The Churn
Level Up for 2021 With Motivation and Grown-Folks Advice from Jeezy
Mike JordanDecember 11, 2020
We don’t need to rehash the Gucci Mane and Jeezy Verzuz battle again. Both men, and the rest of us, were the winners of an amazing moment for Atlantans and hip-hop fans everywhere.
But we can all agree that Jeezy probably won a little more than everybody else, ultimately, right?
To be sure, both men lived to mature beyond the mentalities that helped make them trap cult heroes — Mt.-Rushmore-level legends of the south’s infamous subgenre of drug-rap. Still, Jeezy came away seeming to have been the most diplomatic of the two, which was clearly a strategic move that would serve a continuing purpose, post-Verzuz.
Jeezy is also paying more attention to politics than you may have realized, particularly the Georgia Senate runoffs. He recently explained in Rolling Stone magazine how his interest in politics has evolved since the run-up to the election of President Obama in 2008, right before the release of “My President” from his album The Recession.
It’s fair to say that 2020 Jeezy is a much more refined version of the “Trap or Die” version the world met more than 15 years ago. And since we’re in that time of year where people begin thinking about where we’ve been and where we want to go in the future, we figured Jeezy would be a great person to interview. So we did.
Below, Jeezy talks to Butter.ATL about having and developing vision [ed note: the literal seeing of things, not the old Atlanta club — that was Young Jeezy]. He also shares what keeps him motivated and inspired, self-improvement tips (including specific book recommendations), and other jewels.
On why he doesn’t watch TV or play video games:
“I don’t turn on the TV no more. Those days are long gone for me. I don’t watch no TV, unless I’m watching a movie. I just feel like it’s a waste of time. It’s almost like when I used to go up to my cousins who used to play video games. I’m like, “I’m about to go on the block and get me some money.”
“And they’re probably still playing them damn video games right now, you know, I’m saying? Like, this minute. [laughs] You’d best believe they’ve got a PS5, but I ain’t… I’m gone! They was thinking about a game and I was thinking about a plane, like how can I own a jet? Because I want to be able to move around, you know?”
On his wardrobe evolution from oversized white tees to tailored suits:
“Even when I was younger, I saw myself in a suit at some point. And I saw myself speaking to people that I respect. I saw myself clean-cut, tailored, just knowing that that was a sign of success coming from where I came from because I was the same guy that stood on the block in Dickies suits and Chuck Taylors.
But I knew that I wanted to be someone that can get in a suit and still go back to the hood, and people that had Chuck Taylors and Dickies on were giving me my respect, because I kept my integrity.”
What Jeezy’s reading:
“When I started reading books, my friends changed. Not that I don’t have some of the same friends, but now I was able to get into conversations and get more knowledge, because I thirst for it.”
“For me personally, the bible is Think and Grow Rich. You got to do that. You gotta read that at least once a year, you know, just to catch up.
“I think John C. Maxwell books are dope. I love John Maxwell’s books. All his books about leadership, I think, are next-level. They’re easy to read and they’re straight to the point. Just learning how to cope and deal with people, I think, that’s how you get ahead in life, because education — even self education — puts you so much farther ahead of the game.
“The Secret is a good book, but you know, that’s typical. We know about those. I’m actually reading the Barack Obama book right now, which somebody got me as a gift.
“But any books that are self-help, in things that you want to become better in — because if you read one book a month, for a whole year, about something you want to be better in, that’ll make you a specialist in that situation.
What Jeezy’s listening to:
“Podcasts, I love podcasts that actually bring something to the table. I listen to a lot of Tony Robbins stuff, and I read a lot of Tony Robbins books, just because I just want to get another insight.
“But podcasts are where it’s at, bro. I ain’t even gonna front. I’m not telling anybody what to do, but I’m just saying, just imagine this. If you go get in the gym, instead of turning on the same song you done heard a thousand times, just try listening to one podcast about something that you want to get better at.
“See how that works for you. See how that takes your game up. Because you can walk away with so much knowledge and so much insight by just taking 30 minutes a day and listening to what other people that have specialties in areas you wanna get better in have to say. That’s a real thing.
“I wouldn’t normally tell nobody that, because people look at you like you’re crazy, but that’s real, if I’m honest.”
On leadership:
“To be honest with you, like, I’m a visionary. I really am. I visualize, even in my sleep. That’s my gift. I’m a disruptor, and I’m a visionary.
So even when people love me, I ain’t that great. It’s my gift that they love. I understand that and I respect that. And I handle it as such. I handle it with a sense of leadership, and always have morals and values and integrity with that.
“The advice I would give to anyone that’s listening is no matter what happens, never bend, never break, never fold. And no matter how much turbulence or how much whatever they throw at you, don’t ever compromise your integrity. Because if you don’t compromise your integrity, and you stand on your morals and your values, you’re gonna always be somebody that people respect. Because at the end of the day, when people do things for money, when people do things for clout, and people who do things that are self-serving — that is not someone that I would follow.
“So I always lead by being someone that I would follow. And to me, it’s all about integrity, and it’s all about standing for what you believe in, and not letting anybody sway you from that.
“And I don’t care what that is. That could be building a sock company or factory. If that’s what you want to do, be the best at that. You know, I’m saying? If you want to go out here and do real estate, you’d be the best at that. Everything that I’m doing right now, to this day and me sitting here, has been a choice. I could have stayed the same. I could have done everything I was doing 10 years ago, and it probably would still work.
“But I made a choice to be better. I made a choice to be great. Because I want people around me to be better. And I want to continue to lead my culture with actions, not just words.”