Last month, rapper Gucci Mane dropped “Woppenheimer,” a well-timed, presciently titled play on the Christopher Nolan atomic bomb epic “Oppenheimer,” which premiered a week before. A single off of Gucci Mane’s upcoming October release Breath of Fresh Air, the song felt familiar for its classic Gucci flow. But perhaps the more notable part of the story is the one behind the unforgettable art that accompanied the single.
Depicting Gucci as Robert Oppenheimer, the almost-surreal image was so perfectly Gucci Mane that I, for one, assumed some ultra-creative rap fan cooked it up. That’s pretty much exactly the case. The image was designed up by creator Shakya Germany, who shared it on Twitter to viral success. The punny title, “Woppenheimer,” a play on the nickname Guwop, was Germany’s idea too.
“I wanted the cover to look authentic, like something that could have been released during Gucci Mane’s earlier days,” Germany told Passionfruit.
Within the same day Germany posted it, the tweet reached Guwop himself, who liked it so much he not only used the image and gave the single the name she thought of, he also compensated her. Germany didn’t disclose how much Gucci Mane’s team paid for the image, but she said that it was handled “professionally and fairly,” adding that “Gucci’s team treated me with respect and ensured that I felt appreciated for my contribution.”
It’s a great story, especially since stories about creators getting ripped off are far more common. Germany, an Atlanta native like Gucci himself, told Passionfruit how it all played out. …
