Atlanta rapper Jeezy once said, “Might not be the best, just know I plan to be.”
Thirteen studio albums later and tens of millions of records sold, Jeezy has carved his path as an Atlanta legend and pioneer for trap music. Now, Jeezy is selling more than hits; he’s selling a book that’s a testament to ambition and hustle. His journey is now encapsulated in his memoir, “Adversity for Sale: Ya Gotta Believe,” published in August 2023.
The memoir marks the rapper’s first book and delves deep into Jeezy’s personal struggles that helped him beat the odds and achieve the success he knows today. It offers a vulnerable side to “The Snowman” that goes beyond lyrics, inviting the audience to connect to him on a deeper level.
During a fireside chat hosted by Atlanta photographer Cameron Kirkland, also known as Cam Kirk, at his photography studio on Wednesday, Jeezy discussed how the book displayed a level of vulnerability that allowed him to reflect on his experiences and celebrate his resilience and hard work.
“Music culturally is more flamboyant. You only talk about the good times … and it always sounds like you’re on top,” Jeezy said. “I think the difference was, for me, writing the book, I actually got to tell people about when they thought that I was on top and I was really at my lowest. I got to go into how I felt and what I was going through.
“A lot of people saw me living the dream, but they had no idea I was living a nightmare.”
He called the journey of writing his first book, “therapeutic.” For him, the biggest mission was giving the world a book that could motivate.
“That was my chance to Jay ‘Jeezy’ Jenkins instead of just Snowman.”
Jeezy and Kirk also highlighted the evolution of Atlanta’s music scene, recalling the influence he and his peers during the time had in pioneering the next generation of trap artists. Capturing those moments of music history with Atlanta’s new generation has been a cornerstone of Kirk’s career.
When Kirk began his career in 2012, Jeezy was one of the first artists he worked with. Since then, Kirk has become a vault for capturing the legacy of Atlanta’s trap scene, documenting the come-ups of artists such as 21 Savage and The Migos, to name a few. Over a decade later, he was given the honor of shooting the cover for Jeezy’s memoir in his studio that he opened in 2017.
His focus was on creating a timeless photo that could speak to Jeezy as an icon and capture the emotion of someone who went through adversity to succeed.
“It’s a full circle moment to now reconnect in this setting. In my setting… and for him to see value in me at this level now,” Kirk said. “It’s a little bit deeper than an album cover. An album cover maybe covers a period of time over your life or how you’re feeling. This is an autobiography. This will be a part of his legacy forever, so I feel honored to have had that opportunity.”
Jeezy said he hopes that when readers flip to the last page of his memoir, they believe they can achieve anything they want to do.
“Just don’t give up. Don’t stop. Don’t stop swinging. You stop swinging, you get knocked out. Life is a struggle, and that’s the beauty of it. You can’t fall in love with the destination because who knows where that’s gonna be. It’s the journey.”
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Laura Nwogu
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