Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), better known by his stage name Young Jeezy (or simply Jeezy), is an American hip-hop recording artist from Atlanta, Georgia. In 1998, he launched the label imprint CTE World (then known as Corporate Thugz Entertainment). Aside from his solo career, Jeezy is the de facto leader of the southern hip hop group United Streets Dopeboyz of America (USDA), and is a former member of Bad Boy Records' Boyz n da Hood. Jeezy is also known for helping pioneer the hip hop subgenre trap music, alongside fellow Atlanta-based rapper T.I..
Jeezy embarked on his music career in 2001, as Lil J, with the release of Thuggin' Under the Influence (T.U.I.). He later joined Boyz n da Hood in 2005, the same year his solo major label debut Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, was released. Its lead single "Soul Survivor", which features R&B singer Akon, became a top-ten hit in the US. His subsequent albums, The Inspiration (2006) and The Recession (2008), both yielded chart-topping singles. Jeezy has also been featured on numerous hip-hop and R&B hit singles, such as "Say I" by Christina Milian, "I'm So Paid" by Akon, "Hard" by Rihanna and "Love in This Club" by Usher, the latter of which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, in 2008.
Keith Farrelle Cozart (born August 15, 1995), better known by his stage name Chief Keef, is an American rapper and record producer from Chicago, Illinois. Keef's music first became popular among high school students from Chicago's South Side during his teen years in the early 2010s. While he served a house arrest sentence on weapons possession charges in 2012, Keef's popular street single "I Don't Like" was remixed by rapper Kanye West, reaching the Billboard Top 10 and further lifting Keef's profile. A bidding war between major labels resulted in Keef signing to Interscope. His debut album Finally Rich was released in December 2012, and featured the singles "I Don't Like" and "Love Sosa", which would popularize the Chicago rap subgenre drill.
After achieving initial commercial success, Keef faced ongoing legal issues, including further house arrest sentences and a performance ban by the Chicago authorities. Despite being dropped from Interscope in late 2014 and later signing to 1017 Records, Keef continued self-releasing projects through his own Glo Gang label, including Nobody (2014), Back from the Dead 2 (2014), Bang 3 (2015), and Thot Breaker (2017). In recent years, critics have pointed to Keef as a major influence on contemporary hip-hop through his impact on other artists such as Lil Uzi Vert and 21 Savage.
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