Early life and career beginnings (1977–2004) Jay Wayne Jenkins was born on September 28, 1977, in
Columbia, South Carolina. In 1998, Jeezy launched the label imprint
CTE World, then known as Corporate Thugz Entertainment. In 2001, under the name Lil J, Young Jeezy released his first independent album, ''Thuggin' Under the Influence (T.U.I.)
,. The album included features from artists Freddy J., Kinky B, Fidank, and Lil Jon, who also produced some of the songs. In 2003, Jeezy independently released Come Shop wit Me
, a two-CD set featuring new tracks along with some songs previously released on T.U.I.
In 2004, Jeezy signed with Bad Boy Records and joined the group Boyz n da Hood, whose self-titled album was released in June 2005 and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard'' 200 album chart. In May 2004,
Jazze Pha's manager, Henry 'Noonie' Lee, showed Jeezy's demo to his friend
Shakir Stewart, then Vice President Artist and Repertoire (VP A&R) at Def Jam. Stewart "fell in love with it [the demo] the first time [he] heard it" and took it to
L.A. Reid. The debut single off his debut album, "And Then What" featured
Mannie Fresh and reached No. 67 on the
Billboard Hot 100. The second single off the album, "
Soul Survivor" featuring
Akon, reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Jeezy's highest-charting single of his career. The third single, "My Hood", reached No. 77 on the Billboard Hot 100. In an interview with
HitQuarters, A&R Shakir Stewart said that Jeezy had recorded over 60 songs for the album. According to Jeezy, maintaining his
street credibility, is of the utmost concern to him as an artist. and
Boyz n da Hood's "
Dem Boyz". He later left the group after successfully establishing himself as a solo artist.
The Inspiration and U.S.D.A. (2006–2007) In 2006, Jeezy was featured in
Christina Milian's single "
Say I". On December 12, 2006, he released his second major label album,
The Inspiration. It topped the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 352,000 copies and went on to be certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album's first single, "
I Luv It", peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the second single, "
Go Getta" featuring
R. Kelly, peaked at No. 18. Jeezy extended himself into gaming, portraying himself in the 3D hip-hop fighting game
Def Jam: Icon, released in March 2007. Also in 2007, Jeezy's group
U.S.D.A, alongside Blood Raw and Slick Pulla, released their debut album,
Cold Summer. The album debuted at number 4 on the
Billboard 200, selling 95,000 copies in its first week.
The Recession (2008) On September 2, 2008, Jeezy released
The Recession, his third
studio album and, what would be, his second consecutive number one album. It topped the Billboard 200, selling 260,000 copies in its first week and was later
certified gold by the
RIAA. The album's lead single, "
Put On", featured
Kanye West and reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Recession earned Jeezy a
Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap performance by a duo. Other singles off the album included "
Vacation", "
Crazy World", "
My President" featuring
Nas, and "
Who Dat" featuring
Shawty Redd. Separately, Jeezy made appearances on
Usher's "
Love in This Club" and
Akon's "
I'm So Paid", which was also with
Lil Wayne. "
Love in This Club" peaked at No. 1 on the
Billboard Hot 100. Later, Jeezy performed on
Ciara's single "
Never Ever", from her album
Fantasy Ride. In the summer of 2008, Jeezy was at the center of a controversy over his choice for president. While he had previously endorsed
Barack Obama, during an interview with
Vibe, Jeezy spoke about meeting and supporting
John McCain. The statement caused a stir, and Jeezy quickly clarified his stance via a viral video. In the four-minute explanation, Jeezy made it clear that Obama was his main choice. "I represent the Democratic party. ... I've never been nor do I ever plan to be a John McCain supporter", the rapper said. "I support Barack Obama." Jeezy and
Jay-Z performed in a concert to celebrate the inauguration of President Obama on January 18, 2009. On ''
The O'Reilly Factor'', commentator
Bill O'Reilly criticized their performance as a "rant that offended people", but Jeezy responded: "I got white friends. It's nothing like that. I'm a taxpayer, I got a right to voice my opinion at any point in time. I don't think he really understands my struggle."
