YG has become like West Coast rap royalty over the years. From the most addictive DJ Mustard hits to grizzled street anthems, he has timeless records within his catalog. However, like most artists within the music industry, he got jaded. Eventually, he went through the motions and did what he was told to by the label. Music became just another job after a while.
Admittedly, the Still Brazy rapper told DJ Hed that he would phone it in, releasing albums at a faster rate in hopes he would get out of his deal. However, one superstar friend insisted he doesn’t tarnish his legacy in that way.
“I was talking to Dot, I’m playing him the album and sh*t… I’m telling him about what I was doing, like putting out albums just to get out the deal ’cause my deal was f*cked up,” YG said. “He [Kendrick] was like, ‘Bro, you ain’t never supposed to do that. The music cannot [be low effort]. You gotta give it your all every time.’”
Because of Kendrick Lamar and his crucial advice, he said that his upcoming album, The Gentleman’s Club, is a lot more intentional. Essentially, he’s looking to make up for lost time from when he stuck his head in the sand, telling DJ Hed that he’s “coming for everything.”
Kendrick Lamar Told YG to Never Make Albums Just To Get Out of a Record Deal
Those ambitions led the West Coast legend to make a concept album this time. He admitted that he hadn’t felt this proud of an album in 10 years. “It’s a real storyline. From beginning to end when you listen to it, it’s gonna feel like a world… I feel like none of my albums since ‘My Krazy Life’ and ‘Still Brazy’… It had no substance really around the records,” YG said. “The goal of this album, I’m coming for my respect. I know I did it to myself, so I gotta get this sh*t back up out the mud.”
This renewed sense of purpose was manifested in one of the songs leading up to the album “2004”. There, YG candidly rapped about sexual abuse he received at a young age and how it radically altered his worldview.
“When I was young, I got raped by a b***h twice my age,” he spits. “Ever since that day, I never looked at s**t the same.” Then, he raps elsewhere, “A b***h took advantage of me, I ain’t got no trust. The h*e was thirty years old, and I never told… I knew this wasn’t regular as I grew up.”
The post YG Got Advice From Kendrick Lamar That Stopped Him From Making the Biggest Mistake of His Career: ‘You Ain’t Never Supposed To Do That’ appeared first on VICE.
