Young Jeezy Albums (7)
'The Godfather of the Trap'
Release Date 5/12/2009
Tracks 19
Label 1 Stop
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What The Critics Say
Dropping the sequential album titles for his third release, Young Jeezy's The Recession introduces itself as anything but Thug Motivation 103. The opening title track features a collage of some very 2008 news reports where America is going broke while the "they just don't care about us" feeling sweeps the nation. Then Jeezy enters trading his non-stop swagger for social commentary, and while the singalong thug chorus is as strong as ever, the rapper's transformation from cocaine-slinging king to voice of the people is unconvincing, especially when he mentions his personal driver and how his "make it rain" sessions at the strip club are getting more conservative. The Barack Obama shout-out that closes the album -- "My President" with special guest Nas -- works much better with flippant verses ("We ready for damn change/So you all let the man shine") more suitable for a man who prefers to be called "The Snowman." Same goes for "Circulate" and its great line about oil prices ("Gas higher than me") but The Recession abandons politics often enough that you can't call it ponderous or even a concept album. With those great drums and fake trumpets producer Drumma Boy loves so much, trap star anthem "Amazin" is simple, feel-good music for pimps and players, while the soul-filled "Word Play" finds Jeezy and the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League celebrating the power of rap with warm nostalgia in their hearts. "Put On" with Kanye West singing through an Auto-Tune is the usual second-line goodness that Jeezy normally rounds out albums with, but there's more forgettable filler than expected, most of it sounding like mixtape leftovers or in the case of "Vacation," lackluster and forced club tracks. Of course with 18 songs the album allows for some dead weight and trimming. Even if it falls a distant third out of the first three, the scattershot Recession is still a welcome and even risky step forward, one carried by its highlights and the newfound awareness that the cocaine grind isn't everything. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
'The Inspiration: Thug Motivation 102'
Release Date 12/5/2006
Tracks 16
Label Def Jam
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What The Critics Say
Young Jeezy's first album for Def Jam, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, was such a breakout success that it immediately left his Bad Boy album with Boyz N da Hood -- released just weeks prior -- as an afterthought. What is his appeal, exactly? His persona revolves around being a crack dealer, but he spins it as a motivational speaker who encourages people to do what they need to do to get paid. School kids proudly donned Jeezy's snowman T-shirts, even if the closest they'll ever come to hustling is selling chocolates for a class trip. Jeezy's not an exceptional rapper; he has a peculiar way of getting his support, though it's not without a discernible amount of charisma. On The Inspiration: Thug Motivation 102, this is best exemplified in the opening verse to the Timbaland-produced "3 A.M.": "It's Young Jizzo and I'm back with Timbo/With another hit, you're still stuck in a limbo/A ad lib here and a ad lib there/F*ck it, ad libs everywhere." Few other MCs could get away with something so purposefully lazy. In Jeezy's half-determined/half-careless voice, it's a quotable (and a pretty damn funny one at that), more energizing and memorable than an average MC's complex, tongue-twisting metaphor. To that kind of extent, Jeezy does little to make this disc different from Let's Get It. Its first several tracks limp and flail around, which isn't a good sign, but once "I Luv It" kicks in, everything tightens and sharpens, placing the album a very slight shade beneath Let's Get It. Some of the highlights: "I Luv It," the closest stature-wise to "Go Crazy," a DJ Toomp production that's as anthemic as his work on T.I.'s "What You Know"; "Mr. 17.5," a fine "Go Crazy" retread. There's also "Streets on Lock," a "Trapstar" retread, where Jeezy maps out some of the reasons for his success: "When I speak, these niggas believe me/'Cause, bitch, I'm Jeezy." "Dreamin'," in which Jeezy recalls the guilt of being a crack dealer while his mother's an addict, takes the cake as the best reflecting pool track of 2006. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
'Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101'
Release Date 7/26/2005
Tracks 19
Label Def Jam
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What The Critics Say
A sequence of events juggled the release dates for Boyz N da Hood's first album (issued on Bad Boy) and Young Jeezy's own widely distributed breakout (issued on Def Jam). Boyz N da Hood hit the Top Five the week it was released, and Young Jeezy -- the group's most visible member -- wound up releasing Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 only a month later. His prominence has come hard and fast (and not without a fair share of controversy), but in truth, he has been active in the underground since the mid-'90s. More a businessman than a traditional MC, his boasts are either deliberately pronounced or mush-mouthed and are often stamped with a druggy "Aaaayy!" Far from the South's best MC, he nonetheless makes up for it with his storytelling ability and obvious desire to inspire hard work, even if the "million dollar dreams" are followed by "federal nightmares." His mentality is almost permanently stuck on monetary gain, whether he's talking about moving "white" (his nickname is Snowman) or doing whatever necessary to keep up appearances. A definite product of the South, it's apparent throughout Let's Get It that his claim of being raised by the group UGK and the label No Limit is no joke. Like Boyz N da Hood, the album was made as if crunk never happened. Partial list of benefactors: Mannie Fresh, Trick Daddy, Young Buck, Bun B, Akon, Shawty Redd, ColliPark, Jazze Pha. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
'Come Shop Wit' Me'
Release Date 1/1/2003
Tracks 26
Label Corporate Thugz
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