fucking this stripper who danced at a club on Moreland called Blazin’ Saddles. This girl can be found in the album booklet of Trap House. She’s one of the two naked girls cooking crack on the stove. So I knew her too and I wanted to see if she could get the DJs at Blaze to play “Round 1” and some other new songs I had. So me and my friend went over there.
We weren’t at Blaze long before she and her friend invited us back to her place, a house located on a dead-end street in Decatur named Springside Run.
And that’s where it happened.
RAPPER WANTED IN SLAYING TURNS SELF IN
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 20, 2005
An up-and-coming Atlanta rapper whose debut album hits record stores Tuesday was expected to turn himself in to DeKalb County authorities Thursday night on a murder charge. The rapper, known as Gucci Mane, is wanted by DeKalb police in a shooting last week that left one man dead.
RAPPER IS WANTED AFTER SHOOTING DEATH
– The Augusta Chronicle, May 20, 2005
DECATUR - A murder warrant has been issued for the rapper known as Gucci Mane in a May 10 shooting in which a man was found dead, an attorney said.
The 25-year-old rapper, whose real name is Radric Davis, was notified Wednesday that he was wanted by DeKalb County authorities for the shooting of Henry Clark, said his attorney.
RAPPER WANTED FOR DEKALB MURDER SURRENDERS
– WSB-TV, May 20, 2005
Attorney for Man Says Shooting Was Self-Defense.
DECATUR - The rapper known as Gucci Mane turned himself in Thursday night after a murder warrant was issued for him in a May 10 shooting in which a man later was found dead.
ATLANTA RAPPER GUCCI MANE FACES MURDER CHARGE
– MTV, May 25, 2005
“Icy” Rapper Turned Himself in on Thursday, Claims He Fired in Self-defense.
X
* * *
THERE’S BEEN A MURDER
I was in New York City on set at BET’s Rap City when they told me. TRAP HOUSE was set to come out the following week.
For years I had imagined being a guest on Rap City and getting the chance to freestyle on Tha Basement. Now here I was, performing on TV, days away from the release of my debut album. I signed my name on the wall of the booth bigger than anyone else’s. I wanted everyone who stepped inside to see it. But my dream come true transformed into a nightmare when I walked off the set.
?
“We need to get you back to Atlanta,” Jacob told me. “There’s a murder warrant out for your arrest.”
There’s no good time to find out you’re wanted for murder, but learning like that, right there on the set of Rap City, fucked me up. There it was, right on the TV for everyone at BET to see: Gucci Mane was a murder suspect. Moments earlier I’d been on such a high, proud of myself, but the rug had been pulled out from under me.
Jacob took a flight back to Atlanta but I drove back with my buddy Throw, Ace, and my security guard. We wanted to avoid a scene at the airport in case the police tried to scoop me there.
That was a long, quiet drive. First we stopped in New Jersey to pick up weed and get White Castle burgers. That was my first time eating White Castle. Then we headed home.
I was smoking like a chimney the whole ride. We were burning so much that we had to find more by the time we reached Washington, DC. We also made it a point to stop at a few strip clubs on the way and fuck some hoes too. But all that was a diversion from the reality of my situation.
I was sitting there in the backseat of that smoke-filled sedan, high as a jaybird, with John Legend’s “Ordinary People” playing over and over and over again. That was my favorite song at the time.
My nerves grew as we approached Georgia, knowing what awaited me.
“Let’s run, Throw,” I suggested at one point. “Let’s hide out in Alabama.”
“You can’t run, bro.” He laughed. “You’re too famous now. But don’t worry, we’ll beat this shit.”
I wasn’t so sure. Not a lot of people walked away from murder charges where I came from.
When we got to Atlanta we drove straight to the DeKalb County Jail; in the parking lot I met the attorney Jacob and Cat hired for me. He was an ex-cop turned defense attorney.
“Can you beat it?” I asked. Part of me still wanted to make a run for it.
“It’s going to take a lot,” he said. “But we can beat it.”