First, YG and DJ Mustard claim they have created the new Chronic, Dr. Dre's classic 1992 debut. Yeah, the same dudes that are responsible for "My Nigga." Now, I'm not a fucking idiot, so I'm not going into this album expecting an exact replica of Dre's masterpiece. Not only would I be taking the comparison too seriously, but I would also be setting myself up for guaranteed disappointment. Young Gangsta is never making a classic, but that little statement made me just curious enough to see how this would actually sounds.
Second, and this is ultimately a play off of my first reason, but the duo also say they are the modern day version of Dre and Snoop Dogg. YG is catering to a demographic that holds the two in at least somewhat high regards, so I would imagine that they have to have something up their sleeves. What exactly that is? Well, there's the other reason that I'm taking time out of my day to catch up on the krazy life of Keenon Jackson.
Even though we've been hearing the name for years now, this is actually YG's first official studio album. It was released on Def Jam, so the fact that it ever saw the light of day has to count for something, but it was also sent to shelves from the Jeezy's branch of the label. Jeezy himself is actually the man responsible for the Chronic comparisons, and to a degree, he's succeeded because I'd be lying if I said there was any other reason I'd be writing this right now. In addition to that, YG decided to take the road of what I guess can be classified as a concept album. He hails from the same city as Kendrick, so he'll be telling a story you've already heard before, but this time its from the viewpoint of our host.
But none of that even matters if the music isn't good...
1. Momma Speech Intro
The only thing that keeps this from being completely useless is that it's supposed to play intro the concept.
2. BTP
DJ Mustard's instrumental already sounds better than almost everything I've heard from before, as it actually sounds like the opening credits to someone's krazy life. Best of all, I didn't hear "aye, aye, aye" forty-eight thousand times. The actual verses, for the most part, aren't too bad either. YG sounds much improved behind the mic, and while his lyrics aren't all that special, (although they're far from bad) his flow is enough for me to consider this a complete win for the entire crew. Who knows where the hell the rest if this album will go, but for the moment, My Krazy Life is off to a very good start
3. I Just Wanna Party (feat. ScHoolboy Q & Jay Rock)
Here's an interesting one, and not just because it features two TDE artists. Unless YG is a full out studio gangster, I'm pretty sure the dude at least used to be a Blood. Same goes for Jay Rock, but ScHoolboy Q on the other hand is a proud Hoover Crip. That means two of the world's most notorious gangs have teamed up to make a pretty decent song. The hook gets a little repetitive, and Mustard's beat is a step down from the last song, but the real appeal comes from the rappers themselves. (fitting, considering this is a rap song) YG sounds alright, and ScHoolboy's verse is good, but in about forty seconds, Jay Rock chews up the previous two and a half minutes and spits it out, completely making this song his own. You know what else is funny? Jay Rock has never been featured on a song and not had the best verse. That's a trend that will continue for the rest of his career because Jay Rock is awesome. Seriously, go look for a song where he gets out-shined. I'll be hear waiting...
4. Left, Right (Feat. DJ Mustard)
Was DJ Mustard actually rapping on here? I'm sure he contributed on the vocals somewhere, but i didn't care enough to pay all that much attention. You know why? Because this song fucking sucks. This is the exact reason I didn't want to review this shit. YG likes bitches, great. I just don't see why he thought anyone would want to hear this. It might play into the concept, but no amount of brilliant story can save a terrible song. After the song, there's a little skit where YG making all words that start with C start with a B, in an attempt to shove it down your throats that he refuses to acknowledge Crips. Guess that cancels out the feel good story of the last song. Oh, well.
5. Bicken Back Being Bool
YG is back replacing C's with B's, but this time he does it at such a ridiculous rate that its actually really funny. Unfortunately, the song isn't up to par with the title. Some of Keenon's lyrics are interesting, as the story seems to be moving into the focus of his street life, but Mustard's beat doesn't do much to separate itself from the rest of his catalog, which sounds homogenous in the first place. Not awful, but I can take it or leave it. On the other hand, the long ass skit at the end goes a long way towards explaining the storyline for people that aren't that that good at paying attention to lyrics. (Most of YG's audience) Smart move.
6. Meet the Flockers (Feat. Tee Cee)
It's not a coincidence that up to this point, the best song on the album is the lone one not produced by DJ Mustard. My verdict is already in: he's not the modern day Dre. That being said, I have to respect his monopoly of Ratchet Music. Anyways, Mikey Adam's instrumental sounds like it could come right out of the Chronic, which is awesome, and YG's step-by-step instructions for robbing a house is actually pretty interesting. The line about Chinese people is sure to offend a couple people, but it was also funny, which is what really counts. The hook also shows that YG wasn't lying when he said My Krazy Life was heavily inspired by The Chronic. The guest feature is virtually useless, but I still dug the shit out of this song.
7. My Nigga (Feat. Rich Homie Quan & Jeezy)
Yeah, this song isn't very good. THANK YOU dude in the Immortal Technique shirt, I understand this is doing nothing but destroying our beloved genre. Unfortunately, I like it. This shit is arguably the catchiest song to drop in the past couple years, and if you disagree, you need to get over yourself. DJ Mustard's minimalistic magic works perfectly on here. Rich Homie Quan sounds fucking terrible, Jeezy isn't much better, and YG sucks too. Guess what? I still fucking like it. Funny how these things work out.
