Gucci Mane Shares Unique Way That Birdman Inspired Him

BYLavender AlexandriaPublished on July 20, 20232.0K Views

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JULY 01: Rapper Gucci Mane performs onstage during night 2 of the 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture™ at Caesars Superdome on July 01, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

Gucci Mane told NYT about a unique way he found inspiration.

In celebration of hip-hop's 50th anniversary, The New York Times asked 50 different rappers to give them 50 stories about their experience within the genre. Many artists told the type of stories you'd expect. Eminem took the opportunity to praise Nas for his masterpiece debut album Illmatic. According to Hip Hop DX, Gucci Mane decided to elaborate on how Birdman inspired him to become a rapper, but it isn't in the way you'd think. It was actually Gucci Mane thinking that Birdman wasn't that talented of an artist that left him inspired.

"By the time I started trying to finance my own first tape, maybe ’99 or 2000, those were the key people I could relate to," Gucci Mane's statement begins. “Like, OK, this dude just got out of jail, and everybody in the hood listens to that. I’m going through the same things at the same time." He explains that he drew motivation from those who weren't actually that great at rapping. “I didn’t feel like Project Pat was the best rapper, but he made me feel him. I’m like, can’t be Fabolous or Lil Wayne, but I can do this. I was late in the game, but I didn’t have to be scared to try. I was going to spring break in Daytona, and it was the whole summer of Project Pat and Big Tymers. I started doing the stuff they were rapping about."

Gucci Mane's Strange Source Of Inspiration

Gucci Mane has continued releasing music prolifically ever since. He even has a new album coming out later this year. Breath Of Fresh Air is slated to arrive in October after being announced last month. The announcement followed the release of a new single called "Bluffin." The track saw Gucci Mane teaming up with Lil Baby, and also taking shots at Wack 100.

What do you think of Gucci Mane taking inspiration from Birdman? Let us know in the comment section below.

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About The Author

Lavender Alexandria

Lavender Alexandria is a music and culture journalist based in Los Angeles, California. She’s covered dozens of musical genres and styles from the most mainstream to the most experimental and underground on her blog and accompanying YouTube channel that looks at music, pop culture, and Billboard charts since 2017: Lav’s Music Corner. Lavender has produced editorial and listicle content both in written and video form over the past far years and has also interviewed up-and-coming artists like Censored Dialogue. Her experiences covering culture have taken her from Hyperpop parties in LA to underground rap shows in Atlanta, to DIY punk shows in Charlotte. Lavender has also written for iHeartRadio, covering some of the biggest artists in Hip Hop such as Ice Spice, Drake, Doja Cat and Cardi B. She also has bylines with ScreenRant and continues to write for Ringtone magazine. Lavender is a lifelong Charlotte Hornets fan and her favorite rap artists include Clipping, Little Simz, Earl Sweatshirt, and Kendrick Lamar.