Young Jeezy The Inspiration CD

Personnel: Hassanah Iroegbu (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: John Frye; Leslie Brathwaite.
Photographer: Jonathan Mannion.
Still soaring from the enormous success of his 2005 break-out album, LET'S GET IT: THUG MOTIVATION 101, Young Jeezy released a string of hot mixtapes before returning with the studio-album sequel,THE INSPIRATION: THUG MOTIVATION 102. With the usual powerfully grim vignettes of street life, all-consuming snowman paranoia, and trademark "yeaaaaahhh"s that litter the backgrounds of every track, Jeezy maintains and elevates the infectious style that made THUG MOTIVATION great.
His hypnotic grunt-heavy flow and intense vocal presence has listeners by the throat from the album's opener, "Hypnotize," on which he hauntingly chants, "Now I command you n*ggas to get money." On the production side, the synthesizer-driven beats from Shawty Redd, Midnite Black, the Runners, Timbaland, and Mr. Collipark, among others, range from nightmarishly seething to upbeat and dreamy, always rising and falling in effectively dramatic arcs. Young Jeezy has put together another instant classic, consolidating his position at the top of the Dirty South.
Young Jeezy's first album for Def Jam, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, was such a breakout success that it immediately left his Bad Boy album with Boyz N da Hood -- released just weeks prior -- as an afterthought. What is his appeal, exactly? His persona revolves around being a crack dealer, but he spins it as a motivational speaker who encourages people to do what they need to do to get paid. School kids proudly donned Jeezy's snowman T-shirts, even if the closest they'll ever come to hustling is selling chocolates for a class trip. Jeezy's not an exceptional rapper; he has a peculiar way of getting his support, though it's not without a discernible amount of charisma. On The Inspiration: Thug Motivation 102, this is best exemplified in the opening verse to the Timbaland-produced "3 A.M.": "It's Young Jizzo and I'm back with Timbo/With another hit, you're still stuck in a limbo/A ad lib here and a ad lib there/F*ck it, ad libs everywhere." Few other MCs could get away with something so purposefully lazy. In Jeezy's half-determined/half-careless voice, it's a quotable (and a pretty damn funny one at that), more energizing and memorable than an average MC's complex, tongue-twisting metaphor. To that kind of extent, Jeezy does little to make this disc different from Let's Get It. Its first several tracks limp and flail around, which isn't a good sign, but once "I Luv It" kicks in, everything tightens and sharpens, placing the album a very slight shade beneath Let's Get It. Some of the highlights: "I Luv It," the closest stature-wise to "Go Crazy," a DJ Toomp production that's as anthemic as his work on T.I.'s "What You Know"; "Mr. 17.5," a fine "Go Crazy" retread. There's also "Streets on Lock," a "Trapstar" retread, where Jeezy maps out some of the reasons for his success: "When I speak, these niggas believe me/'Cause, bitch, I'm Jeezy." "Dreamin'," in which Jeezy recalls the guilt of being a crack dealer while his mother's an addict, takes the cake as the best reflecting pool track of 2006. ~ Andy KellmanRolling Stone (p.114) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he Atlanta rapper's flow is warm and distinctly Southern, with drawled rhymes delivered at a near-molasses pace."
Spin (p.88) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Jeezy just shows up with the attitude, the ad-libs, and the punch lines, and lets it snow. Hell of a storm..."
Entertainment Weekly (p.87) - "[I]t's the Atlanta MC's immense personality that truly inspires." -- Grade: B+
Vibe (pp.121-122) - "He makes staggeringly good albums....Staying on message has helped Jeezy become one of hip hop's great self-made myths."
XXL (Magazine) (p.135) - "[Jeezy] showcases his knack for crafting commercial fare without forsaking his thugged-out mystique....[With] plenty of inspired material..."