Young Jeezy speaks his own language

This story is about an Atlanta rapper who says he raps for the streets that gave him his start, not the mainstream media where stories like this reside.

Yes, he appreciates the nods history-making Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has given him in the national media, naming him as one of the eight influences for the eight gold medals he won in Beijing.

And yes, he's added his voice to records by such first names in mainstream music as Usher ("Love in This Club"), Mariah Carey ("Side Effects") and Kanye West ("Can't Tell Me Nothing").

But of his many peers who profess this same "goal," it's easier to believe this million-selling artist really trades on speaking directly to the people who know his guttural signature growl — "Yeeeeaaaah!" They understand why his downtown Atlanta store is called 8732, and his Atlanta record label, CTE.

Granted, they may not be you.

But hold on — just in time for Tuesday's release of what will probably be the No. 1 album in the country next week — Young Jeezy's "The Recession" — here is a quick vocabulary lesson from Jeezy himself:

• CTE. Corporate Thugs Entertainment. "With me and [manager] Kinky B, before the clothing line, before the music, before the label, that stood for something: We wanted to handle business like corporate America, but not lose the streets," says Jeezy. "That's why, while you see me in the Boost Mobile commercials, I'm still being me.

"And as for CTE, the label, I want to see it become the next big label. The next Def Jam. I know that may seem far-fetched, but that's what I'm working to make happen."

• 8732. "The name of my store on Auburn Avenue. Everybody please come out and support it. It's right there with the people. ... And yes, it is USDA spelled out on the phone."

• USDA. "United States D-Boys of America. And I named my site usda2day[.com] because I was thinking, 'How can I do something that will make my street music consumer go to the computer?' Because most cats dealing with the Internet aren't thinking about the street element, or appealing to them. They may talk about it, but they don't want it. I do. I have things on there that made me want to pick up magazines when I was in the streets. There are certain topics, certain issues, we're going to zero in on and deal with best."

• "Go Getta." "Everybody's talking about that song [with R&B singer R. Kelly] again, now that Michael Phelps is talking it up. Everybody knows what a go-getter is. I just say and spell it my way."

• Jeezy. "People have just been calling me that, for maybe eight years, mostly because of the voice," says the artist born Jay Jenkins. "It's pretty gravelly ... some say bluesy; they say Jeezy. What's wild is my son has it, too."

(Interestingly, Jeezy almost lost his voice earlier in his career. "When I came in the game, I didn't know people who had done music for real. Who knew how to record and how to perform. So I was out there yelling at the top of my lungs for like the first year and a half. And I did a lot of damage to my vocal cords.")

• 100. "I use that a lot — and I don't say it to be ignorant, or keep it hood, or whatever the slang is. The block — I've done that. Now I'm just trying to keep it real with myself. And that means not making music where I'm compromising myself. Not following trends. Being authentic to me and my people. If I can look at myself and know that I haven't done [anything] crazy, or compromised my son, that's keeping it 100."

• "Put on." Also used in the chorus of his current Billboard Top 5 R&B/Hip-Hop and Rap single: "I 'Put On' for my city!" "It's Atlanta slang," he explains. "Kind of like showing out. Doing the most. Going all out. Everywhere I go, I represent Atlanta and I try to do it to the best of my ability. I put on for my city!"

• Trap/Trap Star. "Literally, a star or celebrity or name everybody knows in the trap — the trap being a place where people do business in the streets. And if you get caught up in it, hey, it could be a trap."

• "The Recession." "I don't know how this president defines it, or how he says we're not in it — then again, I'm quite sure he wouldn't know. Anyway, I'm just meeting the people, the streets, where they are — in 'The Recession' — hard times. ... A time where you could look at a young man doing something great, like just getting out of college, and still not be surprised that he ain't looking so happy. Half of his family just lost their jobs. The other half is worried they're about to lose their jobs.

"But 'The Recession' is not that direct. It's more subliminal. Something, like I said, that meets people where they are; and musically, hopefully, helps them through. 'Thug Motivation' part three."

• Thug Motivation. "What I do ... yeah, it's in the titles of my first two albums ['Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101'; 'The Inspiration: Thug Motivation 102'], but it's basically what I do. What I'm here for. That's what I'm good at. People try to question my lyricism, but how can they really do that when night after night, 3, 4, 5,000 are reciting my whole album. I'm connecting. I'm motivating. [Laughs] I'm talking to the streets here, and even Michael Phelps is getting it in Beijing!"