Young Jeezy
The Recession
Def Jam
Rating: 4
Where the fuck has Jeezy been?
In a time when Lil Wayne seems permanently affixed in the hip-hop limelight, Atlanta-based rapper Young Jeezy has been lurking in the shadows. So here’s an update on your favorite ex-drug dealer/toy drive organizer in hip-hop.
A year after his fine second release, The Inspiration, Jeezy popped out of the woodworks to make love in the club like a thug with Usher. They performed the song on Saturday Night Live’s season finale, where Jeezy had a chance meeting with none other than John McCain.
I imagine it was an awkward moment. Jeezy, Levi’s defying gravity below his ass, would offer a terrorist fist jab to a wrinkly McCain, who in turn would give his best “That’s not change we can believe in…” smile. A few words would be shared and the two would part ways.
Instead, what followed was probably the strangest, most homo-erotic election controversy that you haven’t heard about.
The two hit it off, enough to the point where an over-enthused Jeezy would show some love for the old vet in an interview. And McCain was reported to have dug Jeezy’s feature in “Love In This Club.” And I hear they’re in each others‘ Fave Fives.
As for the interview, Jeezy, known as an Obama supporter, talked with Vibe about his meeting with McCain.
“No disrespect to Barack, but I fuck with John McCain [no homo],” he said in the magazine.
The corner of the universe where politically active gangster rappers reside collapsed for a moment until Jeezy posted a video on the Internet. He explained that he misspoke and that Barack-o, as Jeezy calls him, is his man.
The man-love triangle got its due closure in Jeezy’s third major release, The Recession, in which Jeezy implores Americans that they “better vote for Barack Odrama.” Apparently he’s thought of several nicknames for the Democratic nominee.
Anyway, The Recession, is pretty damn good. The beats are hot and Jeezy’s flow is as dark and viscous as ever. In fact, sometimes he’s so hoarse, he sounds like he’s about to die. For a guy who’s rapped in detail about his death, funeral and fiery afterlife, he certainly sounds like he’s on his way.
While the top-notch production carries the album, Jeezy’s personal and direct lyrics offer a vignette of life as a drug dealer. He boasts about his glories (“When I was 14 I turned nothing to a quarter-mil/ Probably why I never give a fuck about a record deal.“) yet humanizes the game (“My grandma off in the church/ While I’m in the refrigerator/In search of the baking soda/ Right next to the mashed potatoes“).
The Recession is by no means groundbreaking, and new listeners will be turned off by his redundant flow. The apocalyptic synthesizers and his guttural “ooookaaayys” may frighten the children. And despite the album title, The Recession is still just about drugs. But hey – if McCain can appreciate it, so can you.
Give these tracks a listen: “What They Want,“ “Hustlaz Ambition,“ “Circulate“
For fans of: T.I., 2Pac
– Chris Rue
