YG first popped up on the radar with the 2009 song "Toot It And Boot It" featuring Ty Dolla $ign. While he was locked up serving a six-month sentence for a parole violation stemming from a home invasion, the Compton native saw the song steadily climb the Billboard charts. Once YG was released, he had several label options, eventually signing with Def Jam. As fans awaited his debut album, he began releasing mixtape after mixtape.
TDE may be leading Los Angeles at the moment, but YG has definitely made a lane for himself as of late, due in part to his 2013 single "My Nigga" featuring Jeezy and Rich Homie Quan. The repetitive and catchy single went platinum and spawned an all-star cast for the remix, carrying the song and YG's buzz to new heights. After a few push backs, delays and title changes, his debut album hits the shelves to much fanfare.
My Krazy Life opens up with an intro featuring his mother calling him out by his government name, warning him to stay away from "them gangbangers". This sets the thematic tone for the rest of the album, whereupon YG gives us a glimpse his daily life, defined by equal doses of survival and celebration. He proudly boasts where he's on "BPT", the opening track: "I'm a Westside get brackin' in the back like what's happnin' / That 40 glock snap like Insta, ain't no need for a caption / I got put on by four niggas, wasn't need for no bandage / I did my stuff like a young nigga, that’s how I'm supposed to handle it / Hamad threw a right, duck, hit him with the left, bop-bop!"
A storyteller at heart, YG's My Krazy Life is filled with tales of gangbanging, shootouts, parties, home invasions and having fun with the fairer sex. On "I Just Wanna Party", featuring Jay Rock and ScHoolboy Q, gang affiliations are set aside for the sake of having a good time. "Left, Right," which serves as the second single, is the perfect club banger or block party song. Also, Drake and YG trade bars to get our attention on "Who Do You Love?"
Just as Biggie gave a list of rules for selling crack-cocaine with the "Ten Crack Commandments", YG gives a play by play on what to do during a home robbery in "Meet The Flockers", featuring Tee Cee. Getting personal on "Me & My Bitch" with Tory Lanez, YG reveals the reason behind his trust issues with the opposite sex, detailing how much of a bitch karma can be. The "Thank God" interlude reenacts the phone call that was placed to YG's mom after he was pinched for home burglary.
Perhaps the most anticipated track is "Really Be (Smokin N Drinkin)" featuring Kendrick Lamar, which does not disappoint: "I woke up this morning, I had a boner / I went to sleep last night with no bitch, nigga, I was a loner / I be going through shit, losing bitches and homies / If I don't make it with this rap shit, nigga, I might be homeless / My moms don't got a job, my pop's checks ain't enough / If I ain't bringing home that money, my whole family is fucked / I swear I move like the mob, I'm watchin' movies too much / If niggas wanted you dead, what would you suggest?"
YG closes My Krazy Life out by paying homage to his mother on "Sorry Momma". With Terrace Martin on the saxophone, it's reminiscent of 2Pac's "Dear Mama": "I remember days we used to go to church / I used to fall asleep, that shit used to work your nerves / I remember when you had surgery / In a wheelchair hooked up to IV's that hurt me / You're like Superwoman in my eyes / You do a lot to be blind out of one eye / But you ain't let that hold you back / You wheeled on your marathon and ran your laps"
Comfortable working with the same producers he's worked with for years, DJ Mustard, Ty Dolla $ign, Metro Boomin', Terrace Martin, B. Wheezy and Chordz 3D all contributed with of course Mustard handling the bulk of production. Executive-produced by Jeezy, YG has put together a complete album that gives his fans a little bit of everything while taking us all along for a ride through his crazy life.