I have been drawn to YG for quite some time now, mainly because he is perhaps the most quintessentially west coast rapper of the new generation. YG’s sound is not a carbon-copy of Dre-era west coast hip hop, but rather a fusion of that with contemporary influences and a very central gang identity. YG is a loud and proud member of the notorious Blood gang, and the lifestyle that comes with that is the main focus of his music. His 2014 album My Krazy Life, produced entirely by none other than DJ Mustard, is a modern classic and one of the better hip hop albums to come out of the west coast in years. He has a lot to live up to on Still Brazy.

“Don’t Come to LA (feat. Bricc Baby, AD & Sad Boy)” (Prod. By DJ Swish) – YG kicks off the album by warning listeners that LA is a dangerous place with dangerous people, including him, and to stay out. It acts almost as a disclaimer – he’s about to tell you about where he’s from and what happens there, and you really shouldn’t try to be a part of it. The beat is menacing with a tense pluck and spooky synth that complements the track very well. Everyone’s verses are pretty strong and serve to deter anyone from coming to LA. “Keep that out of town shit out of town.” Great opener.

“Who Shot Me?” (Prod. By DJ Swish) – This track explores an incident last year when YG was shot. To this day he still doesn’t know who shot him, and the thought of it and how close he was to death keeps him up at night. The tales of paranoia he tells are very real and chilling, especially considering the shooters knew the key to his gate, meaning someone in his circle was in on it. The traumatic situation is told over another excellent instrumental featuring a tight plucked synth and heavy drum break. It’s a very personal and excellent song about where YG’s head was at throughout the making of the project.

“Word Is Bond (feat. Slim 400)” (Prod. By P-Lo) – YG declares on this song that he means what he says and that everything he talks about he actually does. Lyrically he’s not a strong here as many other tracks on the album, but the beat is one of the best with hard driving drums and a funky moog synth melody. Slim 400 gives one of the stronger guest verses on the album here and fits in well. YG isn’t doing anything special here and the main draw to the song is the excellent instrumental.

“Twist My Fingaz (feat. Slim 400)” (Prod. By Terrace Martin) – This song talks about who YG is and the lifestyle he lives with lyrics that are dripping with gang references. The beat is truly outstanding with hard drums and excellently crafted synth and piano melodies. The hook is infectious – the first time I heard this song was the day before actually seeing YG live, and after the incredible performance of this song, the hook has been stuck in my head pretty much ever since. Lyrically YG is very strong on this song with dense rhyme schemes about putting Bompton on the map and wearing his socks like a cholo. Outstanding song – one of my favorite singles from last year and it is even stronger in the context of the album.

“Gimmie Got Shot” (Prod. By DJ Swish) – This is one of the most entertaining songs I have heard all year. YG is talking about how people won’t stop asking him for things now that he’s made it, and he wishes people would stop asking him for handouts and make it on their own. Throughout his verses, he personifies these people as “Gimmie” and eventually gets tired of it and says “Gimmie got shot.” This is an issue that a lot of successful artists talk about, and YG does it in a very humorous way. Also, the beat is great once again with some nice piano chords and horns stabs. Great song.

“I Got a Question (feat. Lil Wayne)” (Prod. By 1500 or Nothin’) - YG and Lil Wayne get together on this track to ask a few big questions, including when the police will stop stressing them, when their women will stop guessing them, and if knowing the truth will really set them free. YG sounds sad and lost on this track, and on his second verse essentially says he would rather fight with his girl than admit to himself he has feelings for her. It’s confessional, introspective, and vulnerable in ways not often seen from YG. Lil Wayne also delivers a very strong verse essentially telling everyone to mind their business and stop asking him so many questions. The beat is very calm and almost sleepy sounding, but that’s the perfect backdrop for a song like this. Solid track.

“Why You Always Hatin? (feat. Kamaiyah & Drake)” (Prod. By Scoop Deville) – YG questions on this song why people would hate on him for his accomplishments, but at the end of the day he doesn’t really care. Drake comes by to deliver a decent verse on this track as well, and Kamaiyah is alright on the hook. Personally I’m not really feeling the beat – the simple bass melody and drums feels very barebones and weak, especially compared to the rest of the album. This song is alright to me – one of the weaker on the album by comparison.

