Young Jeezy: Thug Motivation 102:The Inspiration

With Jay Z’s “Kingdom Come” dropping in late November and Nas’s “Hip Hop Is Dead …The N” dropping on December 12th, simultaneously with the Snowman’s “Thug Motivation 102: The Inspiration”, Jeezy finds himself with all odds stacked against him.

It would be easy for Def Jam rapper Young Jeezy to be upstaged amid high-profile upcoming releases by labelmates Jay-Z and Nas. But Jeezy has a formidable cast in his corner for his sophmore album, “The Inspiration,” due Dec. 12. The project will boast guest appearances from Ludacris, T.I., Keyshia Cole, Three 6 Mafia, Young Buck and Timbaland, among many others.

Jeezy has been doing very well so far, with his latest single “I Luv It,” debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Song charts and his debut album Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101 reaching No. 2 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 1.7 million copies in the United States, the Snowman is confident his sophmore album will do well. Jeezy says he recorded 114 songs for the album, ultimately selecting the best 14. Are the other 100 gone forever? “Maybe, maybe not,” he says. “I did this in case anything ever happens to me, so I’ve got a couple of albums left. You never know these days.

Nas: Hip Hop Is Dead..The N word

Despite being the inspiration of many of todays top emcees and releasing numerous classics throughout his career, Nas has yet to reach a milestone surpassed by many others. Nas has never reached #1 for a song or album on the Billboards; However that’s probably due to the fact that Nas rarely if ever releases commercial tracks. Will Hip Hop Is Dead be a hood classic and a commercial flop, or will Nas finally be able to grab the #1 spot.

In a recent interview, Nas said: “When I say ‘hip-hop is dead,’ basically America is dead,” he clarified. “There is no political voice. Music is dead. B2K is not New Edition. Chris Brown is great, I love Chris Brown, we need that, but Bobby Brown sticks in my heart. Our way of thinking is dead, our commerce is dead. Everything in this society has been done. It’s like a slingshot, where you throw the mutha——a back and it starts losing speed and is about to fall down. That’s where we are as a country.

“I don’t wanna lose nobody with this, but what I mean by ‘hip-hop is dead’ is we’re at a vulnerable state,” he continued. “If we don’t change, we gonna disappear like Rome. Let’s break it down to a smaller situation. Hip-hop is Rome for the ‘hood. I think hip-hop could help rebuild America, once hip-hoppers own hip-hop. ... We are our own politicians, our own government, we have something to say. We’re warriors. Soldiers.”

“Every n-gga under the age of 28 that raps — except for maybe five of you — needs to shut the f-ck up for eight months,” he said about what some of his peers should do in preparation for this album. “Get your mind right and learn what the f-ck to say. That’s gonna be a wakeup call. With all respect due, because they’re my comrades.”

Looks like he’s going the hood route, its a good thing Kelis has a job too.

Jay Z Kingdom Come

Finally we get to the so called “retirement” coming to an end on November 21st with the release of Jay Z’s Kingdom Come. Dropping a mere 2-3 weeks before both his label mates albums, Jay Z is sure to knockout the competition. Unlike Nas, Jay Z can grasp both the commercial scene as well as the hood scene..that, by the way wasn’t really evident in his “official” first single “Show me what you got” which received a luke warm response from many. With collaborations featuring Eminem, Kanye West, Young Jeezy, Nas, and Beyonce; and productions from Dr. Dre, Chris Martin (of Coldplay),The Neptunes ,Just Blaze ,Swizz Beats, Timbaland, and The Runners, Kingdom Come is forecasted to debut at #1 on the charts.

Some tracks to look out for while you wait for the official CD are: * “Show Me What You Got”
* “Kingdom Come”
* “Beach Chair”
* “Most Kings”
* “Lost Ones”