Watch Young Jeezy discusses the hardships of America & praise for Obama
Last month, Jeezy celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his debut album, Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101, with a star-studded concert in Atlanta. Through the infamous summer of 2005, he saw his career finally reach the masses worldwide, along with a few of his closest friends arrested forced to serve lengthy prison stints.
In a recent sit-down with Rolling Out Magazine, the Atlanta rapper touched on President Barack Obama’s plans to reduce sentencing for those alleged offenders that are non-violent (Free Big Meech) – which in history has been baffling seen more time in prison than murderers and rapist. Watch more from the conversation in the video above, where Jeezy continues to be an inspiration within the on-going recession.
I do think guys like you and T.I. had a way of telling the backstory of the Trap. Now that the music is becoming more mainstream, do you see that the backstory is missing?
When it comes to my music, I did it because I didn’t want to go to prison. I started losing a lot of my friends. I also didn’t like the way the streets were being represented at the time. You had a lot of people that were rapping for money and fame and I never came in this for that. I was a star at the Amoco gas station. To me, it was more about being heard and that’s why I had so much material out at one time. I was like, ‘If I go to jail, at least they’re going to hear me and feel me.’ That’s why I was going in and putting my heart and soul into it and then it just turned into something else. In my music, you can sometimes hear the anger, the growth and the frustration, because I was the voice of the people. I am the voice of the people and these are our frustrations. We’re out here doing this, but if we could do something else, we would.
We’re at the 10 year mark for Let’s Get It: TM 101. Ten years from now, what will that album mean for music and for the people who are caught up in the streets?
When I make my music, I try to make sure I speak with my heart and my emotions. I always tell people that I don’t understand how someone can get in the booth and just say anything because it sounds good at that time. I’m going to really sit down and think about what I’m saying. I want to have the same respect as I would have had when it first came out and that’s how I wrote that album. Ten years from now, I hope it could help somebody else through their struggle. With the way times are changing, it’s going to get tougher than it is now. I really think that album was before its time. If I put it out right now, I feel as if it would do even better than it did the first time I put it out.
Young Jeezy Reflects on Debut Album and Meaning of “Trap Music”