Jeezy is bothered by the proliferation of opioids in society, specifically within in Hip Hop. In a new interview with Mass Appeal, the Snowman was critical of rappers glorifying the dangerous drugs.
“I got a family member that’s a nurse,” Jeezy said around the 5:30 mark of the video below. “Just to hear the stories … she might call me, I’m like, ‘You good?’ [She says] ‘Aw man, we had five kids come in overdosed on this and that. I’m just like, what the fuck? You know what I’m saying? Percocet … I was just like, ‘Wow, that’s crazy. In one day, five kids come and die?’ She’s like, ‘Yeah, one 13-year-old.’ That’s crazy to me. But they listening to the music.”
The trap rap pioneer explained that he was fine with Hip Hop artists using opioids but had an issue with it being a focal point of their music.
“I can get it if that’s your vice, that’s what you like doing,” he said. “We gon’ respect that. But once your words get out, and you tell the people that this is it and that’s how it is, it’s like I don’t know if I can respect that. Ok, the music is cool but what you stand for though? If I had a conversation with you, you gonna be too doped up to tell me something cool? You gonna be too high to … I can’t follow you to the end of the earth. Like for one, you don’t even know what the fuck you talking about.”
Jeezy noted how kids, for better or worse, look up to rappers. He believes artists don’t realize how influential they are.
“These people are leaders,” he continued. “I don’t think they understand that. It’s one thing to be a culture vulture — get in and getcha money. But don’t act like you the realest thing since Makaveli, Scarface or Jeezy or Boosie or T.I. These are stand up guys. These guys are living legends.”
As a veteran, the Pressure MC believes it’s his duty to speak up when he sees such a problem.
“It’s important for me to come when I come, when it’s too much,” he said. “It’s too ignorant. It takes people like me to step in and say, ‘That’s cool, man, but you could do this also over here.'”
Watch the entire interview above.
I rock with jeezy but how many kids lives did you destroy with the visions of being a coke boy
Should criticize promoting gang violence rather, Drug abuse kills yourself, gang shooting kills innocent bystanders
Jeezy the dopeman…….. I rest my case…
Hypocrite lol. And anyone who looks at rappers as leaders is just plain stupid. It’s music… I can listen to music about opioids and not do em. Jeezy, NOBODY looks up to you as a leader to the youth. If they did, they’d probably join a gang and sell drugs.
Maybe YOU know the difference, but a kid doesnt. And theyre exposed to it all day… i used to say that rappers weremt leaders, but when a kid tells you they eithet wanna play basketball or rap when they grow up, you learn different.
When Young Jeezy is ‘saving’ HipHop from being ignorant with his exaggerated coke fantasies I think it’s safe to say hiphop is beyond the reach of help. Nobody wants to admit it, but the ignorance of the south ruined hiphop. When it was easy coast it was cool, when it was west coast it was cool, it went down south and forgot how to read and write. Peace.
I respect that but the south didnt kill it. Its influencial artist down here theyre jus not promoted. U probably think of lil suchandsuch when u think of southern artist…i think of UGK, Gheto Boys, Ball&G, The Dungeon Fam….P was a good artist and even better business man…..list goes on. What happened was record companies / the industry started promoting the bullshit….and as always it targets children and teens
In other news: Jeezy still bald as fuck.
i loved Jeezy back in the day dont get me wrong, but I call HYPOCRITE. Whether u spittin bout sellin off the weight being cool, or using the drug being cool, ur selling the ideology of drugs to the youth. Trap rappers, past or present, have no right at all to comment on this subject when they’re the ones who initially used it as subject matter from jump street. Now who’s really more to blame at the end of the day, dealer or user? Ppl like him got no respect from me, u cant judge these kids for wut they spit (and yes, the new music is terrible) for being too doped up to realize the pedestal that theyre on, and the content theyre creating is detrimental to our kids. Jeezy is more of the problem than them…u sold it to em, they used it…now look what u created….smh, I swear he must b dumb as rocks to not see that he is and always has been, part of the problem.
Jeff, that was the realest thing i have ever read on the internet.
