Jeezy, formerly known as Young Jeezy, returns to the top of rap’s helm with his 5th album “Seen It All: The Autobiography.”
Jeezy, a veteran to the rap game, actor, self-made street entrepreneur, record exec, brand ambassador, and proven survivalist, decided to drop the ‘Young’ from his namesake because he’s declared that he has matured from his former life. “I’m grown now; I did enough of that. It sounds good because when I came in the game that’s who I was and that was my state of mind, but I’m a grown man. Those zeros get to adding up, you gotta drop the ‘young.’ ” he explained to Sway on MTV’s “RapFix Live.” Many of Jeezy’s fans would vouch for the ‘Snowman’s’ self-declaration because they have seen him get slugged in the turmoil of belligerent controversies time and time again to where they thought it was the end of the trap rapper’s illustrious career. But yet, time and time again, Jeezy rose from the muds of strife unscathed. He’s been through a lot. He’s a cat from the trap with ten years in the rap. His life is based off of overcoming adversity and illustrates the creed of ‘a minor setback for a major comeback.’ To understand the motivation and inspiration behind “Seen It All,” one has to look at the unadulterated trials and tribulations Jeezy has been through and overcame.
In 2005, shortly after releasing a group album as a part of the Bad Boy Records group Boyz N Da Hood (Self-Titled), and the release of his national solo debut album “Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101” which became a certified platinum record with over one million copies sold, Jeezy opened his Atlanta mansion to 14 Hurricane Katrina victims allowing them to stay as long as they needed to rebuild their lives. This humanitarian deed by Jeezy backfired and was used as a basis for his 9-year old son’s mother to petition for child support. She claimed to have little income, no assets, and no ownership of a home so she took her case to court. They later settled their child support dispute where Jeezy’s payments went from $178 to $1,400 a month. As recent as January 4th 2014, Jeezy handed himself over to authorities for charges of battery, false imprisonment, and terrorist threats, after an alleged fight with his now 17-year-old son who came forward to authorities on this incident that happened in September of 2012. Jeezy claimed that the charges stemmed from his baby mama brainwashing their son to get more child support. He was later released from custody for the charges after posting a $45,000 bond.
In 2006, before releasing his fourth album, “The Inspiration” which also peaked to certified platinum status, Jeezy was arrested for an alleged shooting at South Beach Miami, Florida where he was charged with two counts of carrying a concealed firearm without a permit. The arrest stemmed from a fight that involved Jeezy and his entourage. When a passer-by filming the fight refused to hand over his camera, someone from Jeezy’s entourage began shooting. No one was hurt as a result of the shots. While two black SUVs sped away from the scene, the local police stopped a black Lincoln Navigator and found Jeezy behind the front passenger seat with a semiautomatic firearm near his armrest and another semiautomatic gun under his seat. The officers stated that there were four guns in all in the vehicle and “two of them were controlled by Jeezy.” Jeezy was charged with two counts of carrying a concealed firearm without a permit, but later the charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence.
In 2007, outside of Sean Combs’s restaurant Justin’s on Peachtree street in Atlanta, a taxi cab crashed into Jeezy’s white Lamborghini LP640, totaling it. He would later buy a blue Lamborghini in 2008, which he popularly chronicled in his hit song “My President” from his platinum selling album “The Recession.” In spite of this album’s success, 2008 proved to be a tough year for the ‘Snowman’ because he was implicated in a cocaine trafficking case that involved the infamous Black Mafia Family, an organized criminal organization accused of moving hundreds of millions of dollars-worth of drugs across the Unites States. Days after this implication, he was arrested for driving related charges, including a DUI, to where afterwards he was quickly processed and released.
On August 24th, 2014, Jeezy was arrested in connection to a deadly shooting of a concert promoter that happened backstage of a Mountain View, California Wiz Khalifa concert. Indicated as a possible suspect, Jeezy became susceptible to a raid of his tour bus to where five others where also arrested and guns were found. One gun found that was of particular concern to the Mountain View police, was an AK-47 that was legally registered to Jeezy’s chief security officer who wasn’t present at the time of the raid due to him being hospitalized from being caught in a crossfire at the MTV VMAs pre-party that ended with rap mogul Suge Knight getting shot six times. Jeezy was released on a one million dollar bond and he continued his “Seen It All” promo tour.
