Success: A.G. (After Gucci)

1.19.21

Being a fan of your favorite artist is one thing, but imagine working for them? Becoming a member of Gucci Mane’s 1017 Record Label may seem like a dream come true to many, but turned out to be the opposite for a number of artists thus far. Perhaps a blessing in disguise? They all seem to do just fine once they leave. Could it be a coincidence, wrong place at the wrong time? Or is there something strange going on here?

Gucci Mane has always, and continues to do extremely well for himself. He and his wife Keyshia Kaoir just brought their first son into the world, named Ice. At the bottom of the year, Gucci helped to set up the most legendary Verzuz battles to date, between himself and his arch nemesis, Jeezy. While many use this platform to promote new music, Gucci Mane put out Trap God Classics: I Am My Only Competition. This was essentially a greatest hits playlist of twenty-eight of Gucci’s top hits over the years. However, when it comes to new music, a lot has been going on in the world of 1017.

Gucci Mane founded 1017 Records in 2007, and was home to Waka Flocka Flame and OJ Da Juiceman. Everyone knows what went down between Waka and Gucci, but was this foreshadowing for what was to come, for decades to follow? Once Gucci Mane attempted to pull in new artists, a pattern of trouble seemed to follow him.

Young Thug and Gucci Mane had an amazing relationship, and friendship, growing to be at the calibre that him and Waka once was. However, this was in 2013, and Gucci Mane ended up back in prison. Young Thug was left alone, and had to move on from the label. Though Gucci Mane was understanding and they did not necessarily leave on bad terms, Young Thug went off to create his own team at YSL Records, and is one of the most influential artists of hip-hop in the south, today.

Once Gucci Mane came home, he signed another Atlanta artist, Ralo, to 1017 Records. His sound was so interesting and unique, this was an instant hit, for just a moment. In 2018, Ralo was arrested on conspiracy charges, and remains behind bars today. Ralo was granted a bond last summer, and for some reason remains in jail. Throughout the past few years of Ralo’s time gone, we have seen the decline of the relationship between himself and Gucci Mane. People of Ralo’s camp just wanted Gucci to be there for him, even to just post saying Free Ralo. Even if Gucci is not by his side when he is released, plenty others should be. Ralo’s Instagram page remains active, and just last night shared an Instagram story of Dave East saying “free you til I see you, bro.” A recent release from Ralo and TeamDendoeBigBoobie titled Win, sounds much more like an E-40 track than any Gucci Mane song I have ever heard. We should see Ralo soon, so there is potential for growth the moment he is freed.

One that probably sticks out the most, is the Asian Doll experience. In 2018, Asian Doll became the first female artist to sign to Gucci Mane’s 1017 Records. During her time here, she put out two mixtapes. In early 2020, Asian Doll made a statement that she wished she was still independent without a label. After viewing the comment, Gucci Mane allegedly, allowed her to leave. After this, is exactly when Gucci Mane went not he hunt for the “New 1017 Squad.” Asian Doll has since been in headlines and the topic of discussion quite frequently. Since becoming an independent artist once again, Asian Doll has released a new mixtape, Doll SZN Reloaded, with singles Come Find Me and Pull Up. Asian Doll has also been trending for her latest single, Nunnadet Sh**t, as well as her verse on Tour including artists Blueface, NLE Choppa, 9lokkNine, Sada Baby, and Kiddo Curry. The world is on Asian Doll right now, as she was dating King Von during his untimely passing, but this is just another thing getting people to look at her, and her works. They even did music together during their time as a couple, so she is getting plays. The females in hip-hop are going crazy right now, and to be able to continuously put out work as an independent female artist says a lot. We will see how far this takes her.

