Thug Motivation 103

Young Jeezy has always dropped jewels in his music and while the casual listener (read: hater) will tell you different, all you need to do is check the Trap Star’s resume. Peep “Talk to ‘Em” (aka THE GREATEST JEEZY SONG EVER) or The Inspiration off the second album and I dare you to tell me different. But for those who’re still frontin’ on Da Snowman he offers The Recession. XXL got a chance to preview some tracks before the album drops on September 2nd. – Rob the Music Ed

“Recession”
After a dramatic intro, the soulful beat gives way to deep dark synths which inspire Jeezy’s true-to-life gems like: "Wish I had some money I might buy some better luck"

"Crazy World"
If you didn’t catch this one yet you’re sleepin’, check the bangers section of XXLMAG.COM and get ya late pass. This track definitely sets the tone on what to expect from Jeezy this time out when he spits, "I want a new Bentley my auntie need a kidney/And if I let her pass her children never will forgive me." Remember ya’ll rappers don’t have health insurance. Crazy world indeed.

"Amazing"
Jeezy himself describes it as a trap star anthem and this track is more in the tradition of “I Luv It” or “And Then What.” I definitely gotta hear this one a few more times before I totally dismiss it but it didn’t stand out at all.

"A Hustlers Ambition"
The concept on this joint seems to stem from Pac’s “Ambitionz Az a Ridah,” without being a straight jack. The synth keys and staccato drums will make this a block favorite for sure. One of the stand out lines was when Young said, "Criminal mind state/Nobody gave us shit that's why we grind weight.” Simple yet effective.

"Circulate”
The homie Don Cannon went IN on this beat, sampling the same song that Dilla sampled for Steve Spacek’s “Dollar” (Shout to the Timmhotep the God from Squeeze Radio- great catch homie). The soulful track has a bounce like no other and is like nothing we’ve ever heard from Da Snowman. Then Jeezy drops thought provoking lines like, "Got me lookin’ at my stash like where the fuck the rest at/Lookin’ at my watch like that's a bad investment" and "Gas higher than me/Shit I'm tryna see." If CTE and Def Jam really wanted to fuck up the game, this would be a single!

"Wordplay"
Now Jeez takes a lot of heat. A lot of folks credit him with killing hip-hop, so before he played this joint he gave an impassioned speech about how he came up on Big L and Method Man. And while the ATLien isn't the most skilled lyricist, he does have a certain way of getting his points across. He even plays devil’s advocate on the rack spittin’, "Young killed hip-hop/Don't you know this dumb nigga still talkin’ crack rock." The song sounds dope, can’t wait to hear it again because I’m sure there is shit that I missed!

"My President’s Black"
The melodic keys on this joint sets the perfect tone for Jeezy to wax poetic about Obama. But one particular line stuck out to me since I’m the proud father of two boys; "I woke up this mornin’ headache this big/Pay all these damn bills, feed all these damn kids."