Jeezy Says T.I. Told Him To Leave The Street Life Early In His Career: “You Can’t Do Both”
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Jeezy has had a successful rap career and is still going almost 20 years later, but The Snowman may not have become who he is without T.I. The 45-year-old revealed just how influential T.I.P’s advice on leaving the streets was for his trajectory.
During his Oct. 29 visit to Revolt TV’s Drink Champs, the Snofall artist recalled being at the legendary Patchwerk Studios in Atlanta with the King rapper around the time he was recording Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101, which was released in 2005.
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“I’m working on Thug Motivation, T.I. comes to the studio. I’m doing my thug thing, I probably got about 2.5 in the booth sitting with me,” Jeezy said. “I’ll never forget, he looked in and was like, ‘Yo, let me holla at you for a second.’”
The two went on to enter a bathroom, with the ATL actor peeking underneath the stalls to ensure they were alone. “You know how Tip is, he look under the stalls and everything like it’s G14 classified. And he goes, ‘Yo, you know you can’t do both, right? … You’re talented, you’re gonna blow at some point. If you continue to do what you’re doing, I don’t know how it’s gonna work out for you.'”
Jeezy was taken aback by the statement. “I looked at him and said, ‘Well, sh*t. Don’t you do both? ‘Cause you the Rubber Band Man.’ He’s like, ‘Hell nah! I left that alone a long time ago.’ For me, that was a real wake-up call.”
There couldn’t have been a better time for the “I Ain’t Gone Hold Ya” artist to hear this advice, as right around that time his friends got caught up in a federal drug indictment. Though it was an unfortunate reality, it was the wake-up call he needed.
“I remember I had these two Nextel Chirps — the phones — and I rolled down the street one day and just threw them out the window, and I was done. When I would see people in the street, they were like, ‘Yo, I owe you money!’ I’m like, ‘Nah, you ain’t owe me nothing. Keep that, live your life, I’ma do this.’”
