Jeezy‘s music career started as a side hustle and when labels came calling waving seven-figure checks, the rapper turned them away since he thought he was financially secure.
The Snowman’s pockets were filled thanks to his hustling days moving weight and it wasn’t until a JAY-Z phone call convinced him to take the financial side of rapping seriously.
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The ATL rap legend joined the Assets Over Liabilities show on Wednesday (November 8) where he shed light on the early days of navigating the music industry.
“You got to talk to John Plant over at Warner because he was the first person that gave me a check for publishing,” he explained. “I ain’t cash the check for like a year-and-a-half. He called me like, ‘What’s going on with the check I gave you?’ ‘I’ma keep it real with you I left it in some pants and I think it got faded and I don’t know where it’s at.'”
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Jeezy confirmed the lucrative check was for a few million dollars but he didn’t need the cash at the time.
“JAY-Z called me like, ‘Yo, you gotta quit playing.’ I was like, ‘Alright, I gotta,” he recalled. “Not at the time, when I came in from the streets to music I was good. I was straight. The music, to me, I was more infatuated that people liked what I was doing.
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“I didn’t need the money, so I thought. I just had the bread. Then I was getting money for shows, it was like taking ice cream from a baby. It was the sweetest shit ever.”
Jeezy continued: “When Def Jam gave me my check, I didn’t have an account. Shoebox, I was just putting checks in the box. I didn’t understand how it worked. I was too embarrassed to ask… By the way, I was paranoid of banks. The first thing I’m thinking is it gon’ be money laundering.”
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He eventually got the hang of his finances and said he’s gotten “pretty good” overlooking his finances, explaining that he never turned to an account or money manager for help.
Watch the clip below starting at the 6:35 mark:
Jeezy isn’t the only one who doesn’t use other people to look over his finances, as DJ Khaled recently revealed he doesn’t trust accountants or managers.
During a Club Shay Shay interview posted on Wednesday (November 8), the Miami beatmaker discussed all the work he puts into stabilizing his bank balance given how many people he takes care of.
“No disrespect to all you beautiful business managers out there — I don’t want to mess up your hustle — but I’ve heard a lot of crazy stories, okay?” he said. “There’s no way in the world I’m letting somebody have the power to touch the hard work. No way.”
After talking about how his parents taught him to put effort into his dreams and value the capital it generates, the 47-year-old producer once again clarified to host Shannon Sharpe that he takes care of “everything” himself.
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“I don’t believe in no accountant, I don’t believe in — what’s the thing they call — money manager,” he said. “I pay the grass, the car washman, the guy that’s cut my hair, the electric bill, the car note, the mortgage.”
