Jeezy
Atlanta rapper and CTE World founder whose Def Jam debut Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101 helped launch the trap era, followed by three No. 1 albums.
From Columbia to Atlanta
Jay Wayne Jenkins was born in Columbia, South Carolina, on September 28, 1977. After his parents separated he moved to Atlanta as a toddler, and he also spent parts of his youth in Hawkinsville, Georgia. In 1998 he founded Corporate Thugz Entertainment, later CTE World, and issued the independent albums “Thuggin' Under the Influence (T.U.I.)” in 2001 and “Come Shop wit Me” in 2003.
Boyz n da Hood and Def Jam
In 2004 he joined the Bad Boy group Boyz n da Hood, whose self-titled album reached No. 5 in June 2005. The mixtape “Trap or Die,” released that January, built his street profile. His Def Jam debut, “Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101” (2005), opened at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with about 172,000 copies sold, powered by “Soul Survivor” with Akon, a No. 4 hit on the Hot 100.
Motivational trap
“Thug Motivation 102: The Inspiration” (2006) and “The Recession” (2008) both reached No. 1. The latter carried “Put On” with Kanye West (No. 12) and “My President” with Nas, and he also appeared on Usher's chart-topping “Love in This Club” in 2008. Later albums included “TM103: Hustlerz Ambition” (2011, No. 3), “Church in These Streets” (2015, No. 4) and “Trap or Die 3” (2016, No. 1), followed by “Pressure” (2017), “TM104: The Legend of the Snowman” (2019) and “I Might Forgive... But I Don't Forget” (2023).
Jeezy and legacy
Around 2010 he dropped Young from his stage name. On November 19, 2020, he faced his former rival Gucci Mane in a widely watched Verzuz broadcast, shortly before releasing “The Recession 2.” He has led the group U.S.D.A., his CTE World label has worked with artists including YG and Freddie Gibbs, and he is regarded as a central voice of the trap era, known for turning hustler stories into motivational anthems.
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