The trap rap king joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday to explain why his new book, "Adversity For Sale: Ya Gotta Believe" offers better keys to success for the average American than most "get rich" books.

Jeezy's leaning in to his early days as a young hustler on the streets of Atlanta -- but says, even back then, he had an idea about where he wanted to end up ... and how music would help him get achieve that.

Along the way, he became one of the biggest forces to ever dominate hip hop ... yet, Jeezy told us he's always been entrepreneurially minded, succeeding in real estate, business ownership and philanthropy. He says rap just happens to be what got his foot in the door.

He hopes his book will influence inner-city youth living in violent surroundings, and show them there is a path to prosperity for them.