Gucci Mane Opens Up About His Private Battle with Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

In a raw, no-holds-barred appearance on The Breakfast Club, the 45-year-old rapper — born Radric Davis — and his wife, Keyshia Ka’oir, revealed the shocking lengths and extreme measures they took to protect his privacy.

For those not in the know, bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings, notably clear shifts in a person’s mood, energy, activity levels, and concentration, including periods of “up” behavior (manic episodes), and “down” behavior (depressive episodes), according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Schizophrenia involves an abnormal interpretation of reality, resulting in a combination of hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thinking, which can sometimes impair a person’s basic daily functions. 

The “I Get the Bag” singer revealed that during his episodes, he felt like he was in a “psychosis” or a “warped world.” He also admitted to hearing “voices” in his head that led him to believe that people were conspiring against him.

“You’re hearing voices…I might think that you’re trying to fight and you ain’t did nothing,” he revealed. “In my mind, it’s the truth.”

His behavior also once resulted with him giving away pricey belongings. 

“I gave my friends jewelry. And they knew I wasn’t well, they’d take it,” the rapper said. “They was taking advantage.”

Mane eventually began therapy and taking prescribed medications for his conditions, which he says worked. He also confessed that “drug use, stress, and not sleeping” are what triggered his episodes. But the real breaking point came during the pandemic in 2020. After a particularly intense episode, the star knew he had to make some urgent changes and sought professional help. 

“After that, I was like, man, I got to really just hold myself accountable and take care of my health,” he said. “I don’t ever want to have an episode again. If I have to see a therapist, if I have to take medicine.”

With a family to raise and a child on the way (Ka’oir was pregnant with their son Ice Davis at the time), the stakes were too high, forcing the star to ask himself a terrifying question: “What if I have an episode I can’t come back from?”

Ka’oir also chimed in and delivered some jaw-dropping revelations of her own, stating that she recalled seeing signs of Mane’s mental condition even before they got married in 2017, also noting that she got pretty good at detecting his looming episodes. 

“How you catch it is he doesn’t speak to you, he wants to be left alone, he don’t eat, he does not sleep. Text messages, there’s a period after each word,” Ka’oir explained. “And I’m like, ‘You’re going through an episode, you’re sick.'”

During his episodes Ka’oir described it as if “you’re seeing someone you don’t know,” and she said that Mane would make “disrespectful” comments, but she recognized that Mane didn’t mean it. Ultimately, she remained a rock through it all.

“I felt like if I left, he wouldn’t have been the same,” she said. “He needed someone to help him.”

Ka’oir also went through great lengths to ensure the public never caught wind of Mane’s episodes, even going as far as deleting his social media accounts. 

“I have a system. I take his apps off his phone. First thing I do, I delete Instagram. I delete everything. Even if I gotta change his password, I’m changing it because I don’t need the public to know he’s having an episode,” she admitted.

“I control that. You’re not going on Instagram, you’re not going on Twitter, it’s deleted. I control everything at home. Now, before the episodes come, I catch it. That’s why he hasn’t had another one. How you catch it is he doesn’t speak to you, he wants to be left alone, he don’t eat, he does not sleep. Text messages, there’s a period after each word.”

Mane eventually revealed his diagnosis in his tell-all book, Episodes: The Diary of a Recovering Mad Man, which came out on October 14. In it, the hip-hop icon sheds even more light and tells the full story about his pitfalls, triggers, and dark struggles with mental health and drug addiction.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.