Gucci Mane admits his contentious Verzuz battle with Jeezy was “tense but real” in a new profile of the trap godfather for Billboard. Looking back on the night and the provocative goading the two rappers engaged in, Gucci expresses his appreciation for the opportunity. “It was a good step forward,” he says. “For us to do that and for nothing bad to happen, that was great.”
Gucci also spends some of the profile addressing his outsized impact on the rap game compared to the amount of credit he’s received for influencing some of the biggest names in rap — including, Future, Migos, Nicki Minaj, and Young Thug. “Is the true story of what really happened with all these artists and how I helped them going to come to light?” he wonders. “There are some interesting stories, and it was so long ago that they get lost. Nobody ever really told the true story. [Artists] want to tell you what made them look good… I don’t get the credit.”
Elsewhere, though, he acknowledges the possibility that he won’t receive those accolades in his time. “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,” he reflects. “They never give it to the person when they’re still in the moment.”
Read Billboard‘s full cover story on Gucci Mane here.
Gucci Mane is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.