Atlanta MC is bringing a nine-piece band to the Lil Wayne-headlined tour.
By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Sway Calloway
Young Jeezy talks to Sway during America’s Most Wanted Tour rehearsals
Photo: MTV News
SCRANTON, Pennsylvania — No sleep till … Scranton? Young Jeezy spent all night recording his Thug Motivation 103 LP, then flew out early Monday morning (July 27) to Pennsylvania for the opening of Young Money Presents: The America’s Most Wanted Music Festival.
Young went straight from the plane to the Toyota Pavilion stage to practice for Monday night’s kickoff. The bill features Jeremih, the just-added Pleasure P, Drake, Jeezy and headliner Lil Wayne.
“It’s definitely a bigger plateau,” the Snowman said, just a few hours before the show, comparing it to previous stage treks like the Georgia Power and Street Dreams tours. “Me and Wayne went on my Street Dreams Tour. That’s two and half, three years ago. This is our third time being out. But this is amphitheaters — it’s outside, so you have a whole different feel.”
Jeezy said that while his crowds have grown more diverse over the years, he still raps for his environment when he gets on the mic.
“Yeah, I still do it for where I came from, I do it for the ‘hood every time,” Young said. “But it’s good to see [a new audience]. It’s broadening, every year, every time. To be doing it here — we in PA, man. This looks different. I’m just ready to see what the crowd is gonna be like. How they gonna feel. It looks like energy already.”
Jeezy was impressed with the size of the stage as well as the intricate sets that will take place on it. Young also said his game is being stepped up for this five-week festival run.
“For the most part, you gotta really be creative at this point,” he said. “I been doing this five, six years strong. You gotta switch the show up a little bit. I brought the band out. I got a eight-, nine-piece band. I’mma go in.”
A few years ago, even Jeezy couldn’t imagine himself backed by live instrumentation onstage.
“It sounds crazy, but I got a lot of musical music,” he said. “Despite all the ghetto classics I got, I got music. I wanted to present it as music. Especially since I’m working on a new album, and that’s kinda where I’m going with [the sound]. I wanted to get them started early. But this feels right. This is the plateau to put that on and you give it to them.”
Related Photos
Related Artists
. 
