Defsounds

Summer is coming to a close and as the political race between Barrack Obama and Senator McCain heats up, Hip-Hop fans all over the world find themselves becoming drawn to what may be the most historical presidential race in the history of the United States. While this is going on, people in impoverished neighborhoods and communities are feeling the effects of what many in politics, as well as the media, call a recession. So as the hunger pains increase, there is a faint voice begging for someone to step up and speak on what really affects the people. Although that voice screams out for their idols, (who just happen to be their favorite rappers) it can be said that Hip Hop has faced criticism for not speaking on things that are relevant or important.

So, a response from any artist seems unlikely. If there was no hope in hip hop, this would have been a dead issue, but instead, the unlikeliest of people answered the call to that faint voice somewhere. With one ear to the streets and another to the studio headphones, rapper Young Jeezy presents to you his third solo album. With enough thug motivation to last for a lifetime, he takes a drastic turn with the theme of this album, titling it, "The Recession". Looks like someone was listening.

Lyrics: 7

This grade is a predictable and understandable grade, Jeezy never has overwhelmed with the lyrics, and he's never been an above average rapper when it came to verses. His formula has always been amazing production, the raspy voice, and his almighty ad libs. All three reign true for this album, but there is room to say that he does show improvement on the lyrical spectrum of the album. The ryhme scheme for the most part stays the same, but with an improved vocabulary, Jeezy seems to be a bit more efficient in his verses. He has also improved on his flow. In a few past tracks, Jeezy’s verses sometime feel forced or inappropriate for the track, but he shows growth and the ability to adapt to any beat on this album, as he rides smoothly from start to finish. On "My President" you can see the growth that he has made from his first album until now. He doesn’t outshine Nas, but his verse is good enough so that it won’t be forgotten and ignored because of Nas’ verse. The true grade to Jeezy's lyrics comes from the production. The tone of his lyrics and the delivery directly match the production, so although he shows signs of improvement, the fact that the production isn’t that diverse takes away from what he offers lyrically.

Production: 8

What was the last time you heard a Young Jeezy album that had poor, boring, or just plain crappy production? Exactly, so sticking to his blueprint Jeezy goes back to Midnight Black and Drumma Boy for the bulk of the production on this album and, as usual they bring an array of great beats. This production offering is both good and bad. Although Midnight Black and Drumma Boy offer great beats, and have yet to offer anything that has been lackluster or boring, this production style leaves the album missing any diversity as far as the generic feel. If you've heard Jeezy's first two albums, than you may put this to your ear and be a little underwhelmed from a style that you have become very accustomed to hearing. This can cause the second half of the album to drag, with songs beginning to sound the same because of what, at times, can be the one dimensional production style. Jeezy does offer a change of pace on tracks "Everything" Feat Boosie and Anthony Hamilton, "Circulate", and "My President". But for the most part, the production keeps the same formula. Up-tempo, drum, and bass heavy speaker busters.

Songs: 8.5

Jeezy earns extra points on this album just for being creative with the concept; he could have stayed with the usual shoot em up bang-bang “I run the block” element, but instead took a chance and chose a topic that may cause him to lose respect from some people. He does a great job of staying in touch with the theme of the album while not letting what could possibly be a very depressing topic; bring the mood of the album down. Although some may read the title and feel that Jeezy is trying to ease his way into the same lane as a conscious rapper, this is not the case at all, he does not preach on this album, and will not waste time rambling about things that he knows nothing about. What he does is speak through the mouths of the people he understands while verifying that although he has come up in the world, he still understands the struggle of the ones left behind in the hood. Without comparing him to Tupac, Jeezy is able to depict the thug life and the struggle of the blue collar family living all over the world…putting his words in a way that even the biggest advocates of drug dealers may feel a little empathy for those who plot the blocks day in and day out to feed their families. He also takes out the time to address the ones he feel have continued to try and steal his style, calling out the copycats in tracks such as "Welcome Back" and "Who Dat". Jeezy offers a little bit of everything on this offering.

Conclusion: 8

As the presidential race intensifies and thousands of people continue to lose their jobs, Jeezy can be proud of the work that he is putting out, as his third offering. For those who are into his harder-edged material, this may be a bit of a change…but it is nothing so drastic that one will look at Jeezy and not recognize him. "The Recession" is an album for everyone, and it will reach the ears, minds and hearts of all, while never giving Jeezy the chance to lose credibility. He put on for every single listener of hip-hop on this offering, and although the United States may be in a recession, Jeezy proves that Hip-Hop will continue to grow, strive and prosper.