Young Jeezy Details How Shawty Redd Brought Him To A Career In Music
DX: You’ve got several albums, but whenever I hear “Jeezy,” I think of Shawty Redd, and what you guys built together. How did you guys first meet up and put together the skeleton for your sound?
Young Jeezy: I’m going to tell you a true story about Shawty Redd. I was the guy that was out with the cars and jewelry, and living the life, and one of my partners named Six Nine introduced me to Shawty. Me and Shawty hit it off, because I was a fan of what he was doing. At the time, he had Drama, which was the dude who had the “Left, Right, Left” song, he had a couple of big songs that were going on in Atlanta. He was just this young guy in the industry who just kind of had it, and everybody respected him for what he was doing because he was young. I used to see him around the in the mall, but I never knew him. When my homeboy introduced me to him, we just sort of hit it off. For the longest time, me and Shawty Redd really just hung out. When I got done doing my thug thing, I used to go sit at the studio with him for hours and hours, and that’s how I learned the studio world. I had been in the studio before and did my thing, but never with anyone who had real music shit going on and real artists coming through. I just sat there, fucked around a little bit. Over time, we grew close. He was recording some shit at the time, so I’d get on a song here and there. I stepped to him, and said, “Yo, I’ve got this record I’m trying to do,” which was called “G8.” I went and put Pastor Troy and somebody else on it. That was a learning experience. Shawty called me one day, like, “Jeezy, I’m going to L.A. to meet with Warner Brothers [Records],” or some shit like that. I had never been to L.A. I went with him, the label paid for it, and we had these big hotel rooms and all this shit. I went with him to meet with the label, and I remember thinking, “Damn, how can I be so close to it and not do it?”
When we came back from L.A., my focus just changed. I told Shawty, “I really want to do this shit.” We just went to his basement, just me and him, and just started making records. The first couple records we made, was this record called “Getting Money Over Here,” I put Bun B on it. It started taking off. I did another record called “Hold Up,” and that started taking off. I did another record called “Trap Or Die,” and it was like, “Oh shit!” Me and him both looked at each other like, “Damn, we may be onto something,” but we kept working. I would go to his house. He stayed far the fuck out, so I’d get pulled over every night. I used to go out there in crazy cars, but he stayed on the outskirts of Atlanta, so police would harass me and shit, but I’d still go. While all my homies were in the club, I’d be at the house with Shawty Redd in his basement, making music. I think the bond we created by kicking it every night came out in the music, because it was so comfortable. He would be making beats in his basement, it was like a bathroom right where we was in. it wasn’t really a studio: it was a mic in the middle of the room, and a board. While he was making the beats, I’d tell him instruments to play, and I’d go in the bathroom and listen to the bass and come up with the hooks. I’d come out of the bathroom like, “All right, let’s do it.” It just became a ritual. He’d play some shit, I’d go in the bathroom, and I’d come out like, “All right, I’m ready.” He’d be like, “Damn.” It just kept getting better and better, and over time, I think people appreciated it because we were a dynamic duo and we got together to make real hood classics. When Thug Motivation came, it was like boom, it was over.
DX: He had some charges last month, but just got acquitted from them. What was it like to go through that with him?
Young Jeezy: I’m glad it’s over, but he’s like my brother. I told Shawty, “You’re not from the streets, so you can’t be fucking with these street niggas like that, because I know them.” Over time, I saw the outcome of that. I don’t really want to speak on the situation, but I knew it wasn’t going to be good. I’m really happy he got out of it, but it was a hard time for my little brother, because he was going through some shit that nobody could help him with.
