Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977) is an American rapper better known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy). After signing with Def Jam Recordings in 2004, his big label debut, Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101, debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 the following year, selling 172,000 copies in its first week and earning platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. (RIAA). Jeezy is acknowledged, as are fellow Georgia rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, for pioneering and popularizing trap music for a wider audience.
Jeezy debuted as Lil J in 2001 with the release of Thuggin’ Under the Influence (T.U.I.). Since then, he has released ten studio albums, each of which has featured numerous successful singles, including the top five hits “Soul Survivor” (featuring Akon), as well as the top 40 hits “I Luv It,” “Go Getta” (featuring R. Kelly), and “Put On.” (featuring Kanye West). Jeezy has also been on various hip hop and R&B hit singles, including Christina Milian’s “Say I,” Akon’s “I’m So Paid,” Rihanna’s “Hard,” and Usher’s “Love in This Club,” which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 2008.
