Jeezy’s mixtape catalog has reached legendary status, and the trap music innovator recently took a moment to flex an important milestone. Yesterday, Jeezy celebrate the ten-year anniversary of his classic The Real Is Back, his tenth mixtape and one that found him reuniting with his longtime collaborator DJ Drama. In addition to Drama, the project featured guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Fabolous, Freddie Gibbs, 2 Chainz, and many more.
Having officially been out and resonating for a decade now, Jeezy whipped up a quick tribute to the post on his IG page, highlighting the album cover in the process. “10 years ago today me a @djdrama created a classic,” he captions, sparking a wave of nostalgic comments and reflections from his followers — at least, those who aren’t sexually charged Instagram bots. Suffice it to say, there are plenty who still appreciate The Real Is Back, to the point where it might be viewed among the most important chapters in Jeezy’s mixtape discography.
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While not entirely related, the ten-year anniversary of The Real Is Back arrives after DJ Drama opened up about his history working with Jeezy in an interview with Atlanta radio station Hot 107.9. As he told it, Jeezy was the first rapper to ever pay him for a mixtape, which happened to be Streets Iz Watching. Clearly, the decision to commit to one another’s creativity proved fruitful for both parties, as here we are, still celebrating one of their many classics to this day.
Ten years removed from the release of The Real Is Back, sound off with your favorite tracks in the comments section below.