Photo:Gwizy.com

I’m picking Young Jeezy as the Xplosive World Artist of the Year not only for his contributions to the hip-hop industry through music, but also for standing up as a true leader in the hip-hop community. To put it simply; Jeezy did everything right this year. The artist who was once most notorious for his gritty tales of moving drugs in Atlanta, showed the world that he wasn’t as simple-minded as people may have believed.

Young Jeezy emerged as one of the strongest voices in the hip-hop community as he declared his support for Barack Obama. It was tough to get a picture of Jeezy this year that didn’t feature the artist wearing an Obama t-shirt, but his work wasn’t limited to his choice in wardrobe. Jeezy took action and made sure members of his community were registered to vote. He used his star-power for a great cause and didn’t let anything, including the release of his album The Recession, knock him off-course while working to achieve his goal of an Obama presidency.

Although Jeezy spent more time stumping for Obama than promoting The Recession, the album still debuted at #1 on the Billboard Charts and moved over 250K units during its first week of release.

He released the infectious street anthem “Put On”, one of the year’s biggest records that featured Kanye West with his auto-tuned flow and then Jay-Z put down one of his best verses of the year on the remix. The single earned Jeezy a Grammy Nomination for best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.

His collaboration with Usher on “Love in the Club” was another one of the biggest records of the year, this time on the R&B side of the charts.

But it was Jeezy’s collaboration with Nas on “My President is Black”, which is already a certified classic hip-hop record- as many have had it on repeat since November 4th and will surely continue through Obama’s Inauguration Ceremony.

Jeezy’s album title,The Recession, appropriately summarized the problems affecting America throughout the year. Unlike other artists who chose to ignore the problem and continue promoting their lavish lifestyles, Jeezy got knee deep in helping his own community by participating in a number of charitable efforts.

Even after Obama was declared victorious, Jeezy continued to flex his muscle in the political arena by joining fellow Atlanta hip-hop superstars Ludacris and T.I. to campaign for Georgia Senate Candidate Jim Martin (see Atlanta Hip-Hop Stars Rally For Georgia Senate Candidate). Although Martin would lose the race, a clear statement was made that Jeezy and other hip-hop artists now understood their power in the political process.

Young Jeezy is my pick for 2008 Artist of the Year for redefining the term role model as it should apply to hip-hop artists. He inspired a variety of other artists to follow his lead and become more involved in their community and became a model citizen without losing an ounce of street credibility. Jeezy has now released 3 albums and still continues to gain momentum. At this pace, 2008 may not be the last time Jeezy gets consideration for the Artist of the Year award, as he doesn’t appear to be taking a vacation anytime soon.