Jeezy’s “Seen It All: The Autobiography” begins with 3 trap anthems “1/4 block,” “What You Say,” and “Black Eskimo.” “1/4 block” is a track produced by Childish Major where Jeezy highlights his humble beginnings in the drug game. “What You Say” is a classic vintage Jeezy song that takes you back to his “Trap or Die” mixtape days. The clever production from Childish Major, who also produced “What You Say,” lays the beat out with an accompanied melody of string music that is conducted like the sound of a fast moving locomotive train that is rode by Jeezy with his brash lyrics that adds his witty street slang on the track to propel his gritty candor. Jeezy displays a play of words on “Black Eskimo,” to where the track’s title is a phrase that extends from his famous moniker of “The Snowman.” On tracks such as the horn heavy “Enough,” the Mike Will Made It produced “4 Zones,” the mellow “Win is a Win,” and the smooth “How I Did It” produced by Black Metaphor, are all extensions of Jeezy’s ‘Thug Motivation‘ philosophy to where he gives his patrons of the streets first-hand knowledge of how to make it from dumps of hopeless circumstances. Jeezy also takes it back to his foundation by anchoring a collaboration with R&B Pop icon Akon on “Been Getting Money.” Jeezy also gets help from up and coming R&B crooner August Alsina on “F%#& The World” which is a song that romanticizes the ride-or-die woman who stands by her man through tough circumstances and serves as a consistent psychological safe haven from the mean streets. Jeezy resurrects Lil Boosie and places him back in the industry’s light on “Beez Like.” Fellow Atlanta rapper Future makes an appearance on the Mike Will Made It produced “No Tears” which seems to be an experimental collaboration that challenges and stretches Jeezy from his usual trap-beat productions. Jeezy teams back up with Memphis producer Drumma Boy to make yet another radio smash with “Me Ok.” In this horn-assisted heavy bass track, Jeezy dazzles listeners with his coke-game mathematical flow reminding them of what he has brought to the rap game since “Trap or Die” and further attempting to separate himself from the saturated dope-boy rap movement. On “Holy Ghost” Jeezy mends a statement prayer of forgiveness to the Lord for the life style of a drug dealer with real street stories that tell the consequences of the game. He compares sitting in a Rolls-Royce Phantom with the glory of being on an elevated pedestal in the drug game. Jeezy flows the hook on “Holy Ghost” as if he’s having a private conversation with God in a room:
“Please Lord forgive him, you know he got that thug in him
We lust for alcohol and we love women
And ain’t nobody gave us nothin’, so we drug dealin‘
You know we coppin’ Louie loafers just to thug in ’em
And when you made it that far, you should be makin’ a toast
Got the seats reclined and I be doin’ the most
In the back of this Holy Ghost
In the back of this Holy Ghost
In the back of this Holy Ghost“
Jeezy’s metaphoric plug of a Roll-Royce Phantom (Ghost) to the Holy Ghost is a touchy subject to many Christians. The song has proven to be powerful and serves as inspiration to many in the streets who can relate. Knowing this impact , Jeezy remixed the song for radio dominance adding an excerpt of a sermon from famed mega-church televangelist Bishop T.D. Jakes on the intro stating:
“… I’m under attack, but I’m still on fire
I got some chatter, but I’m still on fire
I got some threat, but I’m still on fire
I got some liabilities, but I’m still on fire
If it’s not amazing that I’m on fire
I’ve been to hell and back, but I’m still on fire.”
The remix also featured a hot verse from the hit-making rapper Kendrick Lamar. Although the “Holy Ghost“remix gained strength with radio and DJ-backed club spins while climbing the music charts, its momentum was railroaded by a lawsuit from Bishop T.D. Jakes claiming that the song was ‘produced without the knowledge or consent of himself, TDJ Enterprises, Dexterity Music or its associated companies.’ The song has since been pulled from internet and radio platforms.
“Beautiful” is a hip-hop masterpiece sleeper. The Black Metaphor produced track features The Game and Rick Ross. The melodic angel voices in the background gives the song a signature tune that helps the MCs paint their elaborate pictures. This is art. Jeezy and his compatriots tell of the dreams that they have made into ravishing realities, to where project living has transformed into ‘condos in the sky,’ domestic vices advance to foreign vices, and beefs are now squashed on the account of getting money. ‘Beautiful‘ also landmarks the first time Jeezy and Rick Ross publicly show that they can work together after their highly publicized beef which almost claimed the life of Miami’s own Rick Ross.
The biggest track on “Seen It All: The Autobiography” by far is the title track “Seen It All” which features rap mogul Jay-Z. “Seen It All” has dominated the radio airwaves for several weeks. This is one of the realest songs in Hip-Hop to ever be made. Real stories from the two ex-trappers in Jeezy and Jay-Z embody the song as if it was a direct interview for an autobiography for a book or documentary. Both rappers spill their hearts out on the Cardo produced track and stain it with the stories of the blood, sweat, and tears of their experiences while living in the streets, moving drugs from state to state. Jeezy raps about the trap and chances he takes by being affiliated with a lifestyle that has high stakes and bad breaks. Hov (Jay-Z) tells one of his realest stories in his verse. He talks how his father died from heroine shots, the expansion of his street operation, and his infamous partner in crime, Emory Jones who saw a brief fate of a ten year bid to prison for his involvement in a coke operation. It is now widely known of how Jay-Z wrote a letter to the judge who was involved with Emory Jones’s case, getting his road dog broken out of his chains and getting 37 months shaved off of his sentence. Even though “Seen It All” only has two verses from hip-hop’s finest, it is embodied with two documentaries that can last for the ages.
Overall “Seen It All: The Autobiography” is a good account of real first hand street stories from a first person perspective. It goes inside the mind of a drug dealer who has taken chances and escaped an array of obstacles that could end the best in the game of drugs. A minor setback for a major comeback. This album was a well thought out project that proves to be some of Jeezy’s best work to date. “Seen It All: The Autobiography” is arguably on the same level as his debut album. This is a huge momentum album for Jeezy that can lead towards higher heights of success. Nevertheless, it is known that he hasn’t fully shaken and washed his hands of the streets to where media news stories from recent dates remind us of his past. This can be heard through his album in excerpts to where he attempts to experiment with a new mainstream sound but leaves his core fans at odds for a split second with a new sound but reacquires them on the next track. “Seen It All: The Autobiography” is an album that has an abiding strength with capabilities of freezing time in place with true accounts and tales from the streets. It is an album that documents the growth of Young Jeezy to Jeezy.
Watch Jeezy’s “Holy Ghost” video:
