Young Jeezy Says The Snowman Nearly Melted, "I Was So Far Away From What I Know"

Def Jam star Young Jeezy opened up this week about his long-awaited Thug Motivation 103 album delays and why he had to pull himself away from music to get back in a "Snowman State of Mind".

 

During an interview with radio personality Angie Martinez this week, Jeezy explained his difficulty he experienced with focusing on the project.

 

"It took a long time to get the direction I was going, but when I got in the zone everything locked up," Jeezy explained. "I had to go back and recollect because it got to a point where I was so far away from what I know and what was helping me articulate my music. I'm on tour with [Lil] Wayne, so that's that rapstar superstar life--and I love it by the way--but then I had to go back home just to see what was really real, so I could take that from the streets and spread the word." (Hot 97)

 

In May, Def Jam Records denied reports claiming an official TM103 release date had been announced.

 

Last week, there were reports that the release of Jeezy'sproject, too, was imminent. However, a rep for Def Jam has confirmed to XXL that no such date has been set. When reached for comment, a rep for Def Jam responded, "We do not have a date for Jeezy yet." (XXL Mag)

 

Around mid-May, Jeezy announced the project's completion.

 

"#TM103 Is Done!!! The Summer Will Be Crazy!!!," Jeezy tweeted Wednesday (May 18). (Young Jeezy's Twitter)

 

In a 2010 GQ Magazine feature, Jeezy revealed what new work ethics he explored while working on the LP.

 

The album is like a hip-hop version of the Stones' Exile on Main St or Dylan's Basement Tapes: To make it, Jeezy went completely off the grid, descending in early 2010 into the basement studio in producer Shawty Redd's south Atlanta home. He didn't come out for three months. The vibe was different from what the Stones had in the South of France, however. Redd had recently returned home from jail on a murder charge, posting $200,000 in bail. (A trial date is still pending.) Jeezy begins the story of the sessions like this: "I had just got off tour with Jay-Z when Shawty got home. I went to his crib, we chopped it up, and finally I said, 'I'm gonna go home and grab my stuff.' Shawty was like, 'Grab what stuff?' I came back with all my clothes and sh*t and moved in." Jeezy hung a flat-screen in his new bedroom and even stocked the cupboard with his favorite cereal, Cinnamon Toast Crunch. (GQ Magazine)