Jay Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known presently as Young Jeezy and previously as Lil J and also known as "Young Jizzle", is a popular American rapper. Jay Jenkins was born in Columbia, South Carolina, but as a toddler moved to Macon, Georgia. Formerly signed to Bad Boy Records as a member of the hip-hop quartet Boyz N Da Hood, Jeezy now works as a solo artist for Def Jam Records and his own record label, Corporate Thugz Entertainment. Young Jeezy is often referred to (by himself and others) as the Snowman; this is widely assumed to be a reference to his previous self-proclaimed occupation as a crack and cocaine dealer. Young Jeezy released his first independent album, Thuggin Under The Influence (J.A.Y.), in 2001 under the name Lil J. It featured artists such as Kinky B, Fidank, and Lil Jon, who also produced some of the tracks. In 2003, Jeezy released (also independently) Come Shop Wit' Me, a two CD set featuring completely new tracks along with some songs from T.U.I. Come Shop Wit' Me sold 50,000 copies. In 2004, he signed with Bad Boy Records and joined the Boyz N Da Hood group. Boyz N Da Hood's self-titled album was released on June 21, 2005 and peaked at #50 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Young Jeezy also released a solo album around this time, which was his major label debut, with Def Jam Records. Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 was released on July 26, 2005 and debuted at #2, selling 172,000 copies in its first week. In interviews and on several records, Young Jeezy has affirmed his resistance to commercialism in his music. Maintaining his street credibility, according to Jeezy, is of the utmost concern to him as an artist. Young Jeezy is known for his unusual work ethic selling crack cocaine and deep appreciation for a hard day's work. In 2005, Young Jeezy was featured in several popular hip-hop songs including Gucci Mane's "Icy" and Boyz N Da Hood's "Dem Boyz". In 2006, he was featured in Christina Milian's single "Say I". Jeezy's second major label album is The Inspiration, which features T.I., Keyshia Cole, R. Kelly, Bloodraw and Slick Pulla.
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