Jeezy Says Tupac’s Music Was His “Bible” During Childhood
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Jeezy’s admiration for Tupac Shakur’s music and legacy is no secret, as the Atlanta rapper has voiced his respect for the late icon on numerous occasions. The SNOFALL co-creator recently spoke on the impact Shakur had on him as a youth during his appearance on the Drink Champs podcast, crediting the “Thug Life” repper with being his favorite artist during that period of his life.
“Every morning before school, I listened to all Master P, 8Ball, MJG, but my favorite was Tupac,” the Atlanta native revealed during his interview. “It still is to this day because he stood for something. He had values, he had morals, he had integrity, but I had never seen that before. ‘Cause my uncles would steal $20 out ya socks.”
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He also explains how Pac served as a mentor, whose environment was lacking in positive role models, and how his music helped him hone in on his survival tactics as a teen. “I couldn’t get any information out of them,” Jeezy said of his family and peers. “So, how I learned how to survive and navigate through the streets—and I want to say that because, these guys that’s coming up, 90 percent of it, well, 10 percent of it is music, 90 percent of it surviving. It’s survival, and navigating what’s going on.”
The father and husband also detailed how Pac’s role as a revolutionary not only within Hip-Hop, but Black culture as a whole, left a strong impression on him, comparing the former Death Row Records artist’s music to religious scriptures.
“I listened to Tupac as if that was my Bible. How to move, how to handle situations, and it was embedded in me. He was a revolutionary before I knew what that was. He actually had—he stood for something. And he would take those risks when everybody around me was so used to how they was livin’ that they didn’t want to try to live any better.” He also makes sure to pay homage to The Notorious B.I.G., but remains adamant about Pac being No. 1 in his book. “My Bible, at that time, no disrespect to the big homie [Biggie], was every Tupac album.”
While Jeezy says his love for Tupac and his music began to pale in comparison to his infatuation with the hustle after dropping out of school as a middle-schooler, he reasons that his decision to help support his family was one which Pac himself would respect. “I did that knowing that Tupac did what he had to do,” the 45-year-old said of his transition from curricular activities into the streets.
Jeezy recently released SNOFALL, his collaborative album with DJ Drama, this past month. It was his first full-length release since dropping his 12th studio album, The Recession 2, back in 2020.
Watch Jeezy’s Drink Champs interview below.