He called me the first time he got out on bond, and he called me the second day. I drove out to his house and shit, I saw him and we talked. He’s like, “Bruh, I don’t know what to do.” I just saw the frustration in his eyes. A lot of people don’t know that when a lot of people were saying, “Where’s Jeezy at with Thug Motivation 103, he’s bullshitting”…I went to his house one day when he got out, and I never left his house for six months. I stayed with Shawty and talked to him, every day and every night, because his mindstate wasn’t right. I thought, “What’s more important? My little brother, or the music?” I kind of got off my rocker, but for six months, I lived with Shawty Redd in his spare room. I bought a TV, some shit I like to do at the house, DVDs and playing cards, and I lived with Shawty Redd for six months to make sure he was straight. He was going through a lot, nobody could help him, and I was the closest person he knew that was from the street that understood what he was going through. I’ve been through it so much in my life that I felt that I couldn’t just leave him out there by himself. I lived with him, I took him to do shit I knew how to do that my O.G.s taught me how to do, and I just kept his head straight. I told him, “You’ve got to pray, bruh, but it’s going to be all right. Because right now, you wouldn’t even be home.” We just fucked around and little bit and had a little fun. We did a couple records, I think that’s when we made The Last Laugh mixtape, but we were really just having fun. We weren’t even taking the music seriously; I’m just sitting there when he’s playing video games, talking shit.
One thing a lot of people don’t know about Shawty Redd can cook like a mothafucka. Every day, he’d knock on my door and say, “What we going to eat today?” I’ll say, “Let’s go to Mexico,” so he’d make tacos. The next day, he’ll say, “What we eating today?” I’ll say, “Let’s go to Italy.” So he’d make Italian food. It was that type of shit. We’d sit around and talk shit all day, talk about old times. But a lot of people don’t know that for a lot of that gap in between the albums, I was living with him every day. I’d get up, go to the gym and come back. Me and him just talked, kicked it and bullshitted around. He was in a bad place, and I felt that if I left him by himself, something bad would happen. When your life is on the line like that, you never know how people think. After losing Shakir [Stewart, former Vice President of Def Jam Records and friend of Young Jeezy, who died of an alleged suicide in 2008], I told myself that I would never be selfish and let somebody go through something I could help them with. A lot of that down time, I was really helping out my little brother.
Young Jeezy: I’m going to tell you a true story about Shawty Redd. I was the guy that was out with the cars and jewelry, and living the life, and one of my partners named Six Nine introduced me to Shawty. Me and Shawty hit it off, because I was a fan of what he was doing. At the time, he had Drama, which was the dude who had the “Left, Right, Left” song, he had a couple of big songs that were going on in Atlanta. He was just this young guy in the industry who just kind of had it, and everybody respected him for what he was doing because he was young. I used to see him around the in the mall, but I never knew him. When my homeboy introduced me to him, we just sort of hit it off. For the longest time, me and Shawty Redd really just hung out. When I got done doing my thug thing, I used to go sit at the studio with him for hours and hours, and that’s how I learned the studio world. I had been in the studio before and did my thing, but never with anyone who had real music shit going on and real artists coming through. I just sat there, fucked around a little bit. Over time, we grew close. He was recording some shit at the time, so I’d get on a song here and there. I stepped to him, and said, “Yo, I’ve got this record I’m trying to do,” which was called “G8.” I went and put Pastor Troy and somebody else on it. That was a learning experience. Shawty called me one day, like, “Jeezy, I’m going to L.A. to meet with Warner Brothers [Records],” or some shit like that. I had never been to L.A. I went with him, the label paid for it, and we had these big hotel rooms and all this shit. I went with him to meet with the label, and I remember thinking, “Damn, how can I be so close to it and not do it?”
When we came back from L.A., my focus just changed. I told Shawty, “I really want to do this shit.” We just went to his basement, just me and him, and just started making records. The first couple records we made, was this record called “Getting Money Over Here,” I put Bun B on it. It started taking off. I did another record called “Hold Up,” and that started taking off. I did another record called “Trap Or Die,” and it was like, “Oh shit!” Me and him both looked at each other like, “Damn, we may be onto something,” but we kept working. I would go to his house. He stayed far the fuck out, so I’d get pulled over every night. I used to go out there in crazy cars, but he stayed on the outskirts of Atlanta, so police would harass me and shit, but I’d still go. While all my homies were in the club, I’d be at the house with Shawty Redd in his basement, making music. I think the bond we created by kicking it every night came out in the music, because it was so comfortable. He would be making beats in his basement, it was like a bathroom right where we was in. it wasn’t really a studio: it was a mic in the middle of the room, and a board. While he was making the beats, I’d tell him instruments to play, and I’d go in the bathroom and listen to the bass and come up with the hooks. I’d come out of the bathroom like, “All right, let’s do it.” It just became a ritual. He’d play some shit, I’d go in the bathroom, and I’d come out like, “All right, I’m ready.” He’d be like, “Damn.” It just kept getting better and better, and over time, I think people appreciated it because we were a dynamic duo and we got together to make real hood classics. When Thug Motivation came, it was like boom, it was over.
