Young Jeezy - The Recession

[Ghost In The 'Lac]

Very early impressions are that this is a solid effort, no real change in Mr 17.5's formula, although I would say a few of his beats dont sound quite as good as on the last 2 albums. I'd say about half of the songs on this album are better than the other half.

PROS

-Only 4 of the 18 songs have guest appearances, and they are all at the end of the album

-Another cohesive effort, it sounds like the same producer did the whole album (even though they didnt). Which is super rare for a big rap album.

-Theres not really a bad song all the way thru. Another Jeezy trademark.

-Jeezys lyrics have got a bit deeper

-still full of catchy jeezy hooks

-another great job of sequencing on his album, the last songs are as good as the middle and start songs

CONS

-non at all style change from previous albums

-possibly not as many pure bangas as the last 2 albums

-not as many qouteables from Jeez this time



1. The Recession 5/5

Sets it off huge. I can imagine this going off real big in his famous live performances.


2. Welcome Back 2.5/5

Beat aint cutting it. Its like a poor imitation of his debut album beats. The Primie Minister mixtape had shit that pisses all over this.


3. By the way 4/5

dope


4. Crazy World 3.5/5

Sounds real hungry on this


5. What They Want 4/5

this producer midnight runner is fucking crazy, he shouldda got more than 3 songs

6. Amazin' 3/5

could be classed as filler, again i would say some songs on Prime Minisiter couldve replaced this. DrummaBoy is just copying his own Put On beat.


7. Hustlaz Ambition 3.5/5

the most trap song he got, its only a bit better than last song though


8. Who dat 4.5/5

wHAT SHAWTY REDD ONLY GETS ONE TRACK??!?!! Of course he shouldda got more than that, this track brings the album back UP


9. Dont Know You 5/5

BOOM, all bases covered, that weird voice thingy in the beat is dope


10. Circulate 5/5

How many things you gonna rhyme with KOKO!! ILL THOUGH!! LETITLETITLETITLETITLETIT let the DOLLAR CURCULATE!!


11. Wordplay 4.5/5

Dedicated to all the confused haters. He sums it up here. Beats nice too.


12. Vacation 4/5

Strange choice for 2nd single i thought.


13. Everything 4/5

Anthony Hamilton GOES IN. Not qiute as good as Go Getta.


14. Take It There 2/5

pure filler


15. Dont Do It 6/5

YEAH!! CLASSIC JEEZY, classic beat - front on this


16. Put On 5/5

Of course, you know this by now.


17. Get Allot 4/5

Great way to move to the finish line


18. My President 4.5/5



OVERALL SCORE : 9.0/10.

[SHEEPISH LORD OF CHAOS]

hmmmmmmmmm i'm still bumping it i like allot more than his last one but i'll take jeezy over wanye anyday

[AK Spray]

"Don't Know You" IS my feel good summertime jam ATM.

Love that shit... it'sTHAT and "Blood Walk '08" that get most bang in MY whip. hahaha.

[Suga Duga]

I'll come back here.

[TSA]

this album look slike its gonna be pure nasteeness

[Ghost In The 'Lac]

On further listenings, this is a really good album. Theres no bullshit, no skits, no flooding of guest spots, no shitty female r n b singer, no annoyingness. There is one song for the bithches called 'taking it there', but its honestly listenable compared to others like it. And in an album of 18 straight hardcore tracks you cant blame young for doing that. He follows this recession theme in alot of songs but flips it alot cleverly so its not dwelling on it and being too politcal and faggy. Which i am happy about.

He spits raw all the way through, the beats are all hard body as fukk. What more can you ask in an album? The actual quality of production is very high. Really puts too shame alot of east coast right now. Its a clean sound but its still raw. This is the cutting edge of hardcore southern styles. Toomp's musicality is on full show with the opening song. Youngs first verse on Circulate is actually crazy as fuck after a few listens more. His first verse of the album is cold too.

Anothony Hamilton on "Everything". This is a song alot of producers should listen to on how to put an RnB singer in a rap song. I really love that song, it might be my favorite song on the album. Even boosie does his thing. And If you cant bump Who dat in the whip you shouldnt be driving period.

Best songs -
Dont Do it
Dont Know You
Circulate
Everything
Recession
By The Way
Who dat
Wordplay
Put On

[Ghost_Deini_]

what they want is ridiculous.

[Ghost In The 'Lac]

RapReview Of The Week Young Jeezy :: The Recession
Def Jam
Author: Arthur Gailes


I didn't like Young Jeezy in 2005. At the surface, he embodied everything I thought was wrong with mainstream rap. All the references to being a hustler, not a rapper; to not caring about hip-hop just rubbed me wrong. I saw him as a caricature, just another rapper playing down to gangsta rap's conventional wisdom. And when I actually heard him rap, all I heard was another uncreative, unoriginal, and uninspired gangsta rapper from the south.

