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Young Jeezy: 'If Tupac Gave Me a Bike, I'd Be a Harvard Grad'

Posted Dec 14th 2011 11:05AM by Nadine Graham
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Prince Williams, FilmMagic

Christmas is weeks away and Young Jeezy is finally gifting fans with his fourth album 'TM103,' set for release Dec. 20. As the holiday rolls around, the Atlanta native looks forward to giving more than he receives. But as he looks back on the season where gifts reign supreme, following Christmas traditions wasn't really something his family participated in once he hit adolescence.

"They tried to do the best they could but you know I ain't gon' front," he tells The BoomBox. "I never really sat down and had a lot of family dinners. Our family didn't really get together like that."

To engage in more of a Cosby family lifestyle, the 34-year-old would head to grandma's house to see what was under the tree. "Everybody used to go over to my grandmother's house, that was the biggest thing we ever did," he reveals. "Go over there and get the rest of your presents... Because you know, grandma gon' have the rest of the s---, then it got to a point where I was so young but so grown, the presents stopped coming, you know? [laughs] I was 12, and they were like, 'N----, you grown now. S---, what you want?'"

Presents or not, Jeezy tends to play Santa for those around him. Before he became a rap success with his debut LP, 'TM101,' he donated gifts to kids like him, who grew up seeing little on Christmas morning. He's kept that tradition going through his Street Dreams Foundation, one of his proudest accomplishments to date.

"I would rent out the gymnasium in local neighborhoods and go and buy all the kids bikes, clothes and shoes," he shares. "I've been doing it every year since. That's why I give back a lot, it ain't really about the [publicity] or whatever. I just feel like if Tupac came and gave me a bicycle, I'd be a Harvard graduate right now."

Watch Young Jeezy's 'F.A.M.E.' Feat. T.I.

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