Hailing from Atlanta, Young Jeezy went from neighborhood businessman tonationwide rap star in just a few short years. Originally he was strictlya background player, running his own company Corporate Thugz Entertainmentand doing album promotions for Cash Money Records. Soon he picked up themic and began releasing independent mix tapes that sold like hotcakes inthe ATL. This led to his inclusion in Boyz N Da Hood, a crunk-thug boyband of sorts, who released their self-titled debut on Diddy'snewly-minted Bad Boy South. Shortly after that album dropped, Jeezyreleased his first official solo piece on Def Jam, Thug Motivation 101:Let's Get It. With the powerful major label machine behind him (not tomention enthusiastic fans ranging from hordes to teenage girls to Jay-Z),he raced up the charts thanks to hit singles like "And Then What" and"Soul Survivor." He also started a brief fashion trend with his unusualsnowman T-shirts, which were banned in certain schools because of their drug dealer implications. Lyrically, he's not exactly groundbreaking, with the typical verses saturated in hustler one-upmanship, but his swagger, keen business sense and strong industry alliances have made him one of 2005's breakout artists.