1st Day Out tha Feds

Album: Everybody Looking (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • On September 13, 2013, Gucci Mane was arrested for a concealed weapon, possession of marijuana, and disorderly conduct. After serving half a year in jail, the rapper was released, only to be caught with a firearm. He pleaded guilty, and was sent back to jail until May 26, 2016.

    Within an hour of entering his home after his release, Gucci laid down the vocal for his song to longtime collaborator Mike WiLL Made-It's skeletal beat. By the next morning, it was released to radio as Everybody Looking's lead single.
  • Gucci Mane wrote a good portion of Everybody Looking in jail, including this track, using a prison texting system to correspond with Mike WiLL. "I made like a pact to myself: When I get out, no matter what happens, I must record these songs," Mane told The New York Times. "It was so real when I wrote it."
  • The song's music video was directed by Gabriel Hart, who helmed a dozen visuals in total for his Everybody Looking album in just five days. It was filmed in the Atlanta rapper's lavish mansion as Mane was still serving out his house arrest and couldn't leave no farther than his garage without his ankle bracelet going off.
  • When Mane got out of prison, conspiracies started circling that the real Gucci had been replaced by a "government-engineered clone." In the video, Mane appears to poke fun at those accusations by featuring duplicates of himself in the same room. However Gabriel Hart had already come up with the concept beforehand and found himself ahead of the game. He explained to Spin:

    "I had already kind of figured, 'How can I be creative with a short amount of time?' That was just my instinct kicking in: 'All right, let me do split-screen, and do a multiple-Guwop situation, and that way we can just be creative in one room.' But all of a sudden something funny happened, and people started talking about him being a clone and I was like, 'Wow.' We had already shot the video before the rumor had started."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.

Jimmy Webb

Jimmy WebbSongwriter Interviews

Webb talks about his classic songs "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park."

Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers

Bill Medley of The Righteous BrothersSongwriter Interviews

Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.

Steven Tyler of Aerosmith

Steven Tyler of AerosmithSongwriter Interviews

Tyler talks about his true love: songwriting. How he identifies the beauty in a melody and turns sorrow into art.

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-Outs

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-OutsSong Writing

The 10 biggest "retirement tours" that didn't take.

Hardy

HardySongwriter Interviews

The country hitmaker talks about his debut album, A Rock, and how a nursery rhyme inspired his hit single "One Beer."