‘Go Crazy’, produced by Don Cannon, would be the track that would eventually help sell Jeezy to the traditionalist East Coast market. While the song also doubles as a statement of purpose for Jeezy, he crafts a hypnotic melody on the hook that circles around the beat, and his ad libs are the window dressing for the whole thing. Thug Motivation 101 is a mandatory listen and the perfect place to start for anyone interested in Jeezy or where the “trap” sound came from, but ‘Trap Or Die’ is probably the best example of the sound on one song: deep, menacing bass bumps lie underneath arpeggiated string samples, and a monster “drop” introduces the first verse. Simply put, this record laid the groundwork for much of today’s hip-hop and electronic music, from Young Thug to RL Grime. The sound is varied but cohesive, menacing but uplifting, grimy but polished. League brought to the tape were reminiscent of Three 6 Mafia, Lil Jon, and Zaytoven, but were sleeker, heavier and more cinematic.Īlthough 13 different producers are credited across the album’s 19 tracks, it remains a vital, coherent, and electrifying listen today thanks to Jeezy, who at this point had figured out a perfect formula for success that combined his uniquely raspy voice, motivational drug talk, and ad libs deployed throughout to hypnotic effect. The synth-forward, dark and bombastic sonic landscapes that then-unknown producers such as Shawty Redd, Drumma Boy, and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. While the term trap already existed, its elevation to a sonically and aesthetically identifiable genre of music occurred with the release of this record. Thug Motivation 101 is, sneakily, one of the five most important rap albums of the 2000s in terms of the way it shifted the rap landscape sonically.
It would also place the regionally known DJ Drama in the national spotlight and make his Gangsta Grillz mixtape series a must for any of the era’s up-and-coming rappers. It remains one of the most important mixtape releases of the era, even if it shows its age at this point.
Jeezy as the Snowman, Jeezy as the Inspiration, Jeezy as the Street Dream – these personas were now on full display. This tape put Jeezy’s name on people’s lips, and featured spoken word and a cappella skits, freestyles over currently popular instrumentals, and many tracks that would later be cleaned up for release on Thug Motivation 101 and elsewhere. However, no rapper better exemplified the hustler’s mentality and street-level grittiness of a grinding mixtape artist better than Jeezy did in 2005. 50 Cent made his name as a mixtape hero ahead of Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, Clipse resurrected their floundering career with the We Got It 4 Cheap series, and Lil Wayne went from Cash Money’s jokey little brother to a serious force with his Dedication 2 and Da Drought 3 tapes, among others. The mid-00s was the era when the mixtape was elevated to a level of quality and importance previously unknown.
The man just doesn’t slow down, even though he’s been producing music for nearly 15 years at this point.Īhead of his announcement of a release of his eighth solo record in November, FACT wades through his catalog to put together a beginner’s guide to his most essential work. In addition, he’s been in charge of his own CTE World label since 2001, as well as a senior VP for Atlantic since 2012. Recording sometimes more than 100 songs for a record that would only end up featuring 20, he’s a prodigious artist with a mountain of material. His records, coming out of the heart of Atlanta, Georgia, represented a seismic shift in the rap landscape in the mid-00s, heralding the oncoming explosion of trap music, as well as a general shift away from sampling towards synth-heavy production. Since 2001, the man who used to be known as Lil J has churned out a deceptively large volume of music - seven full length albums, 16 mixtapes, countless guest appearances, and turns in the groups Boyz N Da Hood and USDA. Jay Jenkins, aka Jeezy, formerly Young Jeezy, is nothing if not true to his devotion to hustling.