Over the past few years, Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy has transformed into a street-smart emcee capable of blending political discourse with his time-honored trap anthems. Now, with the September 20 release date of his long-awaited Thug Motivation 103 fast approaching, Jeezy explains how the current economic climate has affected his album.
In a recent interview with MTV at his second sixth-anniversary show of his debut LP Thug Motivation 101, Jeezy discussed how America’s economic woes impacted some of the topics he discusses on his upcoming album. He explained that the nation’s debt crisis has not only sharpened his instincts as a businessman, but also provided him a new perspective as an emcee.
“TM 101 dropped at a time when money was so plentiful that you could’ve had too much of it at some point, and everybody was happy,” he said. “Everybody was flamboyant, everybody was living, and nowadays it ain’t like that. So when I dropped TM 101, my whole focus was, ‘We’re gonna get this money and that’s what it’s about. We’re gonna get this money, we’re gonna live life, we’re gonna have fun.’”
He also said that, “The evolution of that [with] 103 is more sort of like situations, like, ‘OK, yeah we got to the money, we lost it two or three times, but what are we gonna do to maintain? Are we gonna maintain? Are we gonna get back? Are we gonna stay focused on the get back, or we gonna get off track? Are we gonna pay attention to what they’re talkin’ about, or pay attention to what we need to do?’ That’s what the evolution is about.”
Jeezy added that 2Pac’s music deeply resonated with him while making TM103. He explains that while he’s always been a fan of ‘Pac, the late Death Row rapper’s social insight has helped him attain a better understanding of his music and his own personal life experiences.
“It’s about knowing what to do. When I was growin’ up and I was listening to ‘Pac, all his situations apply to me today,” he noted. “I never knew that, I was just listening to the music and I thought it was good music. Everything that he said applies to me today. Keep your enemies close, money over bitches – that’s real talk.”
The full interview can be seen below.
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alright, it’s official: saying that 2Pac influenced/inspired your music in any sort of way is so fucking corny!! how about yall rappers stop referring back to 2Pac and listen to some more fuckin music! 2Pac isnt the only greatest artist out there! other hip-hop artists, along with jazz, R&B, soul, and funk musicians are all big inspirations to hip-hop music as well. but instead, we have so many rappers nowadays always talk about 2Pac this and 2Pac that…i mean, they treat him as if he’s a fuckin God! he’s cool and all, but i’m just saying that there are more influential musicians out there and not just 2Pac!
Im with you….Enough of these rappers always saying tupac/big. Like its madatory to say those names to record an album. This is why 80 percent of rappers are lame rhymers. How you gonna pattern yourself on somebody whose career came to a close nearly 20 years ago. I mean come on with this. Pac/Big=greatest. No disrespect to their legacy but its almost like every rock star saying they are influenced by Elvis. This is insane. This men have been gone for decades and every rapper puts them in their top five like its nothing. If it aint big and pac these dudes are saying jay Z and nas. Its got to stop.
Shut Up You Hoe, Of All The Things To Complain About You Complain About This, He’s a Rapper Dickhead, He Got Influenced By Another Rapper, It’s Simple
IDK: Okay so along w/2pac, MLK jr, Michael Jordan, Maya Angelou, Dr. West, Quincy Jones…etc Is there anyone else that you all have decided we can’t be influenced by since other people have said their names too many times?
What!: When you give me 5 other mc’s who were beyond a doubt better than them from a financial, artistic, and popularity measurement, then your argument will be valid. Oh, dont even think about putting 3 stacks as one because, as determined by IDK, a lot of people name him as an influence so he doesnt count…
TUPAC THE GREATEST AND REALEST TO EVER DO IT!!!!
PUT THAT IN YA PIPES AND SMOKE IT BITCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, “Keep your enemies close” and “money over bitches” is what you learned overall from 2pac? Come on, man. That’s surface level if you really knew the amount of substance pac had in his lyrcis.
1000% co=sign your comment
@IDK Tupac is God.
i was feeling the interview until i got to money over bitches
Only a bitch wouldnt understand M.O.B…A BITCH IS A BITCH A WOMEN IS A WOMEN
This nigga is a fucking FRAUDDDDDDDD!! “The closest youÃre gonna get to this is a Pac t-shirt. The name is Young baby, you know I live that thug life.” Fake ass Pac wanna be.. Niggas wanna be pac so bad but don’t even understand what pac was. He wasn’t a rapper he was a fucking political figure. A hood political figure, these talking about fucking bitches and they chains and shit. Jeezy a clown.
a political figure?, lol He was great mc, an influential one but just cuz he spoke on current issues doesnt make him a “political figure”. That nigga didnt do shit within politics.
@JDeezle: Obviously you dont know shit about Pac!!!! You think Pac was killed just because he was a loud mouth?!!! Pac was waaaaay political, more than you think he was!!!! If you truly were a Pac fan you would understand that Pac was more than just a rapper, im not saying he was a prophet or anything but Pac stood for something!!!!
