Jay “Jeezy” Jenkins—father, rapper, urban philosopher, and entrepreneur—was born on September 28, 1977, in Columbia, South Carolina. He was introduced to the street life at an early age, and by the time he turned thirty years old he had managed to turn twenty dollars into a multi-million-dollar empire. Jeezy is most known for his musical contributions, including thirteen albums, eighteen mixtapes, and countless fans all over the world. However, for him, success came at the expense of nearly everything. Losing loved ones, friends, business partners, and at times even himself. Jeezy takes us on a journey through some of his most memorable experiences and shares the joy, pain, and hard lessons he learned along the way.
His first book, Adversity for Sale (2023), is an inspirational story of transformation from childhood to adulthood, from the streets to corporate life, from poverty to wealth, from innocence to wisdom. Jeezy walks us through some impactful moments in his childhood and the challenges he faced that led him to a life in the streets. It exemplifies the process of transcendence from the unconscious to the conscious self and the journey through Black existential pain and suffering. Jeezy comes out winning on the other side of a life of trauma, violence, loss, and pain.
On the surface, it seems like Adversity for Sale is a collection of short stories about a young Black man as he navigates his way through the street life into a position of an established entrepreneur who is capable of providing generational wealth for his family by any means. However, seen through a philosophical lens, the book highlights a new perspective on liberatory virtues and vices. It’s a curation of epistemology, learned through lived experiences, not only by Jeezy, but also by many others in the book and the hood, more generally speaking. The book provides a glimpse into a rich body of knowledge, which could be referred to as “Hood Philosophy,” otherwise known as “street smarts” or “street knowledge.”
Jeezy shows that the challenges one faces in the hood are oftentimes a matter of life or death, and Hood Epistemology and Ethics are arguably two of the most important aspects to one’s survival. When human beings grow up in an environment where poverty and violence are the norm, survival is the only thing that matters, and in this way, Hood Epistemology and Ethics are integral to one’s everyday life and any chance of seeing the future, let alone planning for it. It’s important to note that Jeezy’s story is one of many struggles to freedom, or in other words, a liberatory struggle.
Jeezy grapples with the concept of loyalty, especially in regards to street life. Loyalty is one of the most important first principles you learn in the hood. Loyalty is essential for groups of people working together in a high-stakes situation where one misstep could cost several lives. In this way, loyalty is the glue that holds the group together and helps to protect everyone in the group’s safety and interests. The deeper philosophical question then becomes, “Who or what are you loyal to, and why?” The answer to the question, ironically, may also play a factor in your own and other’s survival.
Related but distinct is the principle of integrity. Jeezy shows that integrity in the game is crucial for building decent relationships with others. What one says is then taken as one’s verbal contract, and what one says one better mean, or else it could cost lives. This is, I think, a bit stronger than the classical normative ethical notion of “ought to,” simply because of the literal weight it carries in one’s day to day life in the streets. In this way, to hold yourself and others accountable to the things they say, in the highest form of accountability, is to demand that they mean what they say, rather than merely suggesting that they should, ought to, or it would be “good” to do so. In the case of hood ethics, “you better” explicitly expresses the extreme nature of the affairs and related consequences, which in most cases could be death, prison, or both.
Respect goes hand in hand with Integrity in hood ethics. Respect and the lack thereof can be found in one’s language, time, money, tone, body language, and so forth. Jeezy shows that respect, like disrespect, can come in many forms. He emphasizes this throughout the book, highlighting examples where respect can come from the clothes to the jewelry, to the lyrics, the cars one drives, and the company one keeps. In the same way, you may recognize disrespect from the very people you respect or who respected you at some point in their lives, only for them or you to change up later. In these cases, disrespect is tied with integrity because there is an expectation for one “to be real,” or mean what one says, in the strongest sense. Others know that the statements and actions one commits to will be held to those highest standards. If one is found to be disrespectful and therefore lacking integrity, then one’s loyalty comes into question. If one’s loyalty comes into question, then, once again, one has put oneself and others’ lives at risk.
Jeezy’s emphasis on loyalty, integrity, and respect is echoed through his claim that he is “The Truth.”
It takes courage to believe in one’s abilities and dreams, especially when in the face of adversity. Still, Jeezy shows that the power of belief can help feed one the courage to go after one’s goals. He had a vision that not many others around him could see and that vision is still growing and developing to this day. The grief and process of losing so many loved ones through the streets prompts him to share the knowledge—knowledge that will keep the next generation prepared, safe, and perhaps alive. Jeezy is offering up his advice and experience, so that others that come up in the game behind him, don’t have to pay the ultimate price.
To his readers, Jeezy gives a lifetime of survival skills, street knowledge, and ethics that are not only tried but also proven to be effective means out of adverse circumstances. In this way, his book stands as an inspiration and motivation for others to go out and get it, all while keeping in mind the rich philosophy of the streets.
Jeezy offers a glimpse of hope, a refreshing take on virtues and vice, and a wealth of practical wisdom, through his inspiring story of transformation through perseverance. He makes his book accessible to his audience by speaking directly to them in his authentic voice, in a language that speaks to them, and shows that there is wisdom to be gained from other’s lived experiences.
I recommend this book to any reader who is interested in Urban Philosophy more broadly, and more specifically to those interested in learning more about Black existentialism, ethics, liberatory theory, and epistemology from the authentic perspective of “the Hood.” Additionally, Adversity for Sale would benefit many who are dealing with the grief, loss, challenges, and pain that come with adversity and are looking for motivation to overcome these things.
Tiana-Marie Blassingale
Tiana-Marie Blassingale is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut. She completed her B.A. in Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh. Her current research focuses on the phenomenology and epistemology of barbershops, salons and other social institutions in BIPOC communities. Blassingale’s philosophical interests include: Global Existentialism, Phenomenology, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Political Philosophy, and Philosophy of Education.
