Though Young Jeezy is readying the release of his upcoming TM 104: THE LEGEND OF THE SNOWMAN project, the Atlanta rapper took a moment to reflect on one of his classic releases. As they say, one must often look back to go forward. "They say you got your whole life to write your first Album," he writes, via Instagram. "All I ever wanted to do is Motivate and Inspire! Mission accomplished ‼️"
"The minute, the second I got done rapping Thug Motivation 101, I knew that was a street bible," reflects Jeezy. "I know that was going to change the way the world see hustle. Can you imagine going to college, to a Thug Motivation course called "Let's Get It," you gon' sit in there and flip the book wide open like 'what are we talking about, I want to see it.' And that's how it really was. When they peeled that wrap and put the CD in, heard that gangsta music...it puts you in the mind frame of being at the bottom wanting to get to the top."
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Revealing that one of his primary motivations was to avoid going to prison, Jeezy theorizes that might have played a role in shaping the album's potency. "That's why the records were so piercing," he says. "I just wanted to be heard. I didn't know if I was going to go to jail or not. The whole time I really wanted to be heard. I was going in and saying everything as if it could be my last word."
Naturally, the project was not without its share of setbacks. "I had a situation where an engineer I was working with leaked the whole album two months before it was supposed to come out," laughs Jeezy. "It was bad for him, you feel me? But that did make me nervous, because I felt like I put my all into something and it had been sabotaged...What he didnt' realize, was he actually helped me. People started bootlegging in Detroit, in DC, in Chicago."
He explains that he and his crew would spend the day driving around in a van, running up on anybody daring to bootleg his music - including one store, who ultimately paid the price for their transgression. Should you hold Let's Go It in high esteem, be sure to check out the video below. Congratulations to Jeezy for holding it down with a bit of hip-hop history.