Jeezy said his grandmother would always tell him, “Don’t ask anybody for anything without giving them something first.” This wisdom helped to launch his iconic rap career.
In a recent interview with Billboard, Jeezy is talking about the 20th anniversary of his classic album Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101, which was released on July 26th, 2005. During the process, he developed polyps in his throat and required surgery. With no insurance, he had to pay out of a brown paper bag of cash and took months to recover.
“It humbled me and I remember not having insurance at the time,” he recalls to Billboard with a laugh. “Imagine that, I had insurance on my Ferrari and not [medical] insurance!”
After all his hard work, the album leaked before its official release. Instead of looking at it as a setback, Jeezy saw it as a blessing in disguise
“I knew that was designed to hurt me,” Jeezy explained. “That took the pressure off, because the world had heard the music. That was the promo.”
When Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101 finally dropped, the LP peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, selling 172,000 units in the first week. Standout tracks include “And Then What” featuring Mannie Fresh, “Soul Survivor” featuring Akon, “Go Crazy” and “My Hood.”
Looking back, he’s amazed that 20 years have passed by so fast.
“If there was nothing else in the world, no book or other mixtapes and albums to represent me, I think people can see who I am and my character, my moral compass, my integrity and everything I’m about in that one body of work,” he reflects. “That’s why I call it ‘the blueprint.’ That’s him, Jay ‘Jeezy’ Jenkins.”
