Gucci Mane says he’s not “super proud” of the fact that some of his early music may have influenced fans to see recreational drug use as “cool.”
During his appearance on The Breakfast Club on Monday, Oct. 20, the Episodes rapper reflected on a passage from his new memoir, in which he opens up about the guilt he’s carried over certain lyrics — particularly in his 2006 track “Pillz.” Gucci admitted he’s since made peace with that part of his past.
“I can live with it now because it is what it is,” he said. “But back then, I know that I made a lot of people use drugs. I talked about drugs, drugs, drugs, drugs all through my music because that’s what I was on back then. Now I’m just like, damn. I know I made a whole bunch of people think pills was cool. I know that for a fact. And that ain’t nothing I’m just super proud of, you know? But what can I do? It’s in the past now. At the same time, I was also a user too, so I was going through it with them.”
Speaking specifically about “Pillz,” Gucci recalled how his team wasn’t immediately on board with the song when he first made it. He explained that their hesitation came from how pills and other recreational drugs were viewed at the time, calling them “junkie stuff.”
Despite that early doubt, the track went on to become a fan favorite — and is now regarded as a bona fide classic in Gucci’s catalog.
Gucci Mane’s latest project, Episodes, dropped on Friday, Oct. 17. On the track “Back Cooking” featuring OJ da Juiceman, the 45-year-old revisits one of the most quoted moments of his career, sampling his viral 2013 conversation about the power—and pitfalls—of “sauce.”
Ahead of the song’s release, Gucci’s iconic “sauce” speech was already trending again, thanks to Marty Supreme star Timothée Chalamet, who paraphrased the legendary quote while celebrating his “White Boy of the Year” win.