The mixtape was grittier and unvarnished with its hustler's mentality devouring everything in sight. The distinction comes into focus with Jeezy's Trap or Die mixtape and the album it birthed, Thug Motivation 101. On tapes, rappers were allowed to color outside of the lines - reimagining beats that their peers glided over commercially, while making sure they were prioritizing their core base's wants and needs. At that point, mixtapes and albums had clear lines of distinction, but both had equal significance to an artist's credibility. When Young Jeezy came onto the scene, hip-hop was at a special intersection of underground and mainstream culture. With cadences that never feel duplicated and production that translates as pure, unvarnished crunk, Savage Life encapsulates Southern rap at its most indefatigable. He's consistent in his imperturbable nature, choosing to turn up when and how he sees fit and keeping the momentum hurtling forward from song to song. On 'How U Ridin',' he asserts dominance through his cars, and on 'Mind Ya' Business,' he applies pressure to his enemies in a flurry of taunts. Save for a handful of detours to speak directly to the women listening - with tracks like the desirous lead single 'Give Me That' and the timeless twerk anthem 'Like That,' which has been interpolated by underground artists like SpaceGhostPurrp and Robb Bank$ and mainstream supernovas like Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé (who's actually shouted out on the song) - most of the album is spent flexing on his contemporaries.

Arrogant, self-assured and subtly menacing, the Baton Rouge rapper wanted it to be known that he was an MC to be taken seriously. 'Tell me what you know about me? W-E-B-B-I-E.' It's the first bar Webbie spits on his debut solo album, Savage Life, and his attitude even in that short introduction immediately sets the tone for the rest of the album.

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