ATLANTA — Jeezy is a multi-platinum Grammy-nominated artist, entrepreneur, and New York Times bestselling author, and now he’s on a 23-city tour with a symphony orchestra celebrating the music that put the South on the map.
Channel 2’s Karyn Greer sat down with Jeezy ahead of his show at the Fox Theatre this weekend.
Jeezy, whose real name is Jay Jenkins, is credited as being one of the pioneers of the Trap music form of Hip-Hop that has deep roots here in Atlanta.
“I constantly dream of things of how I can give back to the culture, how I’m going to inspire the culture, and what can I do as an individual to give back,” Jeezy told Greer. “My family’s from Georgia, well, Atlanta and South Georgia, so two halves. And I kind of got thrust back into like life, like street life, and it was a culture shock because now (I had to) be the man in the house, probably at a young age, about 13, 14. And now I’m thinking survival.”
“(I was) standing on the corner, hustling like five for $50, two for $20. I was doing what was the regular for me then, and something that I kind of still process today because I really thought that was my way out,” Jeezy said.
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Jeezy said he used that money to bet on himself because there were times when he was not sure if he would live to see another day.
“Up until I released ‘The Recession,’ is when I kind of realized, ‘Oh, well, you still here, you still a star, you’re not in prison, you’re still alive, so this is it.’ But yeah, every day was like … you literally couldn’t plan for Christmas,” Jeezy said.
He personally financed the start of his music career.
“I took a lot of chances on myself that a lot of people didn’t understand, just like I do today,” Jeezy said.
Today, Jeezy is celebrating 20 years of ‘Thug Motivation 101,’ with a 23-city black-tie event with a live symphony orchestra.
“I always wanted to elevate the culture, and I feel like telling people this is a black-tie event. Like, it took me (till) I was almost 42 years old to go to my first black-tie. Just think about that. You know I’m saying’? Like, so you are exposing them to this early on, and it should be more,” Jeezy said.
In his New York Times bestselling book “Adversity for Sale,” despite his attorney’s wishes, Jeezy holds nothing back as he shares his rise to the top of the charts.
“My lawyer went through it a lot of times, seven times. I remember him calling me, saying, ‘I wouldn’t say this if I were you.’ And I’m like, ‘OK, how should I say it?’ Very careful about what I say. Of course, statute of limitations is up. I also wanted to write the book with integrity,” Jeezy said.
Jeezy hits the stage of the Fabulous Fox with his orchestra on Saturday.
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