HANDSOMER FURS

Young Jeezy - Greatest Trapper Alive

The streets done dried up. The people walk aimlessly, scratching here and there unrepentantly, oblivious to the dried blood now clogging the underneath of their fingernails. The heat is seemingly eternal and with everyone growing restless, only a sweet chill can fill that void. They want that fix and they want it in spades. Fuck the rain, make it snow. After almost 2 years since Jeezy graced us with The Recession, he's back with a one-two punch. Thug Motivation 103 is sure to keep the American Dream alive but as a precursor, he's decided to do an almost impossible task by releasing a sequel to Trap Or Die, arguably the best thing he's ever attached his name to. The first taste of By Any Mean Necessary is a triumphant exercise in soul-powered blaxploitation. Think spotlights, horn section and big letters on a big marquee.

[Young Jeezy MySpace]

[Trap Or Die 2: By Any Means Necessary will be available later this year followed by the release of Thug Motiviation 103. Details on USDA2Day.]

SNOWMAN, BITCH

A really great friend of mine only listens to Galaxie 500 and Stereolab. That's it. Ok, I guess I'm exaggerating a little but I'm trying to make a point here. She recently, however, had an epiphany and decided that this would be the year she broadened her horizons and start listening to as much new and different music as she can. She asked me to help on her quest. While browsing through her iRiver (she's also very retro), I started suggesting some bands in the same ilk of the two mentioned earlier, thinking that she'd be more open to something a little more familiar. I then found that she had some Kanye West in her collection which stumped me so I asked her about it.

"I never really listen to him but I LOVE this song..."

She proceeds to put on the remix to "Can't Tell Me Nothing" and rap Young Jeezy's verse word for word. She even did her best to sound like him when her favourite line popped up - "...if I had a billlllyen daaaaahhlers...YEEEEAAAHHH".

My mind exploded. I was still picking up the pieces when she asked that I recommend some more Young Jeezy to check out as she digs his voice and he heard his name mentioned on an episode of 30 Rock. Apparently, Tina Fey = seal of approval.



Jeezy's perhaps one of the most prolific and recognizable in the game. When talking about the South, I have to mention him in the same breath as Weezy and T.I. Deemed as a "crack rap" artist when he dropped Thug Motivation 101, he's grown and The Recession is a testament to this. That gulliness is still there but with it there's a sense of, dare I say, "consciousness" amid the big beats, big rhymes and big hooks. "Circulate" is evidence of all of the above.

Young Jeezy - Circulate

Also, here's a little bonus from the Thug Motivation 101 era. What better way to make a first impression than to hold your own against Jay-Z.

Young Jeezy Featuring Jay-Z and Fat Joe - Go Crazy (Remix)

[Young Jeezy MySpace]

[Buy Young Jeezy's music from Def Jam]