Jeezy

Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper.

He is credited, alongside fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream audiences.

Jay Wayne Jenkins was born on September 28, 1977, in Columbia, South Carolina.

When he was a toddler, Jenkins relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, where he lived with different family members, as a result of his parents separating.

In an interview with XXL magazine, he described his childhood as "empty".

At a point in time he lived in Hawkinsville, Georgia, at 600 N Lumpkin.

He had lived in Macon, Georgia at an older age, where he befriended many Crip gang members and even affiliated himself with the Crips and started his affiliation with Kinky B, who helped his musical career.

In 1994, Jeezy spent nine months in YCA (Youth Challenge Academy), a boot camp in Fort Stewart, Georgia, for narcotics possession.

Four years later, in 1998, Jeezy launched the label imprint CTE World, then known as Corporate Thugz Entertainment.

Jenkins began his career in 2001, releasing two independent albums until signing with Def Jam Recordings to release his major label debut, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 (2005).

The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, sold 172,000 copies in its first week, and received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The album also spawned his highest-charting single as a lead artist to date: "Soul Survivor" (featuring Akon), which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

His record label, CTE World was formed in 2001 and has signed artists including YG and Freddie Gibbs.

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.

Reid recognized Jeezy's talent and gave Stewart the green light to sign him.

However, due to Jeezy's rising popularity, other record labels began pursuing him simultaneously to sign with them, most notably, Warner and Interscope.

Ultimately, Jeezy decided he wanted to be in business with Stewart and Reid and signed with Def Jam Records as a result.

Jeezy released his major label debut, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, on July 26, 2005.

The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, selling 172,000 copies in its first week and was later certified Platinum by the RIAA.

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 would become 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.

In interviews and on several records, Jeezy has affirmed his resistance to commercialism in his music.

According to Jeezy, maintaining his street credibility, is of the utmost concern to him as an artist.

In 2005, Jeezy was featured in several popular hip hop songs including Gucci Mane's "Icy" and Boyz n da Hood's "Dem Boyz".

He would later leave the group after successfully establishing himself as a solo artist.

His second and third albums, Thug Motivation 102: The Inspiration (2006) and The Recession (2008) were met with continued success as both peaked the Billboard 200; the latter earned Jenkins his first Grammy Award nomination for its lead single, "Put On" (featuring Kanye West).

In 2006, Jeezy was featured in Christina Milian's single "Say I".

Later that year, on December 12, he released his second major label album, The Inspiration.

It topped the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 352,000 copies and would go 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.

In addition, Jenkins has been featured on numerous R&B singles, including "Say I" by Christina Milian, "I'm So Paid" by Akon, "Hard" by Rihanna, and "Love in This Club" by Usher; the latter peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 in 2008.

Along with his solo career, Jenkins is the de facto leader of the Southern hip hop group United Streets Dopeboyz of America (U.S.D.A.), and a former member of the Bad Boy Records group Boyz n da Hood.

His albums TM:103 Hustlerz Ambition (2011), Seen It All: The Autobiography (2013), Church in These Streets (2015) followed thereafter; his ninth album, Trap or Die 3 (2016) peaked atop the chart once more.

His other platinum-certified singles include "I Luv It", "Go Getta" (featuring R. Kelly), "My President" (featuring Nas), "Lose My Mind" (featuring Plies), and "Leave You Alone" (featuring Ne-Yo), among others.