Young Jeezy

Southern hip-hop has its share of tough-talking rappers. Young Jeezy hits all of his marks with assured verbal deftness on The Recession, which is undoubtedly a reference to our country's current economic status and how most of us are broke ass—since the title certainly not representative of his career and its possible trajectory. Jeezy is taking another step up the rap world's steep ladder with the lazy, yet street-smart and politically-fuelled jams that populate this release.

The title track comes on strong, brandishing a hot groove and Jeezy's raspy, low-throated vocals. It's follows by "By the Way," a self-congratulatory anthem where the rapper isn't shy about announcing his achievements over the years and flaunting his status within the industry. He pounds his chest a little, which isn't uncommon in the hip-hop world, so he's following suit but doing it with a refreshing, assured sense of self. This is, after all, a man who went from peddling hard drugs to signing to a major label! The semi-apocalyptic "Crazy World" features end-of-the-world, sweeping music living under Jeezy's hoarsely-delivered but surprisingly unthuggish words. It'll give you goosebumps with its eerie, daunting aura. Props to the rapper for addressing what's going on in our country instead of being another album full of more pats on his own damn back.

The album's guest list concentrates on quality over quantity, with icons like Kanye West (who uses an auto-tuner here) and Nas dropping by for a little lyrical accompaniment on "Put On" and the extremely current "My President," respectively. This convention of inviting A-list guest stars is indicative of Jeezy's nature to go big instead of going home. These contributors generate maximum impact with their presence but they also allow Jeezy and his political opinions and commentary to be the focal point of the rest of the album.

— Amy Sciarretto
09.04.08

Dropping the sequential album titles for his third release, Young Jeezy's The Recession introduces itself as anything but Thug Motivation 103. The opening title track features a collage of some very 2008 news reports where America is going broke while the "they just don't care about us" feeling sweeps the nation. Then Jeezy enters trading his non-stop swagger for social commentary, and while the singalong thug chorus is as strong as ever, the rapper's transformation from cocaine-slinging king to voice of the people is unconvincing, especially when he mentions his personal driver and how his "make it rain" sessions at the strip club are getting more conservative. The Barack Obama shout-out that closes the album -- "My President" with special guest Nas -- works much better with flippant verses ("We ready for damn change/So you all let the man shine") more suitable for a man who prefers to be called "The Snowman." Same goes for "Circulate" and its great line about oil prices ("Gas higher than me") but The Recession abandons politics often enough that you can't call it ponderous or even a concept album. With those great drums and fake trumpets producer Drumma Boy loves so much, trap star anthem "Amazin" is simple, feel-good music for pimps and players, while the soul-filled "Word Play" finds Jeezy and the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League celebrating the power of rap with warm nostalgia in their hearts. "Put On" with Kanye West singing through an Auto-Tune is the usual second-line goodness that Jeezy normally rounds out albums with, but there's more forgettable filler than expected, most of it sounding like mixtape leftovers or in the case of "Vacation," lackluster and forced club tracks. Of course with 18 songs the album allows for some dead weight and trimming. Even if it falls a distant third out of the first three, the scattershot Recession is still a welcome and even risky step forward, one carried by its highlights and the newfound awareness that the cocaine grind isn't everything. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide