YG (December 2010) | Interview By: Jose Ho-Guanipa

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Interview was conducted in December 2010
 

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Related Media & Links
YG Twitter

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YG // Exclusive Video Interview // Dubcnn

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Dubcnn: Dubcnn.com I'm here with YG.

YG: It's ya boy YG, you already know what it is. Pu$haz Ink, you feel me, Def Jam, Pu$haz Ink the label. free the brodie PC.

Dubcnn: We're here with YG, he's has done a lot of stuff in a short amount of time. Part of the new face of the West Coast for the younger generation.

YG: Yep, West, West.

Dubcnn: He just wrapped up shooting a video for the remix for Toot It and Boot It.

YG: Yep, the remix of Toot It and Boot It. I just finished shooting it. Black Diamonds, shot it. It's featuring 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg. So if y'all ain't heard that motherfucker go on the internet and check it out. The video should be out really soon, give me a week or two, it's dope.

Dubcnn: I'm sure everyone knows about Toot It and Boot It and that song blew up, it blew you up. And now you're touring across the country, you're on songs with 50 Cent and doing big things for the West Coast. So tell us about how that whole process happened and how you got to where you are now.

YG: The whole process happened, boom, fuckin' trip. We went to the studio on some regular go to the studio shit. The homies told us to make a song called Toot it and Boot it, shout out to TC and Nano. We did that you feel me. TY singing on the hook, TY Jacaso, and Corus made the beat you feel me. We made the song a year before I got signed. We put the song out, made a little homemade video for it and shit. I went to jail for like four months. While I was in jail the homies was promoting me, Free YG and all that shit. Before I went to jail I made this song I made before I turned myself in called Free YG. We put it out right before I went to jail s the shit was blowing up when I went to jail. I got out of jail, three months later I got signed. The label wasn't trying to used Toot It and Boot It as my single so they had me in the studio trying to come up with another single. I was like nah, we should use this, but they was like ain't nobody at the office feelin' Toot It and Boot It. But they had me in the studio trying to make a new single. I took the song myself to the main radio station out here, which is Power 106. We had a mixer meeting and 5 of their DJs already knew me on some street shit, Yeah I've been playing your shit already. So I gave them the song, asked if they can play it and they played it at the New At 2 the same day. Since then the song been crazy. It's in New York, Miami. It's been the number one record out here on the West Coast for a minute. Thanks to Power 106, all the DJs out here, Brian Samson.

Dubcnn: You got that, did the remix with the some big artists and now you're about to drop another single what's that song gonna be?

YG: The song's called Patty Cake. It's produced by my DJ, DJ Mustard, it's a club song. It's gonna have all the females in the club wanna shake they ass, that type of shit. It's finna go down.

Dubcnn: Why do you think Toot It and Boot It took off so big and why do you think Patty Cake's gonna take off even bigger?

YG: Toot It and Boot It took off so big because first of all the song is catchy as a motherfucker, and the beat was good. Second of all it ain't been a young person from the West Coast in a long time to have a good song so I just think everybody out here was behind it because they ain't heard nobody from out here in along time. And I think Patty Cake gon' take off real big because the type of song it is, it's a club song. And it's a club every night. I feel like if you got club bangers you gonna survive in the music industry. That's how I started in this music industry. I started making club songs, so yea I gotta make it for the club right fast.

Dubcnn: Tell us about your team, you have the grassroots shit going on, that's how you got noticed and you still got it going on. Like Pu$haz Ink, tell us about that whole group and those guys supporting you really hard.

YG: My team called Pu$haz Ink, I came up with the idea and we made it September 2nd 2008. IT was me my homiepc, just finna get out, eh a artist too, he cold. The homie Ace and the homie Rudeboy. I came up with the idea of Pu$haz because we was having shows in Hollywood at little clubs in LA and we had a whole bunch of people with us all the time. So I was like hey we should make a promotion team with all the homies sand just give us a name so we could just go around promote our music. The next week after I came up with the name Pu$haz then the homie Ace came up with the Ink part then we put the Ink with the K because all got tattoos. But it's really incorporated, but we put the k because of the tattoos. Since that day we took over the streets and everybody in LA know about Pu$haz, they know about YG, if they don' they ain't nobody. People mamas know me out here it's crazy. They mamas be tryin' to talk to me out here. It's real crazy our here. I'm just out here doing my shit, Pu$haz Ink. Now I got a foot in the door I'm finna get Pu$haz in, which was a promotion team and turn it into a label and sign all the homies who I feel got what it take to be successful in this music industry. Yeah I'm finna do that, Pu$haz Ink the label we coming soon.

Dubcnn: Yeah you obviously got a lot of business smart to do that, a lot of people wouldn't eve know where to start. Being in the industry you've been in it, as far as dealing with the label, for about a year.

YG: Yeah I got signed about a year ago. I got signed in October of 09.

Dubcnn: have you come into any obstacles, were there any roadblocks, things not being as easy as you thought they would be?

YG: IT was a lot of road blocks, like when I had the problem with toot it and boot it being the single, that was a roadblock. I was lost at first I was tripping. They was trying to put me in the studio to make another single and they had picked a song that I thought was bullshit, it was wack. But I stay prayed up. I asked god for help and I just happened to be able to take my song up to power 106 at the mixer meeting . That's when they were like fosho we gonna play it. That was one of the hardest obstacles. And then I be havin' problems with management and shit, but right now my team is cold. We finna get this shit for real.

Dubcnn: Everything seems to be going well. Tell us what you think is gonna take you to the next level to become that superstar international type artist that I'm sure you want to be?

YG: I dunno, I just gotta keep working. Keep puttin' out videos for my fans, I can't let my fans sleep. Keep going to the studio, making big songs, hit songs like Toot It and boot it will get you where you want to go. Stay loyal, stay humble and just know myself and do what I gotta do and it's gonna happen.


Dubcnn: Let us know what we have to look forward to in the near future and where everyone can check you out.

YG: I got some movies coming so be on the lookout for that. Movie I already shot with Snoop Dogg it was directed by Mario Van Peebles, it's called where the party at. It should be dropping in April, I don't know I'm not gonna get into that, it's coming out next year for sure. My album Fresh On Campus, my label says it's going to drop at the top of next year but I don't want it to drop at the top of next year, I'm gonna push it back as far as I could. So my fans gotta stay tuned, just fuck with ya boy, I'm trying to do this shit right. I'm setting up tours, I shows, videos, mixtape finna drop around new year's be on the lookout for that, it's called Just Read Up. The homie finna get outta jail, free PC, so we finna do it real big, my nigga next up, so be on the lookout for him. I got the homie TC mixtape just dropped, go get that, 459 Everything Fast. I'm just workin' bro, dropping songs, almost everyday I'm just gonna drop a song featured with a whole bunch of artists then get my money do these shows. Hey just let you know we ridin' around in the hood we really out here. Dubcnn holla at ya boy it's YG 400. Oh yea go follow me on twitter, @defjamyg, myspace is myspace.com/yg400, facebook is facebook.com/yg400 and when I come around you better cuff yo chick.