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Life & Arts

Jeezy impresses with new mix tape

Hip-hop Update

Eli Jabbe

Young Jeezy's new mix tape, Can't Ban The Snowman, which follows up his double-platinum debut album Let's Get It, does not let fans down. Jeezy, aka The Snowman, burst onto the hip-hop scene last year with his great flow and charisma, thick Georgia drawl, and of course, those ubiquitous ad libs. 

This mix tape continues the nonstop barrage of stretched-out ad libs, which overshadow the actual lyrics: "Ha Ha," "Yeah" and "Daiyum," among others, shouted out randomly.

On "I'm Back," Jeezy retorts to the naysayers, singing, "They say I ain't lyrical / I wasn't trying to impress y'all / If hating was a crime they'd arrest y'all." Jeezy shows versatility on "Ya Dig," a snap-style song that Jeezy wrote because "the whole snap movement is going on in Atlanta, and I wanted to put my input." 

Jeezy makes references to snap artists like D4L and Dem Franchise Boyz: "Lean with it, rock with it / Naw, I ain't dancing, I'm just whipping them grams up / Got the stove on medium, I'm cheffing them yams up / Got somebody waiting at the store, another at my trap house / weigh it, bag it, tie it, then I smash out (daiyum) / I Betcha can't do it like me, nope / Stretch four ways like Laffy Taffys."

The height of the mix tape comes at "Jeezy the Snowman" where he raps over "Frosty the Snowman" with, "Jeezy the Snowman, I make it wintertime / I heard the streets hungry; well it's dinnertime / Dodging the state patrol, they patrol the weight / Jeezy the Snowman; I patrol the weight!"

In addition to the original songs, Jeezy freestyles over a multitude of great beats. On the Neptunes-produced "I'm A G" freestyle, Jeezy explains, "I ride the track like my Cadillac; I escalade / My friends call me Mr. Microwave / I should have worked at KFC, I cooked chickens all day / Nobody's greater, I should have been a caterer."

Jeezy also raps on other great instrumental tracks, such as Kanye West's "We Major" and the Just Blaze-produced Jay-Z classic "You Don't Know." 

The theme of the freestyle is similar to the original even though Jeezy's lyrical level is infinitely lower than Jay-Z's.

Many have criticized Jeezy's lyrical level, which is so elementary that it often sounds like he's having a conversation with himself over an instrumental. But if you want to know if this mix tape is quality, Jeezy put it best by saying, "That's right!"
 

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