By David Malitz
Young Jeezy has never sounded cheery. And thank God for that. He's always agitated, and that's exactly what makes him one of today's most consistently engaging rappers. His shredded growl projects a built-in authority that reached new levels with 2008's batch of crystal-ball street anthems, "The Recession."
Jeezy still sounds far from chipper on his latest mix tape, but he does sound pretty bored. Like "The Recession," there's a unifying theme on "1000 Grams," and, like its predecessor, the title makes the topic very clear. Drug-dealing songs aren't anything new for the genre or for Jeezy, but he's always managed to bring just a touch of humor to match his hubris and intimidatingly cold, monstrous beats. Here he seems stuck on the 101 level, offering cheaply glorifying rhymes over the most predictable current backing tracks. Kanye West's "Power" becomes "Powder," Soulja Boy's "Pretty Boy Swag" becomes "Dope Boy Swag."
As a stopgap leading up to Jeezy's next proper full-length release, "1000 Grams" basically serves its purpose. It feeds the public's insatiable appetite for new music as we keep waiting for "Thug Motivation 103." He even managed to make a bit of news with the track "Death B4 Dishonor," on which Jeezy raps over Rick Ross's inescapable megahit "B.M.F." "How you blowin' money fast? / You don't know the crew / Are you part of the fam? / [Expletive], I never knew," he says, which was heard by some as a swipe at new star Ross. If it is - and Jeezy has denied it - it's more of a slap than a forceful punch, which basically sums up this latest effort.
Recommended tracks: "Powder," "Porsche Music"
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