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A generation of day-one Jeezy fans dressed to impress for the opening night of the Snowman's "TM: 101 20th Anniversary Live Tour."
Thousands of people flooded the James L. Knight Center on Friday night, June 27, for a black tie affair that celebrated 20 years of hits by the Atlanta native. DJ Drama warmed up the crowd with a mix of hits from the seasoned trap star. Once the countdown on stage expired, the Color of Noize orchestra, led by Derrick Hodge and Adam Blackstone, opened the show with a beautiful rendition of Simply Red's "If You Don't Know Me By Now" before Jeezy came out to "Standing Ovation."
Following a montage of memorable throwback photos, Jeezy came out wearing a white tuxedo jacket, black pants, and a black bow tie as he belted out classic tracks from Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101. He performed popular cuts from his commercial debut album like "Let's Get It/Sky's The Limit," "Thug Motivation 101," "Get Ya Mind Right," "Air Forces" and "Trap or Die." The sold-out crowd went wild the second the Color of Noize kicked off the intros to beloved hits like "And Then What," "Soul Survivor," and "Go Crazy." Jeezy delivered bars from each banger as if he had just released them. In between songs, the 47-year-old artist spoke to the fans and reflected on making the album 20 years later.
"20 years... we celebrating 101," Jeezy told the crowd. "I remember writing that muthaf**ka... 20 years of Thug Motivation 101, 20 years of motivation... that was some of my thought process. But my first thought process was... I want y'all to think about where you were 20 years ago, and where the f**k you at right now. That's what we celebrating tonight."
Throughout the show, Jeezy took fans back to highlights of his early career, from his platinum plaques to his all-star collaborations with JAY-Z and T.I.. He also rehashed the lowest points of his life, including his handful of arrests, the death of his late mother, his recent divorce from Jeannie Mai and his legal battle with his former managers, Solomon Fornie and Eddie Bridgeman. He lightened the mood by shouting out his children before he turned the orchestra-based performance into a gangsta party.
With DJ Ace on the turntables, DJ Drama and Jeezy advised the crowd to loosen their ties and let their hair down as he got into some of his well-known collaborations like Fabo's "Spaceships On Bankhead" and JT's "Okay." He even performed other fan favorites like "I Luv It," "SupaFreak," "Lose My Mind," and "All There" with the late Bankroll Fresh.
Jeezy is taking his "TM: 101 Live" show to 22 cities all around the country. The tour will continue through the beginning of the fall with his final show in Detroit. Check out more scenes from the opening night of Jeezy's "TM: 101 20th Anniversary Live Tour" below.