“He ain’t did this/ He ain’t did that/ Keep it real with yourself/ You know he lived that… ”
It’s the home stretch for Thug Motivation 103′s promotion and Jeezy has yet another video (“Nothin’”). Those that purchase the album will also receive a 90-minute documentary entitled “A Hustlerz Ambition.” TM103 hits stores next Tuesday (December 20).
The CTE crew take their talents to a chop shop garage. “Sittin Low” good riding music that have some remnants of those old smoothed out Suave House tracks. Jeezy’s Thug Motivation 103 hits stores on December 20.
“Some nights I slept among the living dead to get this bread…”
Following a string of false starts, Young Jeezy has been getting some well-needed momentum heading into the December 20 release date for Thug Motivation 103. The lineup alone and the opening chords have you ready for an epic song. Jeezy keeps with the same content heard on “F.A.M.E.” about fair-weather friends and non-believers. Gibbs is the star here with a verse on the life and death pressures of drug life. Not an original topic for Hip-Hop, but Gibbs’ lyrics and mic presence create a vivid, engaging picture for the listener. Nonetheless, after the second verse you realize something’s missing… an Eminem verse. For whatever reason, a bad decision was made in just regulating Eminem to chorus duties. As Gibbs showed, Drumma Boy’s production was just asking to be ripped by a spitter with exceptional flow capabilities. Your left wanting more after just two verses.
YOUNG JEEZY X EMINEM X FREDDIE GIBBS “TALK TO ME”
Young Jeezy is kicking the weekend off strong with a new video for the T.I.-assisted “F.A.M.E.” and “I Do,” which features Jay-Z and Andre 3000. The celebratory soul sounds and theme of making a commitment to marriage will remind you of Outkast/UGK’s ”International Player’s Anthem.” The difference here is the personification found in lines from Jay that allude to a marriage to the street game. Unfortunately, Jay’s verse is the only new one as Andre and Jeezy’s parts come from when this song leaked on the internet over a year ago.
YOUNG JEEZY X JAY-Z X ANDRE 3000 “I DO” (RADIO RIP)
With Thug Motivation 103 dropping on December 20, it seems like either Def Jam or Jeezy’s camp is unloading anything that could possibly catch on as a single. That may be mistake. Jeezy’s last joint, the T.I. assisted “F.A.M.E.,” has potential to break out if it gets supported by a good video. “.38″ does not. Not that the song is bad, but it’s derivative of stuff you’ve heard before, even from Jeezy’s rival Rick Ross. Songs like this are better served for mixtape filler.
YOUNG JEEZY “.38″
“Let’s decapitate ‘em/ Then we’ll see if he can wear his crown.”
Young Jeezy has had to endure album pushbacks and fan/critic chattering for well over a year now regarding the delays of Thug Motivation 103. It has to be both humbling and infuriating for an artist who just three years ago scored a platinum plaque now struggle to gain a foothold back in the commercial marketplace. Over the morose but engaging production of the Justice League, Jeezy details the anger he has at his doubters, and his determination to prove them wrong. Like his first post-prison release with Future, T.I. aesthetically doesn’t sound like he suffered any ill effects from his sentence. However, content-wise you’ll be feeling a severe case as deja vu as Tip rehashes his legal woes (“Another year of jail I promise this is it for me…”). This probably won’t be the breakout single TM103 needs, but it’s a strong offering for the LP.
YOUNG JEEZY FT. T.I. “F.A.M.E.” (Fake Ass Muthafuckas Envy) (Prod. By Justice League)
“Say the hustler’s prayer/ Then I’m back to these streets…”
Young Jeezy has been treading water with Def Jam over the last two years trying to find the “right single” to launch his much delayed Thug Motivation 103. Jeezy’s latest single attempt, “Shake Life,” is definitely his most accessible from a production standpoint. The sample of Toto’s “Georgy Peorgy” is a classic in Hip-Hop due to MC Lyte’s version, so Jeezy has a lot to live up to. Instead of going with a star-crossed lover’s plot, Jeezy on the surface goes the more clichéd route of a celebratory club anthem. However, a closer inspection of the lyrics yields some social commentary lines on inner city vs. international warfare (“Niggas over there dying by true religion/Niggas dying over here over True Religions”), money problems and drug game perils.
Thematically, this is a continuation of the street struggles and desire for escapisim that Jeezy explored on 2008′s The Recession. Considering we’re in arguably an even worse economic crisis three years later, those topics are still worthwhile talking points. Overall, this track is a good balance of dope boy and everyday citizen hopes and fears. Now whether this is the commercial single Def Jam is looking for remains to be seen.
YOUNG JEEZY “SHAKE LIFE”
“The say they want that dumb shit, but this is ignorant…”
Jeezy
Hold up, don’t write the Snowman off just yet. Jeezy’s been treading water for most of 2010 while trying to find that right song to kick off Thug Motivation 103 (TM103). After a few false starts like the peculiar Lil Jon collaboration “Jizzle,” Jeezy looks to be headed back in the right direction courtesy of producer Shawty Redd and their latest offering, “Amen.”
The production as expected is heavy on synths, but it’s a lot more subdued and not the bombastic anthem that was “Who Dat.” Even though that was just two years ago, mainstream listener’s ears a little different these days. Redd splits the composition between the signature pulsing 808s and hi-hats of standard trap music, and a soothing, minimalist chorus.
After a prayer intro, the halves allow Jeezy to show some range on the track. On the harder side, he approaches the song the way you’d expect the Snowman to rhyme over any trap production. In his first verse, Jeezy addresses naysayers who have been speculating on whether TM103 is doomed to be a disappointment. According to Jeezy, people have forgotten his track record, and he boasts the new album will be exactly what fans have come to expect from him since Thug Motivation 101.
“See you motherfuckers acting like/Y’all done caught amnesia/I know what to do/Get them shades up out the freezer,” he rhymes.
When the beat switches to the mellowed melody for the chorus, Jeezy equally subdues his gruff voice to create harmony.
“Please lord..it’s getting realer everyday/Niggas killing, niggas starving/’Cause they can’t find no yay,” Jeezy phrases. “See the first it roll around/And they bills they cannot pay/So some be trappin’, some be buyin’/Bow our heads and let us pray, amen.”
Will this be the song that gets Jeezy over the hump and a release date? It may not be enough to eliminate all of Def Jam’s reluctance, but it’s definitely a good sign for Jeezy’s fans that they can expect an updated sound of the trap music they fell in love with.
Young Jeezy ”Amen” (Produced by Shawty Redd)
Young Jeezy has just premiered the lead single for Thug Motivation 103. “Jizzle” is produced by Shawty Redd, and you can hear traces of their last truck rattler “Who Dat” in the arrangements. Will it be a big hit? Probably not; the song overall is probably too street to light up the airwaves. But what it will do it satisfy Jeezy’s core audience that came up with him since before Thug Motivation 101. It’s a decent introductory track and I’m interested to see where he takes the album. His last album, The Recession, started off strong and then got mired down in the middle by repetitive production before finishing strong. I hope there will be a marked improvement on this new LP.
Young Jeezy- “Jizzle”