On the topic of females in hip-hop, it feels right to mention Mulatto. Another female artist who has stated aloud and wrote down in songs that her favorite rapper is Gucci Mane. In the song that the two have together, which remixes Gucci Mane’s Freaky Gurl from 2006, Gucci literally says Tried to sign Mulatto, but she was signed already. This statement dropped with the song last summer, after Mulatto had just inked her deal with RCA Records at the top of the year. Mulatto is making the most noise in the game right now for the females, and I cannot help but to think what things would be like if Gucci had beaten RCA to the punch.

Anyways, Gucci Mane creates a whole new team, “The New 1017.” Word goes out across social media that Gucci is building a new team, and he wants artists to send in their submissions. Finding talent through Instagram, what could go wrong?! During the summer of 2020, Gucci Mane released So Icy Summer, a tape including 1017 and friends. From Young Thug and Lil Baby, to Foogiano and Pooh Shiesty. Then, later in the year Gucci Mane drops So Icy Gang. Vol. 1, which is the first release of the collective group, “The New 1017.” This project includes Foogiano, Pooh Shiesty, K Shiday, Enchanting and Big Scarr, with a few others special guest appearances. So, Gucci did two group projects, but where is Ola Runt?

Ola Runt is another artist from the south, that had chose to sign with Gucci Mane’s 1017. He had a song called Feel Like Guwop, which Gucci Mane eventually went off to do a remix with him on, together. Ola Runt was signed right after Foogiano, and the hype instantly went crazy for this new 1017 label. In my opinion, Ola Runt sounded a lot like Ralo during certain flows, and it seemed like a fantastic fit. However, this only lasted a few months before the two realized that they did not work well together. Gucci Mane had said that he was disrespected by Ola Runt and let him go. On the other hand, Ola Runt says he did not like the way Gucci Mane was running shop. Allegedly, Gucci sent Ola his 1017 chain before even meeting him in the first place. Ultimately, Ola Runt had another deal on the table with Cinematic Music Group, and that is where he resides today.

During his time away from Gucci Mane, Ola Runt has given himself a lot of success, and also gotten into some trouble. Ola Runt is currently in jail for shopping with a firearm. However, he is hopeful to be home soon, and to have a bit of a blow up moment. While Ola Runt got a few tracks in with Gucci Mane, he never released a full project under the label, though it was expected for Ola Runt and Foogiano to drop new projects consistently after signing, word from Gucci. However, the projects that Ola Runt did drop during 2020 have started to gain some momentum. Last week, Ola Runt shared on his Instagram page that MobbFather has surpassed over a million views on YouTube, which is only his biggest hit after Osbourne Flow and Feel Like Guwop. Additionally, since leaving 1017 Ola Runt has shared music videos feature Stunna 4 Vegas and Jake Paul and has recently announced a potential collaboration with Playboi Carti. He will need to get his actions in check for sure, but if he can do that, Ola Runt will be the next biggest thing for Atlanta music. Just like Young Thug changed the game in southern rap with his sound, Ola Runt has the voice and the story to match that.

Out of everyone that remains on 1017, I would say the one getting the most recognition would be Pooh Shiesty. With that, he was also arrested late last year in relation to a shooting, but able to make bond. His success comes from the feature that he did with SpotemGottem on Beat Box 2. This song is currently a Tik Tok trending topic, with artists and comedians all over the space doing some sort of a, slow motion, jogging in place mixed with a robot dancing kind of move. It is absolutely hilarious, but there it is, Tik Tok blowing up artists instead of their songs blowing up. I think this song actually sounds a lot like Ola Runt, so it will be interesting to see if the two meet each other once Ola is free again, or if that would be frowned upon by the 1017 master.

Why do Gucci Mane’s artists keep getting in trouble? And why do they seem to be so much more successful once they leave? Is it the leadership? The idea of not wanting to answer to anybody besides yourself? The desire to get this big on your own? Or, did Gucci just give them the keys that they needed to do this on their own? I would have to say it is probably a combination of the three. But every time an artist blows up “After Gucci,” Gucci can always say where they started. *Key Nicki Minaj memories*

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