Album Review: YG-Still Brazy

Whether you're a fan of his or not, there's no denying that Compton-bred rapper YG (short for Young Gangsta) stands out in today's hip-hop climate. He's arguably the only young rapper in the game right now that's making pure gangsta rap that beckons back to the days before 2pac was murdered and Dr. Dre was spending his time making beats instead of overpriced headphones. His 2014 debut My Krazy Life had plenty of ambition and an admirable old-school vibe, but the obnoxious choruses and abundance of pop-tinged songs prevented it from being a truly enjoyable record. YG has clearly spent the past two years figuring how to properly channel his admiration for the old-school Compton classics into his music because his second LP Still Brazy is every bit of the vintage-sounding gangsta rap record he's been striving to make since he arrived on the scene.

Spinning Still Brazy for the first time is a borderline shocking experience for anyone that's familiar with his older material. Behind phenomenal production from fellow Los Angeles-area residents 1500 or Nothing, Terrace Martin, Hit-Boy and relative unknown DJ Swish, YG is able to transform himself from a middling gangsta rapper obsessed with making club-friendly bangers to the spokesperson for the G-funk revival. You can't help but thinking of but thinking of Snopp Dogg's Doggystyle or Dr. Dre's The Choronic when listening to YG drop a series of rousing songs about topics (gang-banging, dealing drugs, etc.) that are usually approached in a far more serious manner. As someone whose introduction to hip-hop largely consisted of artists from the 90's G-funk movement, Still Brazy serves as a welcome reminder of the unique joys this style of hip-hop brings to the table.

The rebirth of YG also carried over to his technical abilities on the mic. This record's collection of massive, funky beats is much better suited to his gruff yet playful flow than the widely accessible club fare that DJ Mustard trotted out for the majority of My Krazy Life. On seminal tracks like "Twist My Fingaz", "Gimme Got Shot" and "FDT",a simplistic yet wildly effective middle finger to a certain orange-faced presidential candidate, he displays an infectious flow and winning charisma that was completely absent from every project he'd put out in the past. YG is audibly in his element repping his city's defining sound and the feeling that this was a true labor of love to his neighborhood and a bygone era of hip-hip plays an essential part in the success of Still Brazy. 

While there's a few less-than-stellar tracks ("Don't Come to LA", "Who Shot Me?", "She Wish She Was") and lazy guest spots (just about every no-name rapper that appears throughout the album) along the way, it's never enough to deter from how focused and fun this record is overall. It's extremely difficult to make a vintage-inspired album that doesn't sound like a cheap gimmick yet YG is able to pull it off beautifully thanks to the immense amount of respect he has for the founding fathers of G-funk and his familiarity with the environment in which those artists were brought up in. Still Brazy is a beyond pleasant surprise and is exactly the jolt of grit and good times this dismal year in hip-hop needed to (hopefully) get back on track.   

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Twist My Fingaz
2.Gimme Got Shot
3.FDT (feat. Nipsey Hustle)