All About Laughs
Prolific rapper Gucci Mane, real name Radric Davis, is feeling his past come back to bite him in the butt. Gucci has been a source of entertainment for years with his extensive work ethic bringing forward multiple mixtapes and albums, both before and after being released from prison. But in 2013 the rapper went on a very memorable rant which not included not only his label but other artists that threatened to stop the train.
Gucci Mane is not only an accomplished musician, but you can add acclaimed author to the list as well. Guwop released his book The Autobiography of Gucci Mane, written while in jail – in which he tells his side of his life’s story from his come-up to being locked and attending rehab. In the book, he also speaks on the time he met his now-wife, Keyshia Ka’oir. “The whole situation was out of character for me,” Gucci wrote of Ka’oir. “I knew she was special.”
The couple recently sat down for an in-depth interview with Billboard where they reflected on their relationship and all its ups and downs. According to the mag. Ka’oir and Gucci met while he was shooting the music video for his song “911 Emergency” but it would take some convincing for her to star as his leading lady. The Jamaican-born Ka’oir finally agreed, and things began to steadily progress as she was surprised about the man that she experienced.
“Gucci was in jail in Fulton County, and I was the XXL ‘Eye Candy of the Year.’ When you’re in jail, you get these magazines with the sexy models, so he got the magazine, too,” his now-wife previously recalled in a Fader interview. “I had already been in Timbaland’s “Say Something” video and Gucci had seen the video. He called [his manager] Amina from jail, and he was like, ‘Who is Keyshia Ka’oir? I want to meet this girl.’ He was like, ‘I’m getting out soon, I need her for my next video, you have to find her!'”
“He was super well-spoken, he was loving, he was well-mannered,” shared Ka’oir. “He held my hand, he opened the car door. And I was like, ‘This is different,’ especially for a gangster like him.”
The couple eventually married in October of 2017 in a lavish wedding ceremony held in Miami. BET cameras were present as the couple was chronicling their special day and the events leading up to it for a 10-episode limited series. Although the “So Icy” rapper and his now wife made it down the aisle, it didn’t come with its set of many troubles.
The rapper had many run-ins with the law over time, seeming to ramp up in the early 2010s, and Gucci’s intense drug use would begin the process of deteriorating his mental and physical. And who could forget the shocking Twitter tirade that went on for about two days back in 2013 in which he not only targeted his record label Atlantic records (which led to them severing times with his 1017 Records imprint) but his longtime manager Coach K and an extensive list of artists in the music industry?
Gucci’s tweets took aim at rappers like Waka Flocka, Tyga, Jeezy, T.I., Drake, Nicki Minaj, and a slew of others, dishing out insult after insult. The rapper also spewed salacious allegations of having sex with artists like Monica, Fantasia, Nicki, Ciara, and also model Blac Chyna. Many of them responded and vehemently denied his claims.
Initially using the famous “I was hacked” line to cover for his actions, Gucci would later admit in his book that he was the author of the tweets. Gucci’s addiction to lean got the best of him and caused actions like that to alter his perception and threatened to dethrone everything he had done, as well as the relationships built. “He was all over the place,” recalls Ka’oir in the Billboard interview. “It wasn’t a surprise for any of us. He was terrible at times.”
Nevertheless, she stuck by her man’s side, being a strong support system for him while he was locked up, maintaining an open line of communication from multiples phone calls a day to emails exchanged. Both Ka’oir and the rapper have admitted to him mistreating her in the earlier parts of their relationship, but she stated that her love for him kept the flame going as she understood the root of the issues.
“I honestly loved him, and realized that he needed love,” she admits. “He didn’t grow up with love. I felt like he was broken and just needed someone to show him affection, for him to have a purpose. And I wanted to be his purpose…I remember telling him over the phone, ‘Just allow me to love you and come home to me,’ and those were the words and the conversations and the emails that got him out safe.”
In the interview, Gucci also praises his wife for sticking by his side although he often made it tumultuous. “She definitely is a blessing and I’m grateful for her. I don’t take her for granted,” he shared.
