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Over chilling,Carpenter-esque dirges, and in his unique ghostly rasp, Jeezy would go into drug-trade specifics.
Much of what preceded in drug rap was either a moralistic cautionary tale or lavishly materialistic.
Jeezy gave you the impression his verses werent gleaned from movies or TV but real-life experiences.
I couldnt take no shortcuts.
Im really into self-help books, and there were so many life lessons in it.
It causes you to think deeper and understand that you might change your narrative.
Early on inAdversityfor Sale, you lay out how your family was left out of building generational wealth.
You write, Crack set the hood on fire, and it aint been the same since.
I was living for survival.
So its no different than being in a country where people kill their own to survive.
But when youre in poverty, theres not.
Its a cycle, because all these people are using this as a coping mechanism.
So the way I look at it is, whos really addicted?
Theyre addicted to the substance, Im addicted to the money.
So that makes both of us addicted to something.
In the book, you spent a lot of time writing about your evolution as a rapper.
Youre trying and failing on several tapes.
You find Shawty Redd after throwing money atJazzeandLil Jon.
But you’ve got the option to get better.
Now Im so musically inclined that I just performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra with a 62-piece band.
Id rather take the long route.
I failed for ten years.
So thats the message.
Thats what the book is really about.
I wanted people to see that I was actually going through things.
When you see me here and Im still standing after all this time, you got to know why.
I think it was all part of the process.
I dont have any regrets musically.
I learned a lot being around Jazze and Lil Jon and what they were doing.
Of course, I gave him a lot of money.
Its hard, but its fair because if it was easy, everyone would do it.
So having some time with each of these guys taught me different things.
I want something slow.
I want the 808s.
Now Im starting to learn what I like rather than what somebodys going to give me.
Im in the studio right now with my artistHaiti Babiiand I got my shoes off.
One of my favorite songs of yours is Get Ya Mind Right, which you did with Shawty.
Ive always been curious, whats the story behind that one?I was at Shawtys house.
I was in my cat car.
We call them cat cars, like my low cars, theyre not my shiny flashy stuff.
Shawty stayed in Clayton County.
So when I used to go out there, its always a lot of police.
Its always, get pulled over when you go out there.
I went over to his house and he broke out the drum machine.
I kept saying, Change this sound, change that sound.
He said, Well, you do the drums.
I did the snare.
And then we was doing the beat together.
I could tell you when I did Get Ya Mind Right, I literally caught the Holy Ghost.
I sat there and I felt every word.
I probably recorded it in 30 minutes.
When I got done with it, I was hyped.
And Blue was a music connoisseur, but hes also one of my best friends.
And I played it for him.
He looked at me, he said, This is it, cuz.
I remember the first time I went to Magic City afterTrap or Diecame out.
When they played Get Ya Mind Right, I just watched everybody singing.
It was like we was in church.
No disrespect, but it was like a choir.
And I knew then that was who I was and that was my sound.
But I did what felt right.
My thought process was, Im going to make my voice the last instrument on this track.
Its so massive you cant help but to move to it.
Because now its not just one vocal.
I want people to feel me.
Your ad-libs also became a signature, which speaks to what youre saying about your voice as an instrument.
Where did that come from?Well, I wrote in cadences, right?
I could do the whole verse, then the ad-libs would be the icing on the cake.
So instead of runs like in R&B Im spitting phrases that go with what I just said.
Who aint going to turn up if they hear that?
And Im like, Oh, okay, this is my thing.
You mentioned Get Ya Mind Right being played at Magic City.
You got I-75 going to Florida, you got I-85 to I-10, which is going to Houston.
So everybody congregates in that city because its the nucleus.
And where do people like that go?
When youre spending this money there, you get respect.
You got the guys who have influence because they have money, or because theyre super gangster.
Thats how that works.
It doesnt work anywhere else.
The book has a very evolved perspective on mental health.
How would you describe your mental-health journey?Its been an evolution.
I didnt always have the wording or the tools to understand what I was going through.
As a Black man, we dont really lean into that, because were taught thats weak.
Today, I can say that Im honestly in a better place.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