8. Do It To Ya (Feat. TeeFLii)
Ugh, its seems as though we've reached the dreaded R&B section where we pretend to care about YG's love life. As a result, the song is just as bad as my last sentence would have indicated. Rappers are going to talk about their various pursuits of happiness, that “happiness” being having sex: that's a given. But one would hope that they would make the topic sound much more interesting than on the damn near somber “Do It To Ya.” YG tosses around his sexual experiences as if he bored out of his mind, which makes me ask why he even participates in them. TeeFLii seems like he's really enjoying himself, but he's really not a very good singer, so I can't say I enjoyed his contributions either. If there's a saving grace, it's that the skit at the end literally made me "LOL".
9. Me & My Bitch (Feat. Tory Lanez)
I saw one critic compare this album to Get Rich Or Die Tryin'. I just want you all to know how inaccurate of a statement that is. 50's album hasn't aged all that well, but it's still a classic that forever changed the landscape of hip hop and music in general. My Krazy Life may be one of the most successful ratchet albums to be recorded, but to suggest that it will have that type of impact is down right disrespectful. If they're claiming that YG is bringing back gangsta rap, well I can't say he's hurting it, but Piñata has already done more for the subgenre. Oh, you want to know about the song? Biggie did it better.
10. Who Do You Love (Feat. Drake)
This is one of the greatest signs of YG's artistic growth. On "Who Do You Love", and most of the album now that I think about it, it sounds like YG song. It sounds weird, but whenever a young rapper invites someone as big as Drake onto a track, its almost a guarantee that the song will end up sounding more tailored for the guest. Here, Mustard brings Dizzy onto one of the hardest instrumentals he's rapped over in a while, which forces Aubrey to change up his style and rhyme like he did pre-Thank Me Later. Whether or not that's a good thing is up to you to decide, but its an impressive feat for "the modern day Dre and Snoop." The song itself is pretty good too and shows signs that we may have moved past the rough patch. Definitely better than I was expecting.
11. Really Be (Smokin' N Drinkin') (Feat. Kendrick Lamar)
Remember that one thing I said about YG making songs feel like his own? Yeah, that. This song in particular is to a lesser extent, but it still feels like Kendrick is stopping by the world of Mustard and YG, and not the other way around. K Dot's verse was still approximately fifty four times better than our host's, but in terms of the concept, its imaginable that Kendrick could be one of his friends helping out while they do bad shit. A friend that's really good at rapping. The hook gets even worse with every listen, but the beat makes up for the lackluster chorus. The instrumental is the most west coast sounding thing I've heard this far, so it was a real shocker that Ty fucking Dolla Sign co-produced it. Overall, its a good song and Kendrick's feature makes sense considering this album carries so many good kid, m.A.A.d. city influences. I'll still never get over YG's opening bars, though.
12. 1 AM
Damn, this might be my favorite shit on here. Metro Boomin' provides an instrumental that nicely sets the tone for YG's tale. He gives a general overview of the his childhood and relationship with his mother before going into a hook that I actually really enjoy. After that, though, Keenon starts a story that almost an exact replica of Kendrick's "The Art of Peer Pressure", as him and his buddy are driving away from the police while YG's mother is calling him, but before I got the chance to say that he was biting Kendrick, his friend fucking shoots his ass. Yup, they leave him right in the middle of the street and leave him for the cops. I'd be pretty damn pissed too.
13. Thank God (Interlude) (Feat. Big TC & R.G.)
Well guys, I've got good and bad news. For the good, YG survived the shooting, but unfortunately he was arrested and his friend has to call his mom and break the news that her son was arrested. Keenon is called up for his mugshot and we're given the image that is presented on the front cover. This isn't much of a song, but its a necessary update on a storyline that's actually much more of a narrative than I expected.
14. Sorry Mama (Feat. Ty Dolla Sign)
The mother dedication song was once one of the most powerful songs in all of hip hop, but has since become one of the world's corniest concepts. Of all the people in the fucking world to do it, YG makes it sound pretty good, which is ultimately the the biggest accomplishment of the album. This type of song is usually thrown in towards the middle, but My Krazy Life has been full of ratchet shit for its entire length, so the fact that YG chose to end the album with this feels like a weight lifted off everyone's shoulder. The opening verse is intense as hell and his mom even gets a voice in their argument, so there's much more of a conversational tone on here than expected. Not bad at all.
Rating: 3/5
My Krazy Life isn't bad. It's not particularity great, and I'm not encouraging you to go out of your way to purchase a copy, but YG seems to have delivered on his promise of making his collection of songs feel like an album. Most of the songs play some type of role in the loose storyline, which is ultimately why the album succeeds. Throughout what is supposed to be a single day in the life of Keenon Jackson, he robs a house, fucks his side hoe, has problems with his main bitch, gets shot by his friend, goes to jail, and ends up apologizing to his mother. It's not as insightful as good kid, m.A.A.d. city, but there's a moral to the story, and its entertaining for what it is. As a technician, YG isn't still very good, but there's an undeniable leap of improvement since he first appeared on the XXL cover. DJ Mustard on the other hand, doesn't improve. At all. To put it blunt, the dude fucking sucks and there's more artistic growth on Vanilla Ice's second album. He has a couple gems thrown in the mix, (although "BPT" is the only one I can think of right now) and I'm sure they'd sound better in a club, which is their obvious purpose, but the guest producers help My Krazy Life from losing control. Every time Mustard hands over the production duties, the beats end up resembling the sounds of The Chronic and Doggystyle, which I've said is their goal. So props to them on that. This album won't change the landscape of the genre as some people are saying it will, but it doesn't hurt the gangsta rap resurgence, and it reaches what is most likely the peak of "Ratchet Music", a sub-genre that I will most likely ignore for the rest of my life. I hate to say this type of thing, but this could have been a whole lot worse.