Joe Budden has raised skepticism about Gucci Mane’s A&R talents after a slew of his New 1017 Records signees have either been dropped, locked up or, in one instance, killed.
Budden discussed the topic on the latest episode of his eponymous podcast, where he spoke about the recent arrest of Mac Critter, a 1017 signee who was charged with first-degree murder in relation to a fatal December 2022 shooting.
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After some back and forth with his co-hosts about 1017’s cultural impact on Atlanta Hip Hop, Budden theorized that maybe Gucci’s skills and judgement as a label executive shouldn’t be as revered as they are.
“Y’all sound nuts to me,” he bit back at his co-host’s praise for Guwop. “Who people are signing, how people are signing them, and why people are signing them needs to be under thorough examination I think from all parties involved in the music business.”
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The former Slaughterhouse MC continued by comparing the rap industry to sports, and how signing tactics had changed amidst a slew of injured players a decade ago.
“The same thing has happened in rap in the last decade where we have never seen this many people die,” Budden said. “We have never seen this many shootings, stabbings, clique beef, arrests, RICOs. I have never seen it in Hip Hop.”
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“That conversation runs concurrent with, for me and the rest of the musicians, the death of the A&R. The death of musicianship. Those are together for me,” he added.
“So when I say Gucci Mane’s scouting needs to be under examination, it’s because this is now, what? 8, 9, 10? I don’t know. A whole roster that is just suffering from the different strokes curse, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence anymore.”
Gucci Mane’s current 1017 roster has suffered bad luck recently. K Shiday and Roboy were both dropped, while Pooh Shiesty and Foogiano are both currently incarcerated. The former was sentenced to five years in prison last April for his role in an October 2020 robbery, while the latter was also sentenced to five years for tampering with his ankle monitor and evading authorities for months.
22-year-old Big Scarr passed away just last month after suffering an accidental overdose. His family has maintained a tense relationship with Gucci Mane, claiming the 1017 leader didn’t contribute to the rapper’s funeral expenses or even show up to the service.
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Scarr’s brother Quezz Ruthless, who was seen allegedly filming a music video at Scarr’s funeral, was the first to criticize Gucci and accused him in an Instagram Live rant of stiffing Scarr’s family over the funeral costs.
“You say to them you finna pay for the funeral, then you lie,” he claimed in a recent Instagram Live. “You didn’t have to lie! You ain’t have to go ghost either, cuh. It was gonna get paid for either way. You could’ve just said you ain’t have the money. You don’t get no type of respect for that, cuh.”
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He added: “The minute that them folks called yo phone to see if you gon’ pay for the funeral, you blocked them. That’s not real, cuh. You ain’t straight. You only trying to act all real. You posted Scarr talking ’bout some long live — bruh, you ain’t do nothing, cuh.”
However, Gucci’s wife Keyshia Ka’Oir came to her husband’s defense and took to her Instagram Story to share two receipts from N.J. Ford & Sons Funeral Home totaling $20,000.
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Ka’Oir wrote that everyone should just “leave her husband alone,” and that the payment was made directly to the funeral home. “20k total @laflare1017 what u did to these folks man,” she wrote before adding in a separate post: “We also sent flowers & not even a thank u” along with a breaking heart emoji.
However, Big Scarr’s sister Alexandra Woods, who had joined in on reprimanding Gucci for his alleged lack of involvement in her brother’s funeral, replied to Ka’Oir and said that the money barely made a dent.
“That 10K ain’t help with nothing but obituaries and flowers, boo,” Woods said on Instagram Live. “My brother worth more than 10K.”
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