God bless you sir
Appreciated sir. It’s just to me, if you want to make a change, if you want to criticize then pull the plank from your own eye before criticizing others. Someone above said “I think he’s talking about children being too immature and naive, and looking up to celebrities and musicians as role models”….well i’m sorry, but I personally didn’t have a father around, or male mentors growing up, and the music of this culture taught me what it was like to be a man through the lens of an impressionable teen. They were all I had to look up to. It got me into some trouble at times, but its because I reflected as I was taught. But there are artists who know their pedestal and use it for a positive way…Lecrae, Phora, Andy Mineo, Lupe Fiasco, J Cole, Mick Jenkins, Oswin Benjamin…n the list goes on….or reformed artists like Bun B and David Banner, hell even Gucci Mane nowadays, who saw the flaws of the poison they sold off and decided to change their music up to give kids a new perspective and try to lead them on a better path…every even fairly popular artist knows the effect they have on the kids, and that their sales are mostly effected by teens and young adults, the choice to use that for life or death is on them, and i’m sick of these fake ass dudes claiming then criticizing when theyre doing nothing to benefit these kids themselves. It’s that Jesse Jackson mindset, hop on the train when its running, speak what everyone already knows, to get a round of applause and respect for speaking on it…capitalizing for shedding on a light thats already been plugged in. You wanna help these youth, change your own speech, apologize for steering them wrong, and reach out to them to attempt fix a problem that your own identity is knee deep in, right your wrongs or shutup…if he’s lookin for a round of applause for his opinion, all I got is a finger between the pointer and ring…this dudes a clown…T.I. better never speak on this stuff either…
Similar to Stormcloak’s comment, how about we criticize the type of music that promotes opiates, coke, molly, etc. AKA Trap Music! It’s not an east coast, west coast, or south side discussion because all the regions now sound like trap music and deploy the same mindless bullshit. Jeezy is a hypocrite and he can’t criticize anything. I CAN”T WAIT FOR TRAP MUSIC & IT’S RAPID WATER SPRINKLER HI-HATS TO DIE AND NEVER COME BACK.
But a week ago you was riding for these same artists, talkin bout, “They just trying to figure their lives out”.
WHAT!
the snowman against drugs now lol this dude should of been against himself loser
I think he’s referring to children. With them just being naive and immature they will look up to the most celebrated characters of our culture. Athletes and artists.
Is he called the snowman because he is from the North Pole? Did he not build his reputation on his so called association with BMF? He will be on love & hiphop ATL next season. I don’t like any of that trap mumble rap, but jezzy is Full of shit for that interview.
Gives you something to think about. Not that I’m on this opioid crisis bandwagon, but it’s telling that this happens when rap becomes the dominant genre in music and so much of mainstream rap pushes those habits.
Yall sound stupid as fuck…I dont want argue cause your logic is so fucking immature and ignorant. I see exactly why you cant tell young people shit nowadays. Even at yall age, I wasnt thinking that stupid smh
Jeezy one the top rappers and he is OG status among these young kids in the rap game today ,But Jeezy you use to call yourself Mr.17.5 in reference to selling a kilo of coke Snowman and rolled wit one of the biggest drug operations call BMF, TI rap about trapping and getting caught wit guns Lil Boosie videos wit guns and music fill wit violence ,Chuck D would make a better person to address issues of this nature
So a person did dirt in their teens and 20s. They get older and wiser but they cant speak against something because they used to do it!!??? Im 36 and that type of thinking is a great reason why you young fuckers gonna get a rude wake up call. That’s the dumbest, THE DUMBEST logic I heard all morning….please please FOH
So he wants to be anti drugs…does anyone remember Major Distribution? Too late to be a social justice warrior now.
Why cause he older? What yall out here respecting 40+ year old shooters and d boys? You idiots really think you should be the same person after 15 20 years?? This generation and your way of thinking and using logic honestly scares the shit outta me
He just released trap or die 3 last year dumbfucker try again…
I’m gon have Gucci Mane smack this fool. Old heads keep talking too much.
Cause that’s what old heads do youngin’….
Say it again, Jeezy. The kids need to understand the difference between art and real life. The artists need to take more responsibility for the issues they may create. It’d be crazy one day when the feds sue artists (but ignore the labels. Ain’t that right, Time Warner?) for what they are putting out in their music. Right now, getting people to commit suicide or lose their freedom as a victim of mass incarceration is a part of an agenda. Jeezy rapped about his experiences but the man is now using his platform in a more responsible manner. Church, and big up to Jeezy!
But its ok to whip up crack and stretch them O’s huh? And to trap trap trap and get shot up in the streets but opioids NOPE! Get the fuck off your high horse you aint any better…
You expect me to look up to T.I.? The rapper who refers to himself as “The Rubber-Band Man”?
TI the snitch.
Just protecting his product of distribution
I mean he sell/sold crack and coke and now the fiends are getting high off something else, it’s hurting his business ??
Jeezy Like To Drank…What?…Jeezy like to smoke…..Jeezy like to mix arm and hammer with his coke.