Damn some people are stupid.what is wrong if he was influenced by tupac? There aint shit wrong with that. Jizzle 4 life
JEEZY STANDS FOR THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT PAC STOOD FOR!! THATS WHATS WRONG
Jeezy rollin with the same people who got pac shot in 94 yet wants to say he was influenced by him. Clown!
SOMEONE IS ON THEIR KNOWLEDGE!!! REAL TALK
that last album really drove home the fact we were in a RECESSION! Jeezy the only artist that spoke on this subject enough that his whole album was dedicated to this struggle!! Pac gav it to us raw…you gon hav to do that too to be able to say you were influenced by 2pac and we believe you…so many ninjas ridin on tupac amaru’s name…dat tupac back shit is dissin and pissin on his great name …damn simpletons….guns and butta…lil dumm mufuckas!
MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY
The nigga said he was influenced by pac not he is pac.It’s like people saying they were influence by martin luther king but we dont have to do all the work that king did..Damn you all are stupid
This nonsense needs to stop.
RIP Tupac Shakur
Young Jeezy is garbage. Inspired by 2pac? yeah right this niggas lyrics are nothin more than a bunch of yeahs and thas right. This nigga insultin Pac by sayin this shit was influenced by Pac. Only hot song bout Pac was 2pac back. Aint no niggas waitin for this garbage ass shit.
Bawse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
shut up. ur a rick ross fan
RICK ROSS AND HIS FANS SHOULDNT EVER MENTION PAC AT ALL!!!! YOU ALL ARE THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT PAC STOOD FOR!!! AND THATS REAL TALK
Rick ross is a Pussy… PUSS!
I ain’t got a problem with Jeezy he got his own lame & he is who is but I swear this dude thinks he the realest “nigga” alive or the only 1 going thru it… How you over 30 and just realized Pac was speaking on real things that effected Black men – past, present and in the future?
I can’t say Pac was a prophet but obviously he has enough instinct to read the signs of his demise.
gtfoh you all acting if tupac was a god or something. read a book dumbass mutha…..
no one is calling Pac a god!!! Pac just happened to be a great rapper that predicted a lot of shit that is going on today!!!! Maybe you might want to heed to your own advice and read a book!!!!
oh yeah i forgot ……………. you MUTHAFUCKA!!!!!
The most influential rapper of all time..LONG LIVE PAC.. O4L
niceee
so its just like his last album the recesion
exactly
are we gonna hear some “My president sucks/He’s an Uncle Tom/My Lambo got repoed/And now I feel dumb”?
lmfao best comment yet
That’s ill your better than young jeezy
How can he feel influenced by Pac when Pac was anti-illuminati this nigga jeezy is one of the illuminati’s bitches!!! Dont believe it look it up!!
By the way wasnt his last album geared towards talking about the economy, thats why it was called THE RECESSION!!!!
so pretty much same shit like the recession jeezy talks about the struggle and the govt
jeezy wont sell shit maybe 25k in first week he fell off big time
Its like church you can go and listen to the pastor but you need to read the bible for urself.thats like listen to Jeezy if he is illuminati listen to the album u be the judge you know whats right and wrong.Ive been saying that we need another Tupac somebody for the people because i we have is cats just all about the money with no real voice.Jeezy my fav. rapper but i dont put nothing past nobody.Some of yall just wood riding haters.Get off that wood.
I heard that comment b4 every jeezy album and he ended up selling 328K and this time i predict 420 k,Jeezy fans dont gave a fuck about what u think we still gon buy when the album drops asshole.we are that loyal
Jeezy has tracks to tear rick ross appart but Def jam wont allow him to release the songs contain ricky’s name
Sorry? Artistic Decline?
This guy is a fake. He says everything he does is off the economic decline he even has an album called The Recession but lets face it did you every here this man give back. Did you ever hear him make a single that isn’t about getting money besides my my president which was all about him hahaha here are the lyrics
My president is black my lambo blue and I’d be dam if my trims ain’t too. This man is as fake as Nicki Minaj’s body
man u stupid jeezy allwayz give back to tha hood just Christmas man was in tha hood passin out PlayStation 3
giving back to the hood by giving out playstation 3’s…..LOL!!!! Ignorance in the highest degree
Money over bitches? Keep your friends close and enemies closer? Are these the most important messages he learned from Pac? Seriously? Im a Jeezy fan, but this needs to stop. Pac’s lyrics were far more complex than that. Since Pac’s death, there has yet to be a rapper that can move the masses the way he did.
RIP 2pac Shakur. Still the best MC in the game…and that nigga been dead almost 15 years
Nuff said…. You pretty much summed up what I would have said, except I’m not really a big Jeezy fan, but anyway RIP to 2Pac the best who ever did it.. The game really is missing a lot of it’s legends that are dead because look at what this ish has become……
Listen to Shake Life and you will know what he means influenced by 2pac . He obviously can’t come out and say what he really means because he will be dead like 2 pac.