The Recession is an album many British people would never have heard of before. Young Jeezy is a rapper who rarely appears in the British charts; at best many people might know him from collaborations with artists such as Usher on 'Love in This Club', and 'Hard' with Rihanna. However, this just means that many people are missing out on one of the best rappers around, and this album is his masterpiece.
The first song, the title track 'The Recession', captures the essence of the album. An intro of voices speak about the financial crisis then drop into one of the huge beats that is Young Jeezy's trademark. Using this beat Jeezy paints a portrait of the difficulties of trying to make ends meet, and as in much of his best work, blends dopeboy swagger with discussion of the worries of trying to make it from day to day.
The next two songs 'Welcome Back' and 'By the Way' are standard street bangers, with Jeezy in thug mode talking about money and guns. However, track four, 'Crazy World', is where the album truly starts to get going. Another song that fits with the theme of struggling, it has a sense of frustration seen in the refrain "God damn another trap, I think Bush is trying to punish us", and lines such as "I want a new Bentley, my auntie need a kidney, and if I let her pass her children never will forgive me" mix rap aspiration with worries recognisable to anyone who's ever felt the weight of responsibility on their shoulders, in a bouncy, fast-paced song. The next track 'What They Want' is another bouncy track that I dare you to be able to stop yourself from moving to, as Jeezy slickly uses sport metaphors to describe his hustle game. Track six, 'Amazin', is another street anthem, with Jeezy flowing over a beat with awesome, almost subsonic bass. Things then slow down slightly with Track seven, 'Hustlaz Ambition', a more introspective song that again ties into the theme of the struggle, and sees Jeezy express his determination to be able to provide for his family and be a success.
The best songs on The Recession can be divided into two categories. In the first category are the fast paced street anthems such as 'Crazy World', 'What They Want', and 'Amazin'. The second category includes slower songs such as 'Hustlaz Ambition', track nine 'Don't Know You', track 12 'Vacation', and track 15 'Don't Do It'. These are songs where Young Jeezy is more thoughtful, and talks more about the darker side of hustling.
Other notable tracks on The Recession are 'Circulate', a song suited to these times of austerity and government cuts, sampling a Billy Paul song of the same name that is also well worth a listen. Also great are 'My President' featuring Nas, an ode to Barack Obama, who was to be elected soon after the album was released, and 'Put On', an anthem that was adopted by several sports teams to warm up crowds before games because of its riotous and infectious nature.
The Recession is a relatively unknown gem; an album that passed many people by, but that has all the things I love about hip-hop. It manages to be both fun and thoughtful, and as a package of songs, works as well as any album I've ever heard, with its consistent themes, and flow from one track to the next. That's why its a 6 star album and one of my favourite albums ever.
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