“Bool, Balm & Bollective” (Prod. By Terrace Martin & DJ Swish) – This song talks about how even though YG certainly has things to be worried about, he stays cool under pressure and shrugs it off. He tells a number of stories that really should be cause for worry, such as being shot and being threatened after having sex with somebody’s sister, but it’s nothing to him. The beat is pretty strong and busy compared to most of the beats on the album. It has many different melodies going on at once and is pretty interesting. There’s nothing super special about this song, but it’s pretty decent.

“She Wish She Was (feat. Jay 305 & Jose Moses)” (Prod. By 1500 or Nothin’) – My God the beat on this song is insane. Dark piano chords, vocal stabs, signature synths, and some kind of sample that I can’t even put a finger on make for a truly great instrumental. YG is talking about a woman on this song who wishes she was a man and she does things that are generally considered masculine, like have lots of sex and drink a lot. It draws very clear gender lines and is quite sexist, but keep in mind YG is a Blood is this is how a lot of them think. Everyone’s verses on this song are ignorant but pretty strong, making for a track that I don’t necessarily want to like, but do.

“Still Brazy” (Prod. By DJ Swish & Ty Dolla $ign) – YG talks about all the brazy things going on in his life on this song over a simple, bassy beat. Topics he covers here include being shot, falling out with a few of his friends including DJ Mustard, who is notably absent from this album, and people being jealous of his money. His delivery is fast and very nice on this song, although the beat isn’t quite on the same level. Still, not a bad song.

“FDT (feat. Nipsey Hussle)” (Prod. By DJ Swish) – I’m surprised this song made the album, considering YG received a message from the Secret Service threatening to take his album off the shelves if this song was released in its original form. “FDT” (Fuck Donald Trump), has a message that is pretty self-explanatory. YG and Nipsey Hussle lash out at the presidential candidate for his views on immigration and Islam. YG calls him cancer and Nipsey Hussle calls for Blacks and Mexicans to unite if necessary. Lines about assassinating Trump are absent from this version, making it ever so slightly more docile. It’s a strong and powerful song that is sure to resonate with anyone who is not fond of the Republican nominee.

“Blacks & Browns (feat. Sad Boy)” (Prod. By Terrace Martin) – YG stays political on this song and talks about how black people need to unite against the system. He covers many aspects of institutional racism and systems to keep black people down. He sounds desperate and legitimately hurt as he densely raps about issues in his community. Sad Boy’s verse afterwards is similar but from the perspective of a Latino, and he talks a lot about immigration and the hypocrisy of anti-Mexican sentiment in the United States. The beat features a deep bassline and is fairly simple, leaving a lot of room for YG & Sad Boy. Great, although painful song.

“Police Get Away Wit Murder” (Prod. By Hit Boy) – The album closes with perhaps its height of tension here. YG passionately raps about police brutality on this song and how he and his people don’t care about being hurt by the police anymore; they just want to fight back. The Hit Boy beat is easily the densest on the album and adds greatly to the tension of the song. YG says he needs to carry a gun to protect himself or risk death, but he’s not legally allowed to and could be put in jail for that. The songs closes with YG saying, “And they wonder why I live life looking over my shoulder” – perhaps the perfect way to close this song and this entire project as a whole.

My Krazy Life was an album that had one foot in the contemporary club sound and one foot in the traditional west coast gang sound, and it did a very good job of balancing that. Still Brazy, on the other hand, has both feet solidly in the gang side, which feels more like YG and ultimately more effective. Still Brazy is hard from start to finish and never really eases up. YG covers all kinds of topics and ensures that there is no doubt that he actually lives the life he talks about. The production on this album is fantastic with many excellent and heavily Dre-influenced instrumentation. YG’s lyrics are denser this time around and his performance is more diverse. Still Brazy lacks the artistic depth and deep poeticism that would make an album near-perfect, but it excels as a straight-forward, hardcore gangsta rap album.

BEST SONGS: Twist My Fingaz, Gimmie Got Shot, Who Shot Me, FDT

WORST SONGS: Why You Always Hatin?

OVERALL: 8.8/10