And that’s what I did. As part of a joint venture with Big Cat, with distribution through Tommy Boy Records, I formed my own label, LaFlare Entertainment.
As all this was going on Def Jam decided they wanted “So Icy” for Jeezy’s upcoming debut album. Jeezy was the shit at the time. He’d followed up The Streets Iz Watchin’ mixtape with Trap or Die, a release that was the soundtrack of the city. He was ridin’ with BMF, and they were running the show in Atlanta. He had a solo deal with Def Jam and then a group deal with Boyz N Da Hood under Puff Daddy’s Bad Boy Records.
But even with all that hype and industry backing, Jeezy didn’t have a breakout song. “So Icy” was the first time a Jeezy song had gone into radio rotation. Jeezy had “Over Here” and don’t get me wrong, that was definitely killing the clubs, but the radio wasn’t playing him. That wasn’t even out of the ordinary. That’s how records break out of Atlanta, from the strip clubs up. Having my second single played across the country—that was out of the ordinary.
Def Jam offered me a hundred thousand dollars for the rights to “So Icy.” Before that offer came in I’d finally met Meech, who wanted to get the song for himself and put his artist Bleu DaVinci on there. I requested some crazy amount from him and he passed. Even then Meech was cool about the situation and continued to promote the song in the clubs regardless. Meech and I were always cool. It wasn’t until I declined Def Jam that things started to turn sour.
?
Jeezy and I were never friends, but during the rise of “So Icy” we would occasionally hit the clubs to perform the record. When I turned down Def Jam’s offer, those joint performances stopped. Word was it was because Jeezy had a problem with me.
Jacob had known Jeezy for years, from when he was in south Georgia making crunk music as Lil’ J. So he set up a meeting at Piccadilly’s to squash whatever needed to get squashed. I’d been hearing all this junk in the streets, but I still had no idea where the bad blood was coming from. It wasn’t coming from me.
Right away it was clear nothing good was coming out of that meeting. The vibe was fucked. Honestly it caught me off guard. This guy had a real problem with me. It was no longer a business situation to sort out. It had become personal. Jacob was open to having the song included on both of our albums, but Def Jam wouldn’t agree because my album with Big Cat was scheduled to come out first. Jeezy had already put the song on his Trap or Die mixtape and we weren’t even tripping over that.
But he was pissed and couldn’t even say why.
“He knows what he did,” he mumbled, his eyes looking down at the table. That was all he said.
To his credit Jacob was able to convince Jeezy we should still shoot a video for “So Icy” and do a remix. It was no reconciliation but it would benefit both of us.
The plan was to pull Boo off the song, then Jeezy and I would record new verses for the remix. Jeezy did his and then stepped out to go to the bathroom or something. As I was recording mine Jeezy barged back into the studio.
“What the fuck?!” he shouted. “You got niggas out here trying to press me?!”
I exited the studio and found Black Magik, another rapper signed to Big Cat. Weapons had been drawn.
I wasn’t sure if Magik had tried to rob Jeezy or chump him, but some sort of altercation had just taken place. Jeezy was fuming and understandably so, and he was thinking I’d set him up. But I had no idea what was going on. So I was pissed too. What the fuck was Magik doing coming up to my session, pulling shit that was going to fuck up my money? I was here working and now Magik was coming in and causing problems.
I got Magik to leave and Jeezy seemed to understand that I hadn’t been involved. Still, he was furious. What could have been a final opportunity for us to find common ground became an opportunity for further conflict.
From there everything went downhill quick. I was working on finishing my album, but it seemed like half the city was beginning to turn on me. When Jeezy decided it was “Fuck Gucci,” a lot of dick riders seemed to fall in line out of fear of going against him and the crew he was running with. They were dominating Atlanta’s nightlife, so DJs started cutting off “So Icy” before my verse. My reputation in the city went from rising star to one-hit wonder.
?
That lit a fire inside me. I was hustling at my homeboy’s spot one day—when I wasn’t recording I was trappin’ heavy—and I’m hearing these niggas talk a whole bunch of junk about how Gucci Mane’s finished, that I’d never have another big record. I sat there taking it all in, watching the scene at the dope spot unfold. I grabbed a pen and a napkin and started writing.
Choppa on the floor, pistol on the couch
Hood rich so I never had a bank account
Junkies going in, junkies going out
Made a hundred thou, in my trap house
Money kinda short but we can work it out
Made a hundred thou, in my trap house
Bricks going in, bricks going out
Made a hundred thou, in my trap house
—“Trap House” (2005)
I didn’t even have a beat for this song but I knew it would be a hit. I decided then and there that I was no longer naming my debut album “So Icy.” It would be called Trap House and it would silence all the naysayers. I was charged up and three weeks later, my debut album was complete.
Jeezy showed up to Charlie Brown Field for the video shoot but neither of us had anything left to say. He’d been trying to blackball me in the city and it worked. But I knew I’d just made a great album and soon that would get me back in the fanfare. I just wanted to get this video shoot over with and be done with the guy. I was over this shit.
But it wasn’t over. At some point Black Magik took it upon himself to put out a whole bunch of songs dissing Jeezy, trying to use the Gucci-Jeezy beef to get himself some notoriety. Things were already bad, but when Magik put that shit on wax it added fuel to the fire. It also made everything public. There were no more whispers. Everything was out in the open and Jeezy was now in a spot where he really had no choice but to respond. But when he did, he didn’t come at Magik. He came at me.
I was on the road headed out of town for a pair of shows in Florida when I heard “Stay Strapped” on the radio. Jeezy talked a lot of shit on there, but it was something he said at the end that really got my attention. Something about how he had ten grand for whoever brought him my “So Icy” chain.
I remember at first I was just pissed that he was calling my chain some bullshit. I’d paid forty thousand dollars for that piece. Now folks were going to see me rocking it and might think it was fake. But then it hit me. If it was open season on my chain, it was open season on me. There was another bounty on my head.
IX
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SPRINGSIDE RUN