The Autobiography of Gucci Mane by Gucci Mane with Neil Martinez-Belkin, Simon & Schuster, 304 pages

In its most common parlance, a trap house, or simply “the trap,” refers to a location where people buy and sell drugs. Trap also refers to a musical style, synonymous with a drum-and-synth-heavy hip-hop subgenre that Gucci Mane (real name Radric Davis) helped pioneer. In his recent autobiography, the Atlanta-based rapper writes, “When I think about trap I think about something raw. ... Music that sounds as grimy as the world that it came out of.”

By its more traditional definition, a trap is a snare, and Davis uses it this way, too, describing feeling “trapped” in the “brick prison” of his recording studio. As self-assured as Davis sounds when he raps, when interviewed he’s reserved, even bashful. During an appearance last fall on The Daily Show, host Trevor Noah asked Davis what he would do if he wasn’t rapping. Davis grinned shyly. “I guess I’d be some sort of a kingpin,” he said, using a word that typically means drug lord. Over the audience’s laughter, Noah replied, “You know, Gucci, you could have said you wanted to be the president, right?”

The appeal of Gucci Mane, and trap music in general, has to do with grandstanding lyrics coupled with heart-rattling, synthy beats. Davis’ voice is nasally, sometimes even whiny, but he’s understandable, with a casual, confident flow that’s easy to listen to. His favorite subjects — sex, diamonds, and getting money — haven’t changed much over the years. In The Autobiography of Gucci Mane, co-written with Neil Martinez-Belkin, Davis approaches his life with equal parts humility and braggadocio. The book’s cadence is candid and strangely upbeat, given its frequent mention of drugs, which Davis sold for years;