Way back in 2005 a new rapper from Atlanta dropped a stunning debut that
heralded a change in the music coming from that southern mecca. Up
until that point there had been several national acts to make it big
from Atlanta but none besides T.I. and Ludacris could be seen to making
any national headway. Enter Jay Wayne Jenkins, known then as Young
Jeezy, and his trap influenced tales of grinding, succeeding and
overcoming. "Thug Motivation 101: Let's Get it was released July 26,
2005" and it took over the airways and speakers coast to coast. Here
was something different he didn't have the smooth voice pimp leaning of
T.I. Or the braggadocios hyper aggressive party music of Ludacris. His
music wasn't pretty but it had something that America wasn't used to.
Here was a young man that was telling you what he saw outside of his
window like those before him, but with a distinctive slant all his
own. Young Jeezy had his "Creepin' On Ah Come Up", "Reasonable Doubts",
or his "Ready to Die." A classic was born and the future was very bright
indeed.
What followed was several successful but not quite
as good albums. Young Jeezy became a regular staple in rap music over
the following decade and lent his voice to numerous songs and albums
along the way. Collabos and beefs with some of his contemporaries. A
classic political song that was co-opted by Jay-Z. The highlight moment
being his Grammy win in 2009 for "Put On" his collaboration with Kanye
West. (Though some would argue it was more about the Kanye feature than
Young Jeezy's lyrical prowess.) All of these were quickly adding up to a
career that was good but not great. If the greats all had two (at
least) classics under their belt; where was Young Jeezy's?
Perhaps the earliest sign that his next album would be different came late in 2013. In a visit to RapFix Live on MTV, Young Jeezy told Sway Calloway:
The newly christened Jeezy was making a statement of intent. He was focused and something different was headed our way. Maybe we should have seen it coming with his spectacular feature on Rick Ross' "War Ready" but this was a Jeezy that we hadn't seen is some time. "Seen It All: The Autobiography" was delivered September 2, 2014. And if it doesn't necessarily bring us a different Jeezy maybe that's not such a bad thing. Because it definitely brings us a much more focused Snowman. Not since his first album has Jeezy seemed so capable of being the best in the game.“It’s Jeezy now, we dropped the ‘Young,’...I’m grown now; I did enough of that,” he explained. “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.’ ”
Much has been made of "Trap
Music" and the repetitive tales of money, women, and drugs. And if
there was ever someone who stood as the standard bearer of the music
then it would be the one who brought it to mainstream prominence. But,
when Jeezy is on his game its like watching DiNero or Pacino in a mob
movie. Yeah its exploitative but damn if it doesn't rise above the
cliche' into an art form. The opening track of the album sets the tone
for the opus that is to come; "1/4 Block" is a reminder of what makes
him great and shows us that once again Jeezy has a knack for simple hard hitting rhymes.
10 years into a career that has seen success to have an album that
borders on classic and stands as one of your best bodies of work is
amazing. And that is just what Jeezy has done. The tracks have been
kept to a manageable 12 tracks and 45 minutes one of the hallmarks of an
artist who knew what he was going to say and trimmed the fat. The album
is full of standouts but you owe it to yourself to check out "Holy
Ghost", "Enough", "Seen It All", and "Beautiful". In a year lacking a
lot of punch its good to see one of Hip Hop's standard bearers give us a
great kick-off into fall.
Our Rating: 4.5/5
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