Jay Jenkins (born October 12, 1977), better known by his stage name Jeezy, formerly Young Jeezy and Lil J, is an American rapper and member of the Hip-Hop group USDA and a former member of Boyz n da Hood . He began his career in 2001 under an independent label and joined Boyz N Da Hood in 2005, the same year his solo major label debut Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 was released . Its single "Soul Survivor", which featured Akon, became a top-ten hit in the U .S . The Inspiration followed in 2006, and The Recession followed in 2008; both albums yielded chart-topping singles . Jeezy has also appeared on numerous other rap and R&B singles such as "Say I" by Christina Millian, "I'm So Paid" by Akon, and "Love In This Club" by Usher, the latter being a number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2008 . Young Jeezy released his first independent album, Thuggin' Under the Influence (T .U.I.), in 2001 under the name Lil J. It featured artists such as Freddy J.,Kinky B, Fidank, and Lil Jon, who also produced some of the tracks. In 2003, Jeezy released (also independently) Come Shop wit Me, a two CD set featuring completely new tracks with some songs from T.U.I. Jeezy signed with Bad Boy Records in 2004 and joined the group Boyz n da Hood, whose self-titled album was released in June 2005 and peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Young Jeezy also released a solo album around this time, which was his major label debut, with Def Jam Records. Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 was released on July 26, 2005 and debuted at #2, selling 172,000 copies in its first week. It spawned several hit singles: "Soul Survivor" featuring Akon, which reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Rap Tracks charts, "And Then What" featuring Mannie Fresh, which reached #67 on the Hot 100 and #13 on the Hot Rap Tracks, and "My Hood", #19 on the Rap chart. .