We’re far removed from the unchecked mania of old Gucci Mane. A brutal alchemy of stress, mental health woes, and drugs made the East Atlanta rapper unhinged and uneasy. Lengthy rants on Twitter were normal, marathons in the studio kept his releases frequent. People thought it was just Gucci being Gucci. However, what we didn’t know was that he was battling through a lot without much help and understanding. Now, with his wife Keyshia Ka’oir by his sides, they make strong efforts to minimize his episodes.
Recently, Gucci Mane and his wife spoke to The Breakfast Club in promotion of his latest album and memoir Episodes. There, Keyshia describes the extent in which she controls his bouts of schizophrenia. “I take his apps off his phone,” Ka’oir says. “First thing I do, I delete Instagram. I delete everything. Even if I got to change his password, I’m changing it because I don’t need the public to know he’s having an episode. You realize you’d never know about any other episode since Sept. 13 because I control that. You’re not going on Instagram, you’re not going on Twitter, it’s deleted. I just control everything at home.”
How Gucci Mane and His Wife Handle His Schizophrenia
“Now, before the episodes come, I catch it. That’s why he hasn’t had another one. And how you catch that 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 adds of Gucci Mane during these times. “And I’m like, ‘You’re going through an episode. You’re sick.’ ‘No, I’m not. Ain’t nothing wrong with me. Why do you think that?’ ‘You’re not speaking to me.’ ‘Well, there’s nothing to talk about.’ I said, ‘Well, that’s not how you speak to your wife.’ And I’m like, ‘You’re sick.’ And we snap out of it right then.”
The aforementioned September 13th could date back to 2013 when one of his friends called the police on him due to his behavior. Then, Gucci Mane was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon, possession of marijuana, and disorderly conduct. He would go on to serve 183 days in jail after a reported stint in the hospital.
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