Interview: YG Discusses Delayed Debut, West Coast Camaraderie & His Top 5 Albums

Twenty-two-year old YG is four mixtapes deep into his rap career, but still yearns for the taste of his first album’s impending success. YG is signed to Def Jam and has had the backing of the hip-hop label since his 2010 debut single “Toot It and Boot It.” His latest mixtape, 4 Hunnid Degreez (hosted by DJ Drama & DJ Ill Will), features joint efforts with Dom Kennedy, Casey Veggies, 2 Chainz, Nipsey Hussle, Tyga, Mac Miller and Kurupt. YG probably made his most popular appearance on LoveRance’s “Up (remix)” alongside 50 Cent. So what’s been going on between the mixtape releases and features? Read RESPECT.’s exclusive interview to find out.

I was looking on your Twitter recently and I see that you were rooting for OKC real hard.
Yeah, I’m an OKC fan. I’ve been rocking with them since the beginning of last year. Then, two of them, Westbrook is from L.A. and I be geeking with them. I know them, so they like the homies. So I’m rockin’ with them.

So even more so than the Lakers?
I’m not a Laker fan, I’ve never been a Laker fan.

What’s in the works for you right now?
Right now I’m in the studio working on another mixtape. I ain’t got a release date for the album, yet, but we’re just working. We’re shooting new videos, I got the 4Hunnid Degrees tour for my mixtape. We gonna start that at the top of July.

What is that vibe with Def Jam, as far as finally getting that debut album out? Is it them trying to push the album back more, or perhaps it’s a timing issue?
Nah, nah, nah. I pushed it back. I told my team that I wanted to push the album back more because I’m not where I wanna be at for my first album. I told my team that I’m not [yet] ready for this. I wanna put out an album that everybody’s gonna talk about when I die and I feel like I’m not there right now. So I’m gonna work on this mixtape, work on getting my buzz. You see, you can’t put an album out without no singles. If I don’t put out a single, then I’m really not putting out an album.

How would you describe your sound?
The streets say that my sound is ratchet. You feel me? My sound is L.A. It’s West Coast. I don’t like the term ‘New West Coast,’ but it’s the new sound.

Speaking of West Coast, how important is it to you to maintain camaraderie with other West Coast artists?
It’s only important if you’re talking about another artist who I have respect for. That’s important. But some of the West Coast artists? I just don’t give a fuck about some of ‘em. Some of them is hoes. The ones that I respect what they’re doing, with their [own] lanes and all that, the ones just doing them. Nipsey Hussle, Dom Kennedy, Kendrick Lamar, Casey Veggies and all them niggas? I respect them. I make sure that every mixtape I put out or when I have a show in L.A., I make sure that somebody come out on my show or I’m doing a show with them or we gonna shoot a video or something. That’s the type of shit I do.

What would you say the goals are for your music career?
YI really want my first album to go platinum, but it’s hard as fuck for anything to go platinum nowadays. I want it to go gold, but I’m pushing [for] platinum.

As far as your debut album is concerned – I’m sure you’re thinking about it constantly. Do you see yourself having other West Coast acts on the album, or do you want it to be a completely solo album?
When my album comes out, I’m definitely gonna have some artists that I fuck with on the West Coast on my album. I’ve got to. West Coast is back, so I’m not just gonna be on my album by myself. I’m puttin’ on for myself and the West Coast. So I’m trying to involve everybody in the things that I do.

Do you feel a lot of pressure to continue staying relevant?
Nah. It’s no pressure. The hardest part, to me, is gonna be the album. This shit will be my first album. It has to be right. I want that shit to be classic. It really don’t be hard, but you make it hard on yourself because you’re thinking about it so much.

Do you consider yourself to be a lyricist?
Yeah. I consider anybody who raps and tells a story a lyricist. You feel me? If your picture can be painted and understood, then you’re a lyricist. That’s how I understand it.

With the 4Hunnid Degrees mixtape, you said that you compared your growing up to how the Hot Boyz grew up. Is that correct?
Yeah, my lifestyle was really what it is. Straight shit, real shit. What I’m talking about is the same that they were talking about: females, money, sex, stuff from the hood. It’s the same kind of lifestyle: the cars, the jewelry, the clothes and all that.

In what ways do you see your music evolving in the next couple of years?
I think it’s gonna grow as I grow up. I’m only 22 years old. As I start to do different things, I’ll see my music change. For now I’m young, and that’s what my music is.

When it comes to other west coast cats – Dom Kennedy, Casey Veggies, the entire TDE camp – why do you think you all have your own specific lane and your own specific die hard fans?
It’s who we are and what we choose to rap about. They call my shit ratchet, so I get the party crowd…but I want everybody to feel me, not just the club shit. It really comes down to who you are as a person. That’s how I see it. My fans are different from Dom’s, Kendrick’s and all theirs. I think they got the same type of fans, because they make the same type of music. Not the same sound, but the laid-back music and shit. My shit is some turnt up shit.

Since you were featured on the XXL Freshman cover a couple years back, how has that affected your career for better or for worse?
I know I’m getting more fans because of it. The XXL cover is just an official stamp for me coming out. Some people feel like that it’s kind of messed up because it’s pressure, because you really have to come out soon. You’ve got to start buzzin’ soon. Everybody has their time; you just gotta put your time in.

What do you need to make music?
I just need a producer, a big ass studio with big ass speakers on the wall, and that vibe. Bottles, alcohol, weed, whatever and females. A lot of females. I need all that in the studio because that’s what I make music about, females, homies, the hood. I can do it without it around me, but when it’s around, it’s real. Shit just be coming to me as I watch what’s going on.

Do you think there will ever be a West Coast collaborative album?
I hope there’s gonna be something like that real soon. Me and Nip are working on a mixtape right now, on some NWA-type shit, but we don’t have a release date on that yet. And Tyga gonna be involved in there as well.

When you say some NWA-type stuff, is it because it’s a collaborative type thing or because of the content?
It’s the group thing. You feel me? Even though we’re not from the same city, though. The people are gonna see it as the new NWA, but not on the content. The music will be the way it already is.

What would you say are the top five albums that influenced you?
Carter I, Carter II, Carter III, and both of Drake’s two albums: Thank Me Later and Take Care. Those are my top five albums, but I got more, though. Game’s Tha Doggumentary, I could name all types of albums. It’s just good music. You know how somebody make an album and then they make another album, but their first album was better? The second album is still good, but the first album was better? I’ll like somebody’s first album and I’ll still rock with their second album because I make music and I know you can’t make a second album like your first album.