Atlanta rapper Jeezy penned a touching social-media tribute to his mother, Mary Jenkins, who was buried on Wednesday.
“You taught me to be a man when I was a boy,” he wrote on Instagram. “Made me man up [and] be a father when I was a kid. Raised me to be a natural born leader when I was lost. You lifted me when I was down. Inspired me when I had no inspiration. Always told me I was Bigger than my circumstances.”
“My Super Hero,” he called Jenkins.
Jeezy shared his gratitude for her support: “When I had nothing or no one, I had you.”
“You was hard on me. I thank you for that,” he wrote. “You gave me confidence when I didn’t have any. Made me feel like I can put the world on my back and walk barefoot. You never judged or down talked my dreams. Or my downfalls. You just encouraged.”
The rapper, whose real name is Jay Wayne Jenkins, also shared heartfelt acknowledgment of his older brother, Michael, who passed away as a baby. Jeezy also promised to continue to make his mother proud and pledged support for his younger sister, Katrina.
“Rest in Heaven our Queen,” he concluded.
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Born in Columbia, South Carolina, Jeezy had a tumultuous relationship with his mother in his youth after she became addicted to drugs. However, Jenkins had been clean for years at the time of her death and was reportedly a doting parent and grandparent. Her cause of death was not revealed.
Jeezy told “The Breakfast Club” in 2019 his mother had been battling health challenges and expressed regret that he couldn’t do more for her.
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“I took a lot of my time trying to come up, trying to take care of everybody. I didn’t really take the time to be a son,” he said. “Now, she’s not well, so when I see people moving around taking their mothers on tour or on vacation, doing things, it’s like, ‘Damn, I gotta go see my mother in this place.'”
“It hurt,” admitted Jeezy, “because I missed all that time. I can’t get none of it back. I didn’t get nothing but some money, so I didn’t really gain much. I lost my mom, but I thank her every day for giving me morals.”
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