Jeezy - Revolution Live, Fort Lauderdale - October 21

A lot of rappers would have you believe they come from the streets and make music for hustlers, and a lot of rappers would embellish the story. A lot of rappers are quick to jump on songs with pop stars, looking for crossover success as a means to greater ends. It's hard to have a lasting career off of ghetto anthems, but not everyone can be Jeezy.

Young no more, the Atlanta rapper has been one of the hardest names in the game for about a decade. He's gone from an "empty" childhood of crime to Billboard hits, and even when he had popular success, he never really went pop. His latest album, Seen It All, is his "autobiography," and the tour's stop at Revolution last night was a giant celebration for a man who's been through the ringer and came out on top.

See also: Jeezy on Seeing "Some Justice" in Ferguson and "the New Generation" of Trap

Jeezy kept stressing that the night was dedicated to his "day one" fans, but if you've been paying attention to the rap scene at all, it's hard not to remember his hits. From the beginning, with Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101's debut single, "And Then What," Jeezy instantly became one of the hottest artists on radio. He exploded on the scene, and Fort Lauderdale responded by packing the house and burnin' the good weed all night.

To be honest, there wasn't much else to do the hours before Jeezy hit the stage. DJ Nasty of 99 Jamz was keeping the place live, but if he must not know the story of the boy who cried "wolf." He asked us so many time if we were "ready for Jeezy" without actually bringing him out, we started to think he might pull a Lil' Kim and show up four hours late. But when Jeezy's DJ Cut Throat started setting up in his lofty DJ tower above the stage production, we knew the hour was nigh. Thank God too, because we're pretty sure DJ Nasty was going to run out of radio hits any minute.

Jeezy kept stressing that the night was dedicated to his "day one" fans, but if you've been paying attention to the rap scene at all, it's hard not to remember his hits. From the beginning, with Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101's debut single "And Then What," Jeezy instantly became one of the hottest artists on radio. He exploded on the scene, and Fort Lauderdale responded by packing the house and burnin' the good weed all night.

To be honest, there wasn't much else to do the hours before Jeezy hit the stage. DJ Nasty of 99 Jamz was keeping the place live, but if he must not know the story of the boy who cried "wolf." He asked us so many time if we were "ready for Jeezy" without actually bringing him out, we started to think he might pull a Lil' Kim and show up four hours late. But when Jeezy's DJ Cut Throat started setting up in his lofty DJ tower above the stage production, we knew the hour was nigh. Thank God too, because we're pretty sure DJ Nasty was going to run out of radio hits any minute.

At 10:35, DJ Cut Throat took over, and by 10:45, Jeezy finally made his appearance. He was lookin' fresh in all black with a Gucci jacket (We think. Whatever. Fashion) and his chains hanging as he rapped through "1/4 Block." He rapid-fired off a few rounds, including his recent hit "Me OK" from the new record; then he started talking to the fans.

"Tonight, this shit is for y'all," he said. "This Seen It All shit gets to me because if you've been with me since day one, then we've seen it all. And we're still grinding."

It's true, the streets love Jeezy, and he loves them back, but we didn't realize what a little motivational speaker Jeezy can be. He had all kind of words of encouragement for his people. He kept telling us that if we can stay close to God, stay away from fuck boys, and stay focused, we can do anything we put our mind to. Hey, if Jeezy can make it snow in the South, anything is possible, right?

Honestly, we'll do anything Jeezy tells us. How many rappers in the game today do you know that can run through a set list of more than 40 songs and have the whole crowd singing along to every one? You forget how many hits he's had, from "TRAPSTAR" to "My Hood," "Go Getta" to "Lose My Mind," it was just an endless stream of bangers. He even let the ladies have it with some "Leave You Alone" and "Tear It Up."

Honestly, he played so much, we couldn't even catch it all, but by the time he wrapped up just after midnight, we'd definitely seen and heard most of it, if not seen it all. He closed out with the new album's title track, one of his current radio mainstays, another track we're sure to hear on hip-hop radio for the next six months. It's crazy to think, with all these hits, he's never really been the crossover kind of guy, but we guess that's just how it goes when you're a real trap star.

Not that Jeezy needs any help from the Katy Perrys and Justin Biebers of the world. If you're going to feature with Jeezy, you can't be just anybody. He's got a serious street reputation to uphold and so far, by the looks of last night, he's running on a perfect record. No need to change the game when all you do is win, right?

(Most of the) Setlist

"¼ Block"

"Black Eskimo"

"Me OK"

"Holy Ghost"

"Trap or Die 2"

"Get Ya Mind Right"

"Go Crazy"

"TRAPSTAR"

"Dem Boyz"

"Peace Up ( A-Town Down)"

"Bottom of the Map"

"My Hood"

"Leave You Alone"

"All We Do"

"Tear It Up"

"Soul Survivor"

"Go Getta"

"I Luv It"

"I Put On"

"SupaFreak"

"Lose My Mind"

"Who Dat"

"Let's Get It / Sky's The Limit"

"Dey Know"

"Hood Nigga"

"My Nigga"

"RIP"

"Way Too Gone"

"I Do"

"Corporate Thuggin'"

"Beez Like"

"Air Forces"

"Umma Do Me"

"Seen It All"

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