ALL STAR 2011 - Ozone Magazine

After landing a deal with Def Jamlargely due to the success of hisomnipresent Cali club record “Toot Itand Boot It,” COMPTON RAPPER YG nowaims to let the world know he’s notjust a one-hit wonder.Of course people know you from “Toot It andBoot It.” What are you working on now?I’ve got a new single that just dropped called“Patty Cake.” It’s been spinning on the radioin L.A. I’m about to drop a mixtape called JustRe-Upped in March, and my EP is coming outin May. I just shot a movie that was directed byMario Van Peebles. Snoop Dogg is playing mybig brother in the movie and all kinds of shit.I’m finna start touring too.I see you got a new YG piece.Yeah, this is my first piece. The jeweler IceyFresh did it for me. I decided to keep it simpleand just get my name, YG.Where does the name YG come from anyway?Where I’m from, we’re all YGs. Everybody in myneighborhood that’s around my age, we callourselves YGs. Young Gangstas. So I’m representingall the YGs, period. But I’m on some flyshit though.You got some big names on your “Toot it andBoot it” remix. How did 50 Cent get involved?I saw 50 at the label in L.A. I’m signed to DefJam and the Def Jam and Interscope buildingsin L.A. are connected. I was up there havinga meeting and when I was leaving, I saw himleaving too. My manager told me to pull up onhim. So I pulled up on him and blocked his carso he couldn’t move. Then I hopped out, like,“What’s happenin’? It’s YG.” He was like, “What’shappenin’?” I told him I had a show at the KeyClub in Hollywood, and he came through thenext day and kept his word. He brought LloydBanks too, so everybody was going crazy. Wechopped it up after that, and when I wantedto shoot a video for the remix, he fucked withit. So he did the video for me and the SnoopDogg feature was just because he fucks withme. I’m like Snoop’s little homie from the WestCoast. I was on tour with him when I asked himto hop on the song. He recorded his verse inthe hotel, I think, and then we did the video.The success of “Toot it and Boot it” took youa lot of places, right? What was the craziestplace you went?When I went to Seattle and Portland, I went tothese all ages clubs and they were treating melike I was Lil Wayne.Well, you have tattoos like Lil Wayne. Do youhave any room left for more tattoos?I only got my back and my legs left, but I’mtrying to get those done before my birthday,hopefully.Do you have any tattoos that are real meaningfulto you?All my tattoos mean stuff. I’ve got my cousin’sname, Rest in Peace, on the back of my neckwith angel wings. I’ve got “Music is Life” on myarm. My label is called Pushaz Ink, and I’ve gotthat tattooed on my arm. I’ve got Jesus’ faceon the side of my head and it says “God’s Son.”I’ve got a cross on the back of my head thatsays “in Jesus’ name we trust.” On my back itsays “Lost Angels” and I’ve got a big baby angelin the middle of the back with Chucks on andhe’s got a mic in his hand. I feel like I’m a lostangel. I’m an angel but I’m kind of lost, feelme? So yeah, I’ve got a whole bunch of tats.They all mean something though. My mamaand daddy’s names are on my arm too. I’ve gotall kinds of shit.Do you feel like you’re getting more respectnow with “Patty Cake” being out, so you’renot falling into that one-hit wonder category?Oh yeah, I’m definitely getting more respect.We’re getting shit poppin’ right now.So the album is dropping in May. How areyou adjusting to the major label situation?Do you feel like you have a lot of control overyour creative process?I’ve got control. I just turn my records intothe label and it’s all good. It ain’t none of thatother stuff.You mentioned a movie you filmed recently.When and where is that going to drop?The movie is being shopped around rightnow, so I don’t actually know when it’s goingto drop, but it’s coming soon. It’s called WhereThe Party At? That’s the name of the movie,so be on the lookout for that. There’s a lot ofartists in there, like the New Boyz, Snoop, andDiddy’s son.What do you have planned for All Star weekend,and what are some spots the out-oftownersshould be sure to visit?All the spots. I don’t even know, man. I knowI’ve got some shows though. I’ve got a showin Anaheim with Rick Ross and Waka Flocka.Everybody’s going to be performing. There’stoo many spots in Hollywood that are gonnabe poppin’ to even mention. I’m gonna be inthe streets for sure, so look out for me. //OZONE MAG // 15