Radric Delantic Davis (Gucci Mane) is one of the pioneers of Trap music alongside rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy. Between 2005 and 2011, Gucci released eight albums and a host of mixtapes that cemented his status as one of the kings of Trap music. Mane took a five-year break from music due to incarceration, but after his release in 2016, he released six albums and two mixtapes.
In total, Gucci has released 14 albums and 71 mixtapes throughout his successful career. Recently, Gucci made the news for gifting his wife an iced out jewelry chain with a ‘1017’ pendant symbolizing his record label. Mane posted a video of the chain on Instagram and referred to his wife Keyshia Ka’Oir as the ‘Queen of 1017.’
This piece will look at Gucci and Keyshia’s relationship, Keyshia’s business, and her children.
Keyshia and Gucci met during the video for his song 911 Emergency
During one of his stints in prison, Gucci saw Keyshia on XXL’s Eye Candy of the Year issue and decided that she wanted her in the video for his song 911 Emergency. Keyshia had already starred in two music videos, including the 2009 Timbaland featuring Drake hit, Say Something. However, she didn’t like hanging around rappers, so she initially declined Gucci’s invitation. Keyshia told The Fader:
“A day or two later, I got a call. Amina was like, ‘I work with Gucci, he wants you to -’ and I’m like, ‘Whatever.’ Because I don’t even want to be around rappers. But Gucci kept asking and eventually I agreed. When he got out of jail, they flew me to Atlanta right away to do the ‘911 Emergency’ video. That’s the day we met. He was in love with me on sight.”
Keyshia showed up to the shoot with a skin-tight white bodysuit, and Gucci was smitten. Ka’Oir told PageSix that she fell in love with the Freaky Gurl rapper after bathing him during his 2010 tour. She explained:
“I fell in love with Gucci when I bathed him… I put him in a shower and just bathed him. I just did things to him and he looked at me and said, ‘Wow, no one has ever bathed me before,’ I am a traditional Jamaican lady, that is what you do. You take care of your man.”
Keyshia clarified in an episode of The Real that bathing him didn’t mean ‘putting him in a bath and wash his back,’ but she had no problem doing it because Gucci had proven his loyalty.
Keyshia stood by Gucci despite confirming that he cheated on her
Gucci proposed to Keyshia in 2016, and the couple got married in 2017. BET aired a reality show in 2017 titled The Mane Event that detailed the couple’s preparations leading up to their wedding. The show made people believe that Gucci and Keyshia got married in October 2017, but it later turned out that they got married in May 2017.
Everyone was happy for the couple, but Gucci made some fans angry when he posted a meme with the following message on 15th October 2019:
“Everyone want this, but what y’all forget was she with wild Gucci, on drugs Gucci, cheating Gucci, in jail Gucci, publicity with other women Gucci.”
Fans criticized Gucci for putting a woman that loved him through all that suffering. In his memoir, The Autobiography of Gucci Mane, Gucci opened up about his addiction to cough syrup and how he mistreated Keyshia. Gucci also declared that he cheated, and despite all of his wrongdoings, Keyshia stayed by him.
During his time in prison, Keyshia stayed in contact with him, helped him get over his addiction, and saw him through his weight-loss journey. According to Keyshia, people misunderstand Gucci, and she is one of the few people that gets him. She told Fader:
“I was his biggest support system, and no matter what he goes through I’m going to be there for him. Why would I turn my back on him now? … We really have a loving, honest relationship. Nothing is for the media, nothing is fabricated… We’re willing to move on and move past what we’ve been through and just look forward to what we have for our future, and to just be happy.”
She started her cosmetics line by selling colored lipstick
Keyshia was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on 10th January 1985. After witnessing her father’s shooting, she moved to the US at the age of 10, and after college, she started a career in modeling under the name Keyshia Dior. On one night out, Keyshia wanted to wear blue lipstick to match with her dress and shoes, but she couldn’t find any. Keyshia improvised and mixed blue eye shadow and lip gloss to make blue lipstick. She told The Cut:
“My friends were all like, you can’t wear blue lipstick because people will make fun of you. I ignored them, because I’m always a unique person and I want to be over the edge… No one knew my name, no one knew who I was, but everyone wanted to be the girl with the Mohawk and the blue lipstick.”
Keyshia decided to cash in on the colored lipstick gap she saw in the beauty market. She called makeup manufacturers, and one of them chose to work with Keisha is designing colored lipsticks. Keisha’s connections in the modeling industry helped market her products, and her brand started to grow. She claims to have made her first million dollars within six months of launching her products.
Ka’Oir now runs multiple businesses, and she told The Cut that they are valued at $30 million. Keyshia has benefited from Gucci’s support in her business, but she claims that she would have made her fortune even without her husband. She continued:
“I started my business before I even met Gucci. So for me to transition into this super-successful businesswoman, it wasn’t difficult for me at all. I was never labeled as ‘dating a rapper for his money.’ For some reason, that didn’t come to me because everyone knew I grind for whatever I wanted.”
Keyshia has three children from a previous relationship
Keyshia’s family has come under scrutiny since she burst onto the limelight. In 2016, rumors started to circulate, claiming that Keyshia left three children in Jamaica before coming to the United States. Keyshia addressed the rumors and stated that she has two daughters and a son from a previous relationship, and they live with her.
In 2017, Keyshia cleared up rumors about her siblings when she tweeted, “I DO NOT HAVE A SISTER!!! I’M THE ONLY GIRL! I HAVE 3 BROTHERS & ONE IS DEAD!”