These days literacy seems
in decline, but rapper Young Jeezy aims to do his part in getting youth to read
as the Boyz N Da Hood member prepares to release a book called "Thug Motivation
101."
Named after his upcoming
solo debut, the book will encourage and challenge the notion that kids don’t
like to read.
"They might not read,
because there isn’t anything interesting," Jeezy told AllHipHop.com. "You
know, they read magazines or whatever, but n***as don’t take time to sit down
and analyze s**t, break s**t down. When it’s somebody that you are interested
in, you sit down and take that time."
According to a literacy
initiative by the United Nations, 860 million adults world wide are illiterate
and over 100 million children don’t go to school.
In the U.S., many youth
are performing under par, but Jeezy hopes to have some impact and educate with
his motivational guide for the Hip-Hop generation.
Primarily know for slick
raps, Jeezy said that the book offers him the chance to speak to a different
audience at greater lengths.
"With songs, you can
only put [in] so much," Jeezy said. "In books, you can get into details
and this is like a little manual. [This is] a survival guide, inspirational
s**t, because it’s rough out there."
And as Boyz N Da Hood Bad
Boy opus hit stores, Jeezy is making plans on another business front with The
Snowman Clothing Line.
The line is based on the
frowning snowman logo Jeezy dons on his platinum necklace pendent and on T-shirts
throughout the south.
"I’m about to hit them
in the head with that," Jeezy said of the clothing line. "I ain’t
gonna be doing no s**t just to be doing it. I’m going to make sure my s**t is
real fire."
Boyz N Da Hood’s self titled
debut hit stores today (June 21).