Jeezy released his first independent album, Thuggin’ Under the Influence (T.U.I.), in 2001 under the name Lil J. It featured artists such as Freddy J., Kinky B, Fidank, and Lil Jon, who also produced some of the tracks.
In 2003, Jeezy released (also independently) Come Shop wit Me, a two CD set featuring completely new tracks with some songs from T.U.I. Jeezy signed with Bad Boy Records in 2004 and joined the group Boyz n da Hood, whose self-titled album was released in June 2005 and peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 albums charts.
