Young Jeezy

Young Jeezy
Jay Jenkins, better known by his stage name Young Jeezy, is an internationally acclaimed American rapper. Born on October 12, 1977 in Columbia, South Carolina, Young Jeezy is characterized distinctly for his powerful songs about love, loss, longing and joy, thundering rhythms and howling guitars.

With Atlanta serving up some of the hottest product in the rap game, Young Jeezy stands as one of the most exciting merchants of cool to emerge in years. Jeezy descries his childhood as empty.

At a young age, his parents separated and as a result, he was constantly sent to stay with his aunts and grandmothers where he built a strong relationship with his older cousins. Youngs cousins who were drug dealers often shared their earnings with him.

This attracted him to drug dealer lifestyle and he started selling drugs in his neighborhood in Macon when he was only 12. By 1994, he was arrested and charged with possession of crack cocaine. Having lost many things in his life: family, friends and time (a prison bid that he doesnt like to give too much light), Young Jeezy had a sense of urgency about his music.

Between late 1999 and 2000, he eventually relocated to West Atlanta to begin a new life. Young Jeezy came up with his first independent album, Thuggin Under the Influence in 2001. The album featured artists such as Kinky B, Fidank, and Lil Jon, who also produced some of the tracks. After a course of two years, he appeared with a 2 CD set entitled Come Shop Wit' Me.

Young Jeezys Come Shop Wit Me featured completely new tracks along with some songs from his first independent album, selling 50,000 copies world wide. The following year, Jeezy signed with Bad Boy Records and joined the Boyz n da Hood group. The groups self titled debut album was released on June 21, 2005.

The album peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Around this time Young Jeezy also released a solo album, which was his major label debut, with Def Jam Records. With over 100,000 mixtapes and over 200,000 Trap Or Die DVDs sold in a little more than a year, Def Jam decided to invest in the youngster and made him the most recent signee to the label.

In the mid of 2005, Young Jeezy came up with Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101. The music record debuted at number 2, selling 172,000 copies in its first week. It also featured Young Buck, T.I., Trick Daddy, Akon, Mannie Fresh, Lil Scrappy, Bun B, Lloyd, Slick Pulla, & Lil Will.

Maintaining his street credibility, according to Young Jeezy, is of the utmost concern to him as an artist. He affirmed in interviews and on several records his resistance to commercialism in his music. In 2005, Young Jeezy was featured in several popular hip hop songs including Gucci Manes Icy and Boyz n da Hoods Dem Niggaz.

The following year, Jeezy was featured in Christina Milians single Say I. The year 2006 also saw the release of his second major label album The Inspiration. The album featured Project Pat, T.I., Keyshia Cole, Three 6 Mafia, R. Kelly, Bloodraw and Slick Pulla (the latter two of which are members of Jeezys rap group USDA).

Say Is first single I Luv It peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Jeezys second highest single to date. The albums second and third singles were Bury Me a G and Go Getta; the latter featured R. Kelly.

In the first quarter of 2007, Young Jeezys embarked on a I am the Street Dream tour. He presented a week-long toy drive and charity event series with his Corporate Thugz Entertainment (CTE) family with the first annual Toyz n da Hood toy drive.

The events also presented 1,000 toys for 1,000 kids at various locations in Macon and Atlanta, which began on December 17, 2007, with the CTE Christmas Kickoff from 10PM to 5AM at Club Miami. Jeezy also appeared as himself in the hip-hop fighting themed game Def Jam: Icon.

He appeared on BETs Access Granted for his song Dreamin? with Keyshia Cole on May 2, 2007 and released Cold Summer that same year. Cold Summer was issued by Young Jeezy, Slick Pulla, and Blood Raw, together make USDA.

Supposedly, Young Jeezy was never paid properly for his services. Jeezy partially wrote and performed on Gucci Manes song, Icy. Those in Gucci Manes camp have suggested that gang members from the Mechanicsville area attacked Gucci Mane to defend Young Jeezys honor.

The American rapper put out a track called Stay Strapped dissing Gucci Mane to the beat of T.I.s song A.S.A.P. Jeezy took a shot at Mane on the track, rapping even his own momma know, Radric Davis a bitch.

Milwaukee Brewers' All-Star Ryan Braun has used as an at-bat song Go Getta, by Young Jeezy. Young is recently featured on Usher's song Love In This Club and is going to be featured in singer Ciara's new album Fantasy Ride due out in early 2009.

In a recent Cutmaster C mixtape, The Hood News Page 3: Jay-Z Boycotts Cristal, Mane dissing Jeezy along with Jay Z in his track, 745. Young Jeezy also addressed Mane in the same mixtape, in the track Break It Down, featuring Cmillz. He again addressed Gucci Mane on Streets On Lock, from The Inspiration, saying what kinda real nigga name himself after a bag, nigga you's a hoe, a Louie Vutton fag.

On Sunday, March 12, 2006, Jeezy was arrested after an alleged shootout involving some of his friends in Miami Beach, Florida. However, he was acquitted over lack of evidence. Many people believed Young is related to fellow rapper Yung Joc, but he cleared the rumor up by telling the media that he is not related to the fellow Atlanta rapper, though they are friends.