Hip-hop heavyweight Jeezy, who recently gave us the last installment to his Thug Motivation Series with TM104, takes a retrospective look at his life with Charlamagne Tha God in a short interview titled Twenty/20 Hindsight. Jeezy and Charlamagne walk around Hawkinsville, GA discussing major life moments that shaped who he is today while dropping gems on how the next generation of rap can succeed and avoid detrimental moments in their careers.
In light of the recent deaths of rising super stars such as Nipsey Hussle and Pop Smoke (which truly hit home for many of us), which can be credited to jealousy, envy, greed, and potential past disagreements, the former drug dealer-turned-rap icon explains how constantly moving around is the key to survival.
“I always dip and dab enough to know what’s going on,” he says. “Like it’s hard to hit a moving target. That’s how I live my life.”
He further expounds upon how he’s always been on the move, even when he was in the projects.
“So for me, even when I was out in these projects, I’d be over here for a while, (…) then over there,” he elaborates. “Then I’d go back to my auntie house. Then I start moving in different cities. That’s how I move, and that’s how I was able to avoid being incarcerated too. I wasn’t just in one place and then content with that.”
Charlamagne further asks Jeezy whether Nipsey Hussle’s death shifted his views on how often to visit his former stomping grounds.
“I mean, I just think you gotta have a perfect balance, man,” Jeezy responds. “You subject to anything that can happen.”
The rapper also notes how Nipsey’s passing was a reality check for younger rappers and people who might’ve been unaware of the consequences of street violence.
“Even what happened with Nip — I know how Nip loved his neighborhood; he loved his people – he tried to uplift everybody,” he shares. “And that’s one of the reasons why we respected him. For this generation, they lost somebody they loved and they got to see what that’s like.”
He continues to add that, “The people that didn’t understand what it’s like, now they got the chance to see what’s been in the dark so long,” he continued. “Because you hear about it every day. But until you see it on camera, and see the anger… see the hate… the jealousy… full-fledged, and see a harmless person that we love, a king, being taken out by clown – that’s when it hits home.”
As the interview comes to a conclusion, Jeezy explains how difficult it was for Nipsey to avoid the tragic events at the strip mall that led to his death, because despite being an artist, as a “man, that’s his strip mall” – and he put “blood, sweat and tears” into it.
However, upon viewing I believe there are three major takeaways here. While we do not all have street affiliations, or careers in the entertainment industry this is what we can learn:
First, is to always be aware of your surroundings. Artist or not, we live in a world where people are unpredictable, and we can never be clear on the intentions others carry.
Secondly, it has become increasingly evident that it is unsafe to share your live location on social media. As witnessed in the loss of Pop Smoke, any indication of where you reside can backfire on you as once again, people are unpredictable and we are all susceptible to many dangers. However, rising artists especially possess a platform that many wish to have and so for their own safety they should avoid sharing such sensitive information.
Finally, we should all learn when to let go. Material things are just that, material. Whether it is a chain, a car, a bag, or property it will never compare to the value of an individual life. Learn to walk away and release control.
There is plenty of wisdom packed into this 30 minute interview that we all can gain knowledge from. Watch the full video above!
