On How Keyshia Ka’Oir Assisted In His Career:
When Gucci was at his output peak, in the late 2000s and early 2010s, he wrote nothing down, freestyling everything under the influence in the recording booth. In prison he reverted to pen and paper.
In the upstairs studio of his new home, one wall is covered in white and yellow legal-pad paper full of raps he wrote while in prison, then mailed to Ms. Ka’oir for safekeeping.
“I made like a pact to myself: When I get out, no matter what happens, I must record these songs. It was so real when I wrote it.”
On His Relationship With Keyshya Ka’oir:
For the first time, they’re living together, rather than shuttling between Atlanta and her home in South Florida. The two met in 2010, when he requested she appear in a music video — he had seen her in XXL magazine while he was in jail — and they soon began dating.
“We had our ups and downs, ’cause I would mess up and do stupid junk, but she had my back through all of it,” Gucci said.
Ms. Ka’oir, who has 1.4 million Instagram followers, runs two businesses: one for makeup, and one for fitness equipment, including a waist eraser that both she and Gucci wear during their daily morning workouts.
Keyshia Ka’oir On Fans Saying Gucci Has “Changed”:
To her, the new Gucci — the one that professes love for his girlfriend, the one that eats kale (if she prepares it), the one that smiles easily and speaks in funny accents, the one that sings R&B songs into his phone camera — is old hat. “The person everyone is seeing today,” Ms. Ka’oir said, “I’ve always known that person. This is nothing new for me.” She added, “He’s grown up now, like, ‘I no longer have to hide this part of me — either you like it or you don’t.”