Then "Go Crazy" was released as a single. When Jay-Z is on his A-game, there are only a handful of rappers who can stay with him. And Jeezy is one of them. He's definitely not the most complex lyricist you'll ever hear, but he's a subtly insightful one. His gritty, drawling voice isn't the most pleasant, but unabashedly slow and blunt delivery is undoubtedly refreshing. And his gimmick of the straight-from-the-streets hustler who's ready to go back to the ‘hood isn't new at all. The only difference between Jeezy and every other rapper with the same gimmick is that he's just better than the rest of them.

Jeezy is the southern equivalent of Raekwon: his raps are gritty enough to make everything he does unquestionably street music, but underneath the grime is a tremendous ear for music and a constant creative vision for how he fits in it. And while his lyrics are definitely simple, he's got an uncanny ability to get across clearer ideas in a line than many rappers do in a verse. GZA once instructed rappers to keep their raps brief, "half short and twice strong." If Jeezy's got a unique talent, it's shortening complex ideas into simple statements. He even manages to break down his entire beef with the government's drug laws in a single verse of "Crazy World":

"When I was 14, I turned nothing to a quarter mill'
Probably why I never gave a fuck about a record deal
And I never even tried the shit
Imagined how that white feel
But that don't even matter though
I'm trying to pay that light bill
Light bill, phone bill, plus my granny's nerve pills
Feel like I should be taking them
Imagine how my nerves feel
I want a new Bentley and my auntie need a kidney
And if I let her pass, her children never will forgive me
Goddamn another trap, I think Bush is trying to punish us
Send a message out to every single one of us
Real G shit? Well, that's really unheard of
When you get more time for selling dope than murder
In this Crazy World!"


That's not to say all, or even a third of Jeezy's verses are about politics. Besides justifying drug dealing and frequent Barack Obama references, he's mainly concerned with himself as a theme. Basically, he's realer than every other rapper, he dealt drugs, he's got money, etcetera. Jeezy's strength lies less in what he says than how he says it, as he says, "Ya'll niggas want wordplay, but I'm about bird play."

Everything I just said about Jeezy would be irrelevant if not for his incredible ear for beats. He's always been known for it, but this album is his best produced yet. From the introduction, every beat is produced on an epic scale. It's all as unapologetically blunt and hard as Jeezy himself is, and the marriage covers Jeezy's flaws while enhancing his strengths. It works best when the bass stands out, as in "By the Way" and "Get A lot," but it's all outstanding.

It's all clearly southern, but it's stripped of the south's modern party vibe, drawing much more from UGK and No Limit than Lil' Jon and the crunk movement. This is appropriate, because Young Jeezy isn't about parties, or jumping around, he's all about getting yours – another unique aspect of his rhymes. Most rappers are all about theirs, and while Jeezy definitely rhymes about his money, he's nearly as much about people taking their responsibility to make their own success.

Put it all together, and you've got a decent lyricist and a great individual voice over one of the best produced albums of the decade. There's not a single weak song among the 18 here, which is a remarkable achievement. Jeezy manages to keep a strong unified album together without ever getting monotonous or tired. It's one that many better lyricists who might look down on him can't come close to achieving. While he might not be, as he says, the new Biggie or Tupac, Jeezy's a great musician in his own right. And as long as he keeps making music as good as this, he's going to have a career that will have rappers of the next generation trying to be the next Young Jeezy.


Music Vibes: 9.5 of 10 Lyric Vibes: 7.5 of 10 TOTAL Vibes: 8.5 of 10

[Ghost In The 'Lac]

^^that review really sums it all up well.

the beats on this album are CLASSIC.

[FasterBlade]

by far his weakest album

i kept Put On and Circulate, maybe 1 other. all his beats have the exact same vibe, and when he tries to talk about important sh1t it comes off as limited and forced

TM101>>>his last 2 and that USDA mess combined. dont think he'll ever recapture the rawness TM had

[Ghost In The 'Lac]

by far his weakest album

how the fuck can you possibly come to that conclusion? By far? Its TM101 on steroids, its just the same shit, but the beats drop so hard its crazy. There is not one single skippable track, cant say that about his other albums.

[6² Chambaz]

i'll take jeezy over wanye anyday

wherd

[Ghost In The 'Lac]

Jeezy and Wayne have NOTHING in common though, why would you even compare them? Just because they are both Southern? lol that some dumb shit. Thats like saying you prefer The Coup over Snoop Dogg. It makes no sense.

[FasterBlade]

Take It There is weak, for one. solid aint good enough for a limited cat like Jeezy, he needs spectacular beats to be effective

the beats may knock, but they arent interesting to me. with the exception of Circulate its like ive heard them before only slightly tweaked

[J-DON]

every beat is horns!

The best track is the Itunes bonus "done it all". I think Ill like album better maybe 4 or 5 songs at a time but listening through it last night was kind of grating to be honest. If im not in a car this isnt gonna get play.