Are you one of those rapper dads who doesn’t want your kids to listen
to rap in the house?
I definitely don’t want him to be a rapper. I wouldn’t wish that on my
worst enemy. (laughs) That shit there... boy.
Even for myself, just having toured with some artists, I don’t think
people understand just the road grind and how much it wears your
body down to be traveling like that.
That’s just one aspect of it, the travel. There’s just so much to it. You have
to have tough skin. It’s a forever evolving game, and it’s so cutthroat. It’s
worse than the streets, to be honest. You can’t trust people.
Most of the wealthy people I know are not even in entertainment, so
their life is a lot more calm and reserved. They have more time to plan
things out and enjoy life. With us, it’s a thousand times more work. It’s
a constant grind. It isn’t even about the money, it’s just that you have to
stay in that mode. If you’re not in that mode, you’re not in it. Even if you’re
not there physically, you have to be there mentally. You gotta continue
to strive for it and continue to make good music, because these people’s
attention span is so short.
But I’m not complaining at all. I love the game. Because it definitely pushes
you to be the best. I’m never gonna be second best, you know?
Switching gears a bit. Last year you ran Atlanta’s Peachtree Road
Race, the world’s largest 10k. It’s a six-mile run on the 4th of July
which has been happening for fifty years now. Are you big on health
and fitness, or what prompted you to register?
The mayor of Atlanta Keisha Lance Bottoms called and asked me to be
a part of it. I was really in my health bag just focused on eating right
and taking care of myself, but the dope part is that we raised a million
dollars for charity. The money we raised went towards my foundation
Street Dreamz, the mayor’s foundation Atlanta’s Youth Scholarship,
and Atlanta Track Club’s Kilometer Kids.
It feels good now being a pillar in the community. You’re talking about
a guy who used to stand at the Amoco and hustle. The fact that now
I’m getting a phone call from the mayor shows that I’ve corrected my
life in so many ways. She saw value in me coming and being a part of
a city tradition. So to me, that was a great phone call. I finished in good
time and was in good health. Seeing people on the sidelines yelling “Go
Jeezy!”, that was crazy! I used to only run from the police. (laughs) It was
a real moment. It was big for the city of Atlanta. There were street cats
out there running because I had something to do with it.
Speaking of politics, do you think your record “My President”
helped get Obama elected?
Absolutely. It wasn’t even just the record, it was the whole contribution.
Getting people excited to go out and vote. I remember when he won, I
was just driving down Peachtree Street in Atlanta with my top dropped
in the Lambo, blasting the music with the doors up. It felt like we all won.
It was a celebration. Just to be a part of that was special, but for my city to
show up and show out was even greater. Atlanta showed up and showed
out. That shit was real.
You were actually canvassing for him, right? Calling people personally
and asking them to come out and vote?
Yeah. And the craziest shit is, after he got elected Obama invited me to
a dinner in New York. When I got there, the Secret Service said I couldn’t
come in. I was hurt. But a couple months later he had another correspondent’s
40 // OZONE MAG
dinner and he shouted me out.
Why wouldn’t they let you in? Was there something in your background
check or what was the reason?
Yeah, I was still under investigation for some stuff, so the Secret Service
wouldn’t let me in. It was embarrassing as fuck because they let everybody
else in. Imagine all the other artists going in, and you walk to the
door and they’re like, “Nope! Can’t come in.”
Yeah, that sounds rough. Do you have any candidates you’re supporting
for the 2020 election? I assume you’re not a Trump supporter.
(laughs)
No, I’m not at all. I happen to like Joe Biden, but we’ll see. It’s gonna be
a tough one.
Do you see yourself getting as involved with Biden as you did with
Obama?
Nah. I don’t even really believe in the system anymore. It seems fixed,
and it seems like it’s a money play. Anytime you’ve got the President of
the United States tweeting like he’s a rapper (laughs) ... it’s just like entertainment
now.
Where do things stand with you and Gucci Mane? You and him had a
pretty serious beef back in the day, but he’s changed so much since
he came out of prison that people joke about him being a clone. Was
the situation ever squashed or do you just avoid each other?
I gotta be honest, I haven’t thought about it. I’m focused right now. I’m
focused on the present time.
Okay, present time. Do you have any side hustles or investments
that people might be surprised to know about?
Absolutely. I’m a partner in a water company, Defiance Fuel. I have a
steakhouse in Atlanta, American Cut, one of the best steakhouses in Atlanta.
I’m a part of Avion Tequila, and I just partnered with a telecom
company, Figgers Wireless.
You mentioned a couple tracks off the new album, “Already Rich”
with Cee-Lo and “Fake Love” with Queen Naija. Are there any other
features you want to mention?
John Legend, Meek Mill, Rick Ross, Gunna, Ty Dolla $ign. It’s a great body
of work, man. If you’ve ever been a Jeezy fan, you know that I’m gonna
overdeliver. I think this is one of my best bodies of work because it has
a storyline but it also has great songs. It’s a real Jeezy album, it’s not me
trying to do what anybody else is doing. This is Thug Motivation, it’s not
a genre of music. It’s real music. I hear all the time, “trap music”. Okay,
what is that? I never said I was a trap rapper. This is motivation, that’s
what I’ve always been on, this is what I’ma always be on. So if you want
some motivation, this is it.
So TM104: The Legend of the Snowman. When you say it has a storyline,
what’s the overarching theme?
Basically everything I went through to become who I am and maintain
that. Everybody strives for greatness. It’s a story about me striving for
greatness, and all the trials and tribulations that went along with that.
My letdowns and my moments of clarity, the moments when I realized
that I was already rich before I had money.
The process of recording this album was almost like writing a story; picking
the right pages. I learned so much throughout the process. I just had
a lot of clarity about who I am, what I wanna become, and where I wanna
go. It was a blessing. I’ve never had so much clarity while recording an
album, it’s always been chaos. This is the first time I had clarity and peace
and I was able to see what I wanted and just go for it.
It’s about trusting the process. That’s my whole movement: “Trust the
process.” People make changes every day in their lives and sometimes
they’re unsure about stepping outside their comfort zone. If you’ve made
the decision, trust your process. Nobody else is gonna know what’s right
for you except you. //