My brief experience with southern hip-hop started a couple of years before when the “crunk” era began taking over. I was used to hearing the sappy radio songs, the boom-bap sound of classic hip-hop, Jay Z, and pretty much anything that wasn’t from the south. I hadn’t heard anything like this in my short amount of time listening to hip-hop.
I ran through and played the songs I had heard before, such as the previously mentioned “Trap or Die” and also the Mannie Fresh produced, and featured, “And Then What…” before playing the album front to back.ĭuring my first full listen I was awestruck. I had been anticipating this album after hearing a few Jeezy tracks earlier in the year, most notably on Fabolous’ “Do The Damn Thing” and his own “Trap or Die” song with Bun B.
I instantly cracked a smile and started driving from the mall over to 7th St by my house. I remember hearing “Thug Motivation 101” and just how crisp it sounded then the Shawty Redd bass kicked in and my trunk began rattling. I had a system in my 1995 Mercury Cougar at this time, a JL Audio amp with 2 12” Rockford Fosgate P2’s this system was the one that lasted the longest in my car out of them all. I don’t remember what I was doing that day but I do remember going to FYE, dropping $15 on TM101, heading to my car, and popping it in my Alpine CD player. The day was Jless than a month away from starting college at Indiana State. TM101 turns 10 years old this month and it’s about time we begin to honor it for what it really is: a classic body of work. What he did was create a definitive album for hip-hop. Young Jeezy wasn’t a rapper at the beginning of his music career but his artists kept getting locked up and he had to get his Clark Kent/Superman on by hopping in the booth. There are catchy lyrics, hypnotizing beats, and overall the American dream: going from nothing to something. There’s this darkness that surrounds TM101 but there’s also hope. Recording Industry Association of America.Ayyyyyyyyyyyeeeeee….Aaayyyyyeeeeee…You gotta believe, you gotta believe….įrom the moment you hear the opening adlibs on Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101 you know you’re in for something you have never heard before in hip-hop.
"Young Jeezy: Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 : Music Reviews". "CG: Young Jeezy" Archived at the Wayback Machine. "Young Jeezy :: Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 :: Def Jam" Archived at the Wayback Machine. "Album Review: Young Jeezy - Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101" Archived at the Wayback Machine. "Young Jeezy: Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101". "Young Jeezy: Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101" Archived at the Wayback Machine. "Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 Review" Archived at the Wayback Machine. "Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 - Young Jeezy" Archived at the Wayback Machine. ^ a b "RIAA Certificaitons - Young Jeezy".
On July 2, 2020, the album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over two million units in the United States. As of October 2009, the album sold 1,933,000 copies in the US. In its fourth week, the album dropped to number ten on the chart, selling 61,000 copies.
In its third week, the album dropped to number six on the chart, selling 71,000 more copies. In its second week, the album dropped to number four on the chart, selling an additional 85,000 copies. This became Jeezy's first US top-ten debut.
Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 172,000 copies in the first week. In 2012, Complex called the album one of the classic albums of the last decade. In 2015, hip hop writer Brooklyn Russell declared the album "trap rap's apotheosis" while observing its impact: "Working with only a handful of Shawty Redd beats and his naturally raspy voice, Atlanta native Young Jeezy would lay down the blueprint for an entire region of rappers-virtually knocking big players like Lil Jon out of commission."
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