Ya Boy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ya Boy | |
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 Ya Boy attending his birthday party at Area, West Hollywood, in January 2009
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | William Joseph Crawford[1] |
| Born | January 28, 1984 [2] |
| Origin | San Francisco, California |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop |
| Years active | 2002-present |
| Label(s) | Done Deal 2003-2006, Precise Music Group 2006-present |
| Associated acts | San Quinn, The Game |
| Website | www.myspace.com/yaboy |
William Joseph Crawford (born January 28, 1984), better known by his stage name Ya Boy or simply just YB, is an American rapper from the Fillmore District of San Francisco, California. He is a cousin of Bay Area rappers San Quinn, Messy Marv and Champ Bailey(San Quinn's little brother).[3] Crawford graduated from El Camino High School in 2001.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Career
His song "16's With Me", whose beat sampled that of "Imperial March" from the film Star Wars, was his first big hit.[3] In 2005, Ya Boy released his first solo mixtape Future of the Franchise, followed by his debut album Rookie of the Year on Quinn's label Done Deal Entertainment.[3] His album features E-40, Turf Talk, Clyde Carson of The Team, San Quinn and more. The first single off the album, "Step Ya Game Up", was produced by Rick Rock.
Bay Area rap was more club-oriented with the hyphy sound, Ya Boy chose to maintain a "gangsta rap" sound, so in 2006 he began an affiliation with Black Wall Street, the label owned by Compton, California rapper The Game. Ya Boy's uncle, Phat Rat introduced Ya Boy to The Game with out San Quinn's permission. Ya Boy eventually left San Quinn's label and planned to move the Southern California. He became even more known with his track "100 bars of crack" which was featured on The Black Wallstreet's mixtape "Black Wallstreet Journal Vol 1. On Kevin Federline's 2006 rap album Playing with Fire, Ya Boy appeared on the track "Dance with a Pimp".[4] The Source magazine featured Ya Boy in its "Unsigned Hype" column.[3]
In 2007, he released the single "Holla at Ya Boy" produced by Cool & Dre for the album of the same name and a mixtape called Chapter 1: The Rise produced by DJ Skee.[5] Ya Boy stated in an interview that year with Dubcnn.com that he signed himself to his own label Precise Music Group. In that interview, he also stated that in one his songs lyrics "No Replacement" of his mixtape, the chorus lyrics were often misinterpreted. Ya Boy explained, "It's funny, everyone is wondering if I'm rapping, 'You must not no who I be' I really thought I was clear when I said, 'You must not know Y.B.' frankly thats my name, guess it wasn't that obvious". In the same interview he said that he moved to Malibu, California and planned to release his music solely through iTunes. Much has been made about Ya Boy's relationship with Compton, California rapper The Game, and his label Black Wall Street. Although Ya Boy is affiliated, he is not, nor has he ever been signed with Black Wall Street. Ya Boy is currently looking for a major label to distribute his label, Precise Music Group. Ya Boy recently stated on his Twitter that he is planning to drop his highly anticipated sophmore album. He is calling the album, "The Facelift," in reference to the revitalization that he is attempting to bring to the West Coast. "The Facelift" is to be released in October 2009. in 2009, a mixtape titled "Rockstar Music" was released. This mixtape is an unofficial effort with many left over tracks from Ya Boy. [6]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio Albums
- Rookie Of The Year (album) (2005)
- The Facelift (2009)
[edit] Mixtapes
- 2004: Street Heat"16's Wit Me"(with Fully Loaded)
- 2005: The Future of the Franchise
- 2007: Chapter 1: The Rise
- 2007: The Fix (Hosted By Big Mike)
- 2007: Optimus Rime
- 2007: The Prince of the City
- 2008: I'm 'Bout to Murdah This Shit
- 2008: The Bay Area Bully
- 2009: Kush 2009
- 2009: Mohawks And Heavy Metal
- 2009: Optimus Rime 2: Revenge Of The Bay Area
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Ya Boy". Blastro. http://www.blastro.com/artists/artistpage/Ya+Boy.html. Retrieved on 2009-01-29.
- ^ Familytreelegends.com
- ^ a b c d Cordor, Cyril (2006). "Ya Boy - Biography". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3ifrxqwsldse~T1. Retrieved on 2009-01-27.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2006-10-31). "Playing with Fire - Review". allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jvfyxqudldse~T1. Retrieved on 2009-01-27.
- ^ http://www.myspace.com/yaboy
- ^ Etminan, Nina (March 2008). "Ya Boy". Dubcnn.com. http://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/yaboy/. Retrieved on 2009-01-27.
