Jay Wayne Jenkins (born: September 28, 1977), better known professionally as Jeezy (also known as Young Jeezy, formerly known as Lil J), is an American rapper known for his music.
Life[]
Jenkins was born on September 28, 1977, in Columbia, South Carolina. When he was a toddler, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, where he lived with different family members as a result of his parents separating. He had lived in Macon, Georgia at an older age, where he befriended many Crip gang members and even affiliated himself with the Crips, eventually starting his affiliation with Kinky B who helped his career, and would become a co-founder of CTE World.
Career[]
In 2001, under the name Lil J, Jenkins released his first independent album, Thuggin' Under the Influence (T.U.I.),. In 2003, he 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, he signed with Bad Boy Records and joined the group Boyz n da Hood, whose self-titled album was released in 2005.
He released his major label debut, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, in 2005. The second single off the album, "Soul Survivor" featuring Akon, reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and would become Jenkins' highest-charting single of his career. In an interview with HitQuarters, A&R Shakir Stewart said that Jenkins had recorded over 60 songs for the album.
It was announced in 2009 that he started working on Thug Motivation 103. In 2010, it was reported that he dropped "Young" from his stage name, but later 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".
In 2020, he released The Recession 2. As with the original, The Recession, which was released 12 years prior, it is a reflection of the "current times", as he 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 night before the album's release, Jeezy went live for a Verzuz against Gucci Mane.
In 2022, he, along with DJ Drama, released the album Snofall, which spawned singles, such as "Put The Minks Down" with 42 Dugg.
Channel[]
Jenkins created his channel on March 19, 2010, but uploaded his first video on June 17, 2009. He uploads music videos, audio, and podcast videos on his channel.
