Just nine days after being behind bars, Gucci Mane says he's been granted the proverbial new lease on life.

"You can't get yesterday back, so you just gotta push forward and keep on movin'," Mane said Wednesday (January 25) via phone from his home base in Atlanta.

The Dirty South rapper was released from jail on January 16 after serving a six-month stint for assault. The charges stemmed from an incident in June when he allegedly attacked a nightclub promoter with a pool cue.

"I can't even describe how good it feels [to be free]," said Mane, whose real name is Radric Davis. "I can't even put it into words."

Mane says he's even more thankful that he was cleared of murder charges earlier this month (see [article id="1519599"]"Murder Charges Against Gucci Mane Dropped"[/article]). The "Icy" MC was accused of killing Macon, Georgia, native Henry Lee Clark III during a separate incident on May 10, 2005, after four men busted into the home of one of Mane's female friends and threatened them with guns. Though Mane admitted to shooting at his assailants that night, he claimed it was in self-defense -- an argument that was eventually corroborated by an eyewitness at the scene, which led to the dismissal of the charges.

Mane was serving at Georgia's DeKalb County Jail when he heard the news. "I was just very happy," he recalled. "I thanked God and called my mama to let her know. I was just ready to tell everybody [what happened]."

Mane said he never doubted he would be vindicated -- "I believe in the justice system, and it works," he said -- and thanked his legal team, Manny Aurora and Ash Joshi, for fighting for him until the end. He also credited his faith in God and support from his family, friends and fans (who wrote him many letters of support) for helping him get through his incarceration. That term included nearly four months in isolated 23-hour lockdown (for his own protection) after he was beaten by another inmate in August.

"It really touched me to have folks telling me to keep doing what I'm doing and that they were praying for me," he said. "I just want to tell everyone, thank you from the bottom of my heart."

The rapper is currently facing six and a half years of probation and must complete 100 hours of community service, a requirement that he says he's actually looking forward to. He plans on telling his story to high school and junior high students in an effort to keep them out of trouble.

"I feel like I can tell them, 'Just learn from my mistakes and don't go through what I went through,' and maybe I can stop some of them from going down that same road," he said.

Mane will soon embark on a different trek of sorts, this one to push his Trap House debut -- which was released in May but couldn't be promoted due to his legal ordeal -- and his second single, "Go Head." Plans for the video are still in development, and the rapper said he wants to get Hype Williams, Benny Boom or Bryan Barber to helm the clip.

A sophomore album is already in the works, but don't expect to see a disc full of somber tracks about the rapper's recent troubles. "Basically a lot of them are about having fun, just partying, rapping, getting in the club and having something to dance to," Mane explained.

Of the 50-plus songs he penned in prison, the rapper says he's already laid down six "bangers" for the as-yet-untitled LP he plans to release in May. While he won't divulge too many details quite yet, he said one ditty, "My Chains," would be an upbeat track about his iced-out necklace.

Frank Nitty (Tupac, Big Pun) is the only producer on board so far, but Mane noted he would like to work with Ludacris, Jermaine Dupri and Project Pat as well. He's already put in calls to their camps.

More generally Mane says he was given a second chance in life and isn't going to waste it. "You got a fresh Gucci Mane with fresh ideas," he said. "In the way I've experienced a lot of things, I got stronger, my game got sharper and my raps got tougher. It's like a new me."

"Tomorrow is a promise," the rapper continued, "so everything you do, you gotta go hard at it."