Compton rapper YG is promoting his debut album, My Krazy Life, an album, like so many others, which embodies the spirit of the west side hip-hop anecdotal music ratchet, with appearances from Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Lil Wayne, and Drake among others.
YG’s story will be familiar a one, even to the less inclined of gangsta rap disciples, with comparisons to Kendrick’s Good Kid, m.A.A.d City (and it’s a tale of a journey from sin to repentance among the temptations of California), not being a far cry off thematically.
Similar to Kendick’s GKMC, My Krazy Life is based a day in the life of YG, with the fundamental embellishments to boot, a house invasion, dangerous liaisons with women and even nagging parents getting on YG’s nerves (damn, the things these rappers have to endure).
Admittedly, YG takes a rougher approach and lacks the intricacies that Kendrick revels in, but this can be a good thing at times.
YG’s in-your-face approach tonight, manages to break the homogenous mold of contemporary major artists by retaining a characteristic sense of local identity, however, there is a fine line, which is sometimes crossed tonight.
There are two sides to the coin tonight, with the sincere and positive aspects and the more vulgar and derogative lyrical compositions jarring throughout the set.
With a mix of young’uns who have ditched the blunts, PS4 controllers, and their other-worldly existence, that is, stealing cars, buying hookers and robbing dudes at point blank during their Grand Theft Auto sprees, they have finally left mums basement and picked up the posse in their boy racers.
That’s not to say there aren’t genuine fans of the genre dispersed among the cap wearing, suburbanite-console-dwellers, who are happy living within an existence of the vicarious microcosmic gansta-rap, and mixing it with the drudgery of their real life events.
The first words rapped by YG tonight are about his home city and his block and gang affiliations.
“N***a I’m from BPT west side, 400 Spruce Street,” with, YG repeating the hook over a typically sparse and chilling DJ Mustard beat, somehow imbued with twenty years worth of Cali gangsta rap.
Throughout the set Mustard mixes seductive funk-tastic synth drones, which resound in the foreground while a creeping piano motif lingers in the back, this is especially evident in ‘BPT’.
It’s both deeply referential and rebelliously modern, but never anything less than 100% West Coast.
Kicking straight in to ‘I Just Wanna Party’ sets the mood with a somewhat confusing lyrical assault that inspires the vibe: “but I just wanna party, I don’t wanna hurt nobody,” descending into YG’s darker admission that “but I’ll beat the fuck out of a n***a”.
Another highlight from tonight is the infectiously catchy ‘My N***a’ and Glasgow are treated to the explicit version, though hopefully the irony is not lost within the crowd tonight.
We have come a long way form the misogynistic days of Bodycount’s Strippers, and their aptly titled ‘Evil D**k’, and as YG is not one for subtlety, he should perhaps think about pulling in the reins ever so slightly.
The set is a mismatch of original workings and cliché-ridden derogatoriness, it’s a mixed bag tonight, but the potential is definitely there.
Words: Derek Robertson