TM:103 Hustlerz Ambition and Its Tha World (2010–2012) It was announced in November 2009 that Jeezy started working on
Thug Motivation 103. In March 2010, it was reported that Young Jeezy dropped "Young" from his stage name. Later, Young Jeezy denied the name change and claimed it was just a rumor: However, on the cover for his single "
Lose My Mind", his name is printed as "Jeezy". "
Lose My Mind" peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. Nearly two years after first announcing work on
Thug Motivation 103, on May 17, 2011, Jeezy released the first single off the album, "Ballin", which features
Lil Wayne and peaked at No. 57 on the
Billboard Hot 100. On July 22, the second intended single from the album was released, a track called "Shake Life," although it was later scrapped. In July 2011, Jeezy announced a September 20, 2011 release date for
Thug Motivation 103. The album was pushed back yet again, this time to December 20, 2011. On September 29, 2011, Jeezy released the third single off
Thug Motivation 103, named "F.A.M.E." (Fake Ass Motherfuckers Envy), featuring
T.I. The song was
T.I.'s first appearance on a song since his release from prison. On December 20, 2011,
Thug Motivation 103 was released. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, selling 233,000 copies in its first week, becoming certified Gold by the RIAA. "I Do" featuring
André 3000 and
Jay-Z was the album's fourth single. It peaked at No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Leave You Alone" featuring
Ne-Yo, was the album's fifth single and reached No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2012, Young Jeezy's "I Do" received a
Grammy nomination for Best Rap Performance. In October 2012, Jeezy released a new single called "Get Right" on
iTunes and sent it to radio. Shortly after the single's release, Jeezy confirmed he had plans to release a new mixtape by the end of 2012, as well as a new album in 2013. On December 12, 2012, Jeezy released ''
It's Tha World'', the aforementioned mixtape, hosted by
DJ Drama. The mixtape features
2 Chainz,
Trey Songz,
Lil Boosie,
Birdman,
YG and
E-40. Production came from
Jahlil Beats, The Renegades,
DJ Mustard,
Warren G,
Mike WiLL Made It,
Cardo and Black Metaphor.
Boss Yo Life Up Gang, Seen It All: The Autobiography and Church in These Streets (2013–2015) On August 13, 2013, Young Jeezy released a compilation mixtape titled
Boss Yo Life Up Gang with
CTE World artists, Doughboyz Cashout and
YG . The mixtape has two singles, "
My Nigga" by YG and "Mob Life" by Doughboyz Cashout, both featuring Young Jeezy. On September 17, 2013, Jeezy premiered the first single "In My Head", produced by
Childish Major, from his CTE collaboration mixtape "Its Tha World 2". The following day he announced plans to release his next album, saying it will more deeply detail his street origins. He revealed that
Future,
Usher,
Ludacris, and
Don Cannon would be involved in the album. On May 30, 2014, Jeezy released the first single "Me Ok" from his upcoming fifth studio album
Seen It All: The Autobiography. On July 1, 2014, he released the second single, "
Seen It All", featuring
Jay-Z. On August 31, 2015, Jeezy announced that he would release a new project entitled
Church in These Streets. Four singles were released and the project as a whole came on November 13, 2015. It debuted at No. 4 on the
Billboard 200.
Trap or Die 3, Pressure, TM104: The Legend of the Snowman and retirement (2016–2019) On October 28, 2016, Jeezy released his new album
Trap or Die 3, which became available for pre-order on iTunes earlier that month. It debuted at number one on the
Billboard 200, becoming Jeezy's third album to top the chart. On December 15, 2017, Jeezy released his eighth studio album
Pressure, originally titled Snow Season. On August 23, 2019, Jeezy released his ninth album,
TM104: The Legend of the Snowman. It was planned to be his final album, as he wanted to venture into acting at the time.
The Recession 2 (2020–2022) On November 20, 2020, Jeezy released his tenth studio album,
The Recession 2. As with the original,
The Recession, which was released 12 years prior, it is a reflection of the "current times", as Jeezy explained: "It just really inspired me to touch on some of that, but at the same time, motivate my people and give them something to help them through these times and to celebrate, because the shift is happening". The 15-track album features guest appearances from
Rick Ross,
Ne-Yo,
Yo Gotti,
E-40, and
Demi Lovato, among others. The night before the album's release, Jeezy went live for a
Verzuz against rival
Gucci Mane.
Snofall and Def Jam departure (2022–present) On September 30, 2022, Jeezy announced a mixtape to be released the following month to help fulfill his contract with Def Jam Recordings, the label that housed him for over eighteen years. On October 21, 2022, the mixtape,
Snofall, hosted by Gangsta Grillz
DJ Drama was released. On Halloween 2023, Jeezy confirmed via
Instagram that his contract with Def Jam has been fulfilled, while announcing a
double album titled ''I Might Forgive, But I Don't Forget'', which was released on November 3. ==Personal life==