- Biography
Compton born-and-bred MC Keenon Jackson, otherwise known as YG or Young Gangsta, got his start in music by building a massive following on the internet. The success of songs like “She a Model” and “Aim Me” online earned him a bid with Def Jam, and he signed to the pioneering hip-hop label in 2009. Several mixtapes followed, including 2010’s The Real 4Fingaz and 2011’s Just Re’d Up, each of which boasted a charting Billboard single. YG entered the studio with producer DJ Mustard, and his album My Krazy Life finally landed in 2014, with Drake, Rich Homie Quan, and ScHoolboy Q among its guests. His 2016 album, Still Brazy, included more of a political and sociological bent, including the anti-Donald Trump single “FDT.” An EP-length commercial mixtape, Red Friday, was out by the end of that November.