The success of 4Real 4Real built on the extraordinary year that YG enjoyed in 2018, centering on his RIAA gold Top 5 album, Stay Dangerous (August). The LP was buoyed by “Big Bank” featuring Nicki Minaj, 2 Chainz and Big Sean, one of the biggest singles of YG’s career, a triple-platinum #1 smash with over 197 million YouTube views to date. Stay Dangerous followed-up YG’s critically acclaimed Still Brazy (2016), hailed by the New York Times as “an artisanal, proletarian Los Angeles gangster rap record.” My Krazy Life ranked by Complex at #1, “a modern gangsta rap classic… a gust of fresh air… In an era when most albums feel rushed, My Krazy Life sounds like it was a lifetime in the making.” My Krazy Life contained the Top 5 Rap phenom “My N***a” featuring Jeezy and Rich Homie Quan (4x-platinum with over 332 million YouTube views); and the landmark Top 5 double-platinum “Who Do You Love?” featuring Drake (over 176 million YouTube views).
ABOUT YG:
Since emerging in 2009, YG has projected the voice of the streets into the mainstream and ultimately left a mark as a rapper, actor, entrepreneur, designer, and philanthropist. The Compton native has gathered nearly 10 billion streams, a dozen platinum and gold certifications, and various honors. He’s the rare maverick who can stand arm-in-arm with protestors one day, appear on-screen next to an Academy® Award winner the next day, and preside over a fashion runway on another day. He has landed four consecutive Top 10 debuts on the Billboard Top 200. Among numerous anthems with social implications, Billboard christened the politically charged “FDT” [feat. Nipsey Hussle] one of the “Songs That Defined the Decade.” In 2020, he fought back again with the anti-racist screed “FTP” and its music video of which Variety claimed, “If there’s a music video that captures the Black Lives Matter demonstrations of June 2020, it’s YG’s ‘FTP’.” He accompanied the reunited Public Enemy and an all-star cast of collaborators for a show-stopping performance of “Fight The Power” at the BET Awards in 2020.
Simultaneously, YG remains a pillar of the community. He donated $100,000 worth of food from his restaurant Fishbone Seafood in honor of Juneteenth. Additionally, he founded the nonprofit 4Hundred Waze. Among various initiatives, the nonprofit provided $10,000 in PPE to Los Angeles families hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic residing in Emergency Crisis Housing. Plus, he built a platform for buzzing artists such as Day Sulan with his 4HUNNID label in partnership with Epic Records. The 4HUNNID brand also comprises a clothing line of the same name co-owned by YG and creative director Gavin Mathieu. Infiltrating high fashion and occupying space in retailers such as Barneys, Zumiez, and more, the line amplifies his impact. Not to mention, the accomplished actor graced the big screen in White Boy Rick with Academy® Award winner Matthew McConaughey.