Jeezy Brings His Trap Hits to NPR for Soulful ‘Tiny Desk’ Concert: Watch
Jeezy is the latest rapper to grace NPR’s Tiny Desk stage as he delivered a concert that took fans on a memorable journey into the depths of the trap houses he once occupied via his decorated discography.
The Snowman made his Tiny Desk debut on Wednesday (Feb. 21), which found Jeezy flanked by a group of violins, guitars and keyboards with Howard University students filling the room.
“Y’all could see how I got from there to here to Tiny Desk. I used to stand on a tiny porch, but if you stay with your dreams and stand on your business, you could get anywhere,” he said while providing the audience with words of inspiration to kick off the performance.
Jeezy warmed up with Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101‘s “Standing Ovation” before moving into “Air Forces” and “Bottom of the Map” from his multiplatinum 2005 commercial debut, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 172,000 album units sold in the first week.
He also reflected on his come-up. “‘Standing Ovation’ was something special to me because when I walked on that stage for the first time and got recognized for something I love, I couldn’t believe God was so good coming from my circumstances,” he shared. “And to see people applauding me for what I had been through meant the world, and that’s why I kept going and why I’m here today.”
The Atlanta trap pioneer moved into more dope boy TM:101 anthems with a soothing live band twist, such as “And Then What” and the Jay-Z-assisted “Go Crazy.”
Jeezy finished off with a poignant performance of “Everythang” from TM:103 Hustlerz Ambition.
“This has been Tiny Desk, this has been my story … Y’all keep this positivity going,” Big Sno said before signing off from NPR.
Watch Jeezy’s Tiny Desk concert in full below.
Michael Saponara
Billboard