Young Jeezy

Young Jeezy has been through it all, the worse and the worst, before taking the limelight of life with his niche in rapping. He was born Jay Jenkins on October 12, 1977 and was a native to Columbia, South Carolina. Together with his family, he relocated to Duncan Block of Georgia and soon lived in juggled custody. His parents decided to end their marriage and shared the custody of him with their relatives. Frequently being in his aunts' house, Jeezy developed a close bond to his cousins who later introduced him to the dark world of drug dealing. By 12, he was already making money through selling the illegal substance and got arrested several times for it. At one point he even had to serve 9 months in a boot camp as a result of being busted by the police.

Under the layer of the sad childhood, Jeezy became a strong person who had a thing with words. He was apt in shooting verses and had a talent in melody that led him wanting to jump in the music business. He was a CEO for Corporate Thugz Entertainment and was determined to sit behind the desk before the urge to step up to the spotlight as a performer took over. "Before music I was just trying to survive out this motherfucker. I had other artists, some local cats off the street, but it didn't work out," he recalled. "So I just decided to do it myself. Ain't nobody gonna go as hard as you gonna go. I saw the bigger picture at the time. I have a way with words and I know how to hustle." At the age of 24, he released an indie album called "Thuggin' Under Influence" with Lil J as his moniker. The following years, he spawned more mixtapes that impressively sold averagely around 100,000 copies within a year.

Soon his name traveled to P. Diddy's label, Bad Boy Records that signed him in 2004 as one part of rap group Boyz N Da Hood. With the boys, he released a self-titled album in 2005 that peaked at #5 on Billboard Hot 200 chart. Despite the success, he left the group and the label to go under Def Jam as a solo artist. Spanning only a month apart from the Boyz N Da Hood album, he released a debut solo album "Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101" under the new label. It went on platinum at the end of 2005 and propelled him as a capable solo artist. Like many other rap artists, Jeezy was a vocal one in what was happening in the society. When the Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005, he criticized the way government handled the crisis and opened his house to provide shelters for the victims. However, being a true street artist, he was also never off from controversy and rivalries. In March 2006, he was arrested following a shooting in Miami Beach, Florida and charged with illegal firearm possession.

Back on his track, Jeezy released a second studio album called "The Inspiration" in December 2006 and the effort, too, received a huge success by selling over a million copies since its release. Jeezy then took time to concentrate on his other project, United Streets Dopeboyz of America (U.S.D.A.). He established the rap group in 2005 and was ready to launch their career in May 2007 with the release of a debut album titled "Young Jeezy Presents USDA: Cold Summer". It reached number 4 on the Hot 200 chart and was certified gold. He also became a favorite collaborator in the Hip-Hop realm with his name attached to many of popular singles such as Christina Milian's "Say I" and Usher's "Love in This Club". All the while, Jeezy still thrives on his solo career, working on a third studio album that he called "The Recession". The effort is slated to be released on September 2, featuring Kanye West, Nas, Trey Songz and a couple more hip-hop heavyweights.