DX: He had some charges last month, but just got acquitted from them. What was it like to go through that with him?
Young Jeezy: I’m glad it’s over, but he’s like my brother. I told Shawty, “You’re not from the streets, so you can’t be fucking with these street niggas like that, because I know them.” Over time, I saw the outcome of that. I don’t really want to speak on the situation, but I knew it wasn’t going to be good. I’m really happy he got out of it, but it was a hard time for my little brother, because he was going through some shit that nobody could help him with.
He called me the first time he got out on bond, and he called me the second day. I drove out to his house and shit, I saw him and we talked. He’s like, “Bruh, I don’t know what to do.” I just saw the frustration in his eyes. A lot of people don’t know that when a lot of people were saying, “Where’s Jeezy at with Thug Motivation 103, he’s bullshitting”…I went to his house one day when he got out, and I never left his house for six months. I stayed with Shawty and talked to him, every day and every night, because his mindstate wasn’t right. I thought, “What’s more important? My little brother, or the music?” I kind of got off my rocker, but for six months, I lived with Shawty Redd in his spare room. I bought a TV, some shit I like to do at the house, DVDs and playing cards, and I lived with Shawty Redd for six months to make sure he was straight. He was going through a lot, nobody could help him, and I was the closest person he knew that was from the street that understood what he was going through. I’ve been through it so much in my life that I felt that I couldn’t just leave him out there by himself. I lived with him, I took him to do shit I knew how to do that my O.G.s taught me how to do, and I just kept his head straight. I told him, “You’ve got to pray, bruh, but it’s going to be all right. Because right now, you wouldn’t even be home.” We just fucked around and little bit and had a little fun. We did a couple records, I think that’s when we made The Last Laugh mixtape, but we were really just having fun. We weren’t even taking the music seriously; I’m just sitting there when he’s playing video games, talking shit.
One thing a lot of people don’t know about Shawty Redd can cook like a mothafucka. Every day, he’d knock on my door and say, “What we going to eat today?” I’ll say, “Let’s go to Mexico,” so he’d make tacos. The next day, he’ll say, “What we eating today?” I’ll say, “Let’s go to Italy.” So he’d make Italian food. It was that type of shit. We’d sit around and talk shit all day, talk about old times. But a lot of people don’t know that for a lot of that gap in between the albums, I was living with him every day. I’d get up, go to the gym and come back. Me and him just talked, kicked it and bullshitted around. He was in a bad place, and I felt that if I left him by himself, something bad would happen. When your life is on the line like that, you never know how people think. After losing Shakir [Stewart, former Vice President of Def Jam Records and friend of Young Jeezy, who died of an alleged suicide in 2008], I told myself that I would never be selfish and let somebody go through something I could help them with. A lot of that down time, I was really helping out my little brother.
Young Jeezy Breaks Down Evolution On TM103
DX: Does he have any records on the new album?
Young Jeezy: Yeah, he and D-Rich have this record on the new album called “Supafreak” with 2 Chainz, that’s crazy. You ain’t hear that from me, though.
Young Jeezy: Yeah, he and D-Rich have this record on the new album called “Supafreak” with 2 Chainz, that’s crazy. You ain’t hear that from me, though.
DX: Does it feel like there’s more on the line with his album than your others?
Young Jeezy: I wouldn’t say that. I just had to give them the true hustler’s ambition, and that’s what this is about. It’s about giving them the hustler’s ambition. I think I’ve done that, and that I did a good job. I’m confident, I’m good, I ain’t losing no sleep about it. This is all three albums put in one, that’s how I feel. For whatever that’s worth, I feel like this is Thug Motivation 101, The Inspiration, and The Recession, all in one album
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