Jeezy bridges hip-hop and classical music worlds in black-tie event at Chicago Theatre

Chicago has always been one of Jay “Jeezy” Jenkins’ favorite — and key — cities to play since he broke out in the early 2000s.

Three or four times a year, by his account, he would perform his fiery anthems, such as “Soul Survivor” and “Go Crazy,” at hallowed urban nightclubs across the Chicago area, while being championed by DJs like Tone Kapone and DJ Pharris, as well as rappers like Bump J.

Twenty years later, the Grammy-nominated, New York Times bestselling rapper/author/entrepreneur is returning for his second performance this year in Chicago after joint-headlining with 2 Chainz. In celebration of his debut album “Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101,” Jeezy will be returning to the Chicago Theatre Saturday with Color of Noize Orchestra.

According to the ”And Then What” rapper, he has been working on the tour for nearly five years and has overcome various obstacles, from skepticism to logistical hurdles.

“We are building a bridge between two different worlds: the culture of hip-hop and the tradition of classical music,” Jeezy said, adding that overcoming adversity made it more “impactful.”

“Every obstacle became a reason to push harder and prove that hip-hop deserves a stage as grand and respected as any other genre. The journey brought together artists, musicians and fans from all walks of life. Seeing that unity and creativity come alive on stage — that’s the real reward,” he said.

With the help of Grammy and Emmy Award winner Adam Blackstone and composer Derrick Hodge, Jeezy will be presenting a reimagined vision of his debut album.

“These brothers I’m on the road with are truly talented,” he said. “I’m so happy and just in awe that I get to share them with the culture and show people that they’re great at what they do.”

Why ‘Thug Motivation 101′ resonated in Chicago

Around 2004-05, Jeezy’s music began to pick up steam beyond his native Atlanta, at a time when music executives would frequent the city’s nightclubs and Black strip clubs in search of new talent. Jeezy recalled a network with many DJs and music executives who would soon introduce his music across local Black radio stations, like Power 92.3 and WGCI 107.5, and Black nightclubs, which is how he built such a devoted fan base in the city.

“Chicago always resonated with hustlers. Chicago always resonated, from my understanding, with authenticity and just grit. And I think ‘TM: 101′ was grit and was about, ‘I’m gonna make it regardless. I’m gonna make it regardless of the circumstance I’m under.’ And I think they aligned with that,” Jeezy said.

“Also, it was a sound that only people who understood that vibration would understand. ‘Trap or Die,’ ‘Get Ya Mind Right’ and all those earlier records resonated in Chicago because that’s what it was about. It was about surviving, it was about grinding, it was about the grit. It just made all the sense in the world, and I saw that because back then, it was Twista, all these different people who had a different sound but loved what I was doing as well,” he added.

The production of “TM: 101″ is larger than life, akin to an orchestra of its own, but with 808s. Jeezy said while recording the album, he was beginning to understand what real music production was all about. It began with him using his distinctly boisterous voice and reverendlike delivery as an instrument and went with sounds aligned with his tone, voice and cadences. It’s when he discovered his “calling card” to make songs like “Trap or Die” into full-fledged anthems that people sang along to.

Jeezy set out to make music based on his own story of coming of age in the streets of Atlanta to motivate people. The late rapper 2Pac was a huge influence on him because he was “intentional about the type of music he was putting out.”

“Thug Motivation” came from Jeezy contemplating if he were in a position to talk to people — “doctors, lawyers, pedestrians,” as he puts it — what would he want to say? And his messages resonated as the album went double platinum, selling over 2 million copies.

And while many of these professionals who were captivated by the message of “TM:101” will likely be in the audience at the live black-tie event, in 2005, Jeezy’s message wasn’t taken as fondly by many others. Accused of promoting drug-dealing through his notorious “Snowman” T-shirts — black tees Jeezy often donned with a snowman mascot — they were banned in schools across the country. When asked whether he felt as if he misled youth or if he was misunderstood, he said, “To be misunderstood is to be great.”

“I think that the Snowman was something that was bigger than me,” Jeezy said. “Whenever you’re able to mobilize and go to the root with it, I think that you’re a threat. I was able to talk to my people in a way that nobody was able to do at the time, and I think that scared them more than anything.”

His greatest takeaway from that time came from a conversation with actor Samuel L. Jackson, who told him, “‘You’re representing something that people are scared of. And those are the have-nots and the people that America has basically turned a blind eye to. And nobody wants that. So, that means you got to go even harder,’ and that really resonated with me,” he recalls.

Hip-hop: ‘An important part of American classical music’

Rappers like Jeezy are part of a growing trend of veteran rappers presenting their culturally groundbreaking debut albums with live orchestras.

Jeezy describes the experience of working and performing with the Color of Noize orchestra as if he were working with 40 of the best producers on one song.

“It’s so much effort and intention and creativity in one place. It’s elevating this thought that you had of this song that you wrote 20 years ago, and then they’re revamping this for you and playing this for people who heard it one way, but feel it another way now,” he said.

Caitlin Edwards, a violinist with the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra who performed at Nas’ 30th anniversary of his debut album “Illmatic” at Ravinia in July, said hip-hop is an important part of American music and deserves respect, regardless of whether it’s done with an orchestra or not.

“The genre of hip-hop is an important part of American ‘classical’ music and deserves respect, whether it’s performed with an orchestra or not. … One of the great things about hip-hop artists performing with orchestras is that it connects their fans with the orchestra, potentially sparking further interest in other concerts,” Edwards said.

To her, the trend shows a return to the sound of live instrumentation in mainstream music, as well as the understated versatility of hip-hop.

“Considering the lush orchestrations and live musicians featured in the music of the ‘60s and ‘70s, music that continues to be sampled in hip-hop, this collaboration between legendary rappers and orchestras makes perfect sense,” Edwards said.

Beyond the music, Jeezy’s goal is to show the younger generation of fans and artists alike that not only do they deserve to see Black street art be elevated to such a prestigious level, but also to inform them that they too can evolve beyond their circumstances. He said it pains him to see a generation of rappers fall victim to the same circumstances they’ve tried to escape from with music, trying to impress people who won’t be around when they reach star status and then “crash out.”

“I think that the goal and the intention are to show this generation that you don’t have to be stuck in a box,” Jeezy said. “You’re allowed to evolve and grow. You’re allowed to give yourself permission to evolve and become more than what people want you to be.”