My Krazy Life by YG: A Look Back

A look back at the success and themes of YG's Def Jam debut.

“The Chronic 2001, 50’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’, Biggie’s Ready to Die… and Doggystyle.”

There are genuinely more modest influences with which you could rewrite your debut album. Not so Young Gangsta alias YG, who impressively proves in congenial cooperation with his producer DJ Mustard that hell is still going on in Compton’s streets.

“Keenon! Keenon Daequan Ray, motherf**king Jackson! I hope you ain’t outside hanging with them gangbangers! You gon’ end up in motherf**king jail, like your damn daddy!”

The calls of the desperate mother go unheard; YG has pulled it to the streets where all the stories have their origin, which not only fascinated the hip-hop world for decades but also does not bore, thanks to albums like My Krazy Life.

From the moment the G-Funk synthesizers are used in the opener “BPT,” only one thing applies: the law of Bompton—more specifically, 400, Spruce Street, the Tree Top Pier Bloods domain. Continuing the tradition of many West Coast classics, the album focuses extensively on production. Contrary to what advanced singles such as “My Ni**a” or “Left, Right” suggest, this is deeply rooted in the great deeds of previous heroes such as Snoop Dogg or Eazy-E.

“Bicken Back Being Bool” with its threatening outro, the hook of “Meet the Flockers” characterized by foggy synth sounds, or the driving “Really Be (Smokin’ N Drinkin’)” are just the most urgent examples of this. Of course, the sound of DJ Mustard lives anything but in the past. It would probably only be half as exciting. Mustard mixes a powerful pinch of strip club sound à la “Rack City” into the whole thing to counteract this.

An almost ridiculously out-of-place violin in “Left, Right” on monstrous bass? Works. The standard recipe, on the other hand, consists of the Mustard trademark snare and supercooled piano loops. It may sound trivial, but it goes into the ear like no other and gets stuck. “Mustard on the beat, hoe!” just.

However, YG also sets standards on the mic. An unparalleled presence, an extraordinary sense of melodic flows, memorable phrasing, and distinctive slang (just not a “C” [rips]), embedded in the most credible hood tales in a long time. Logically, YG does not reinvent the often-tried gangsta story. The direction of the plate unmistakably indicates violence on the streets of Compton, women, drugs, and internal.

My Krazy Life tells a 24-hour plot that finds the perfect middle ground between one-dimensionality and entangled metaphor. The best insight into the life of Keenon Jackson can be obtained in disarmingly radical tracks of the cheating anthem “Do It to Ya,” including Tha Dogg Pound inserts or the returned treading instructions “Meet the Flockers.” “Me & My B*tch” and “1AM” show how fragile the overall construct is in truth.

The latter is tough to beat in drama. On a sluggish instrumental, YG and consorts roll “on dubs through the streets and pay Dr. Dre respect. But then suddenly everything goes very fast. The gang storms the next best donut shop and clears the cash register. In complete leverage over what has been captured, the boys become careless. “Let’s hurry up and leave/I feel the police near us.” Too late. At least for YG. The colleagues leave him behind while his handcuffs click.

That’s how it can work in Compton. The infamous city has become the focal point in rap again since Kendrick’s good kid, m.A.A.d city at the latest, and YG and DJ Mustard are helping to carry that wave.