On the release of his 2014 debut, California’s YG was credited with revitalising west coast gangsta rap. My Krazy Life provided an icier, more spacious version of the genre’s funk-cushioned 90s acme and detailed the rapper’s long-standing involvement with the Bloods. Content-wise, YG has stayed very much on topic in the intervening years. Stay Dangerous, his third album, features a track called Bomptown Finest – a reference to his Compton roots (Bloods avoid using the letter C because of their rivalry with the Crips) – and another called Suu Whoop, named after a phrase Bloods use to communicate with each other. Even songs that focus less directly on gang life tend to shoehorn in references to YG’s loyalties: on Handgun, a celebration of conspicuous consumption featuring A$AP Rocky, he mentions he is “always wearin’ red” – the colour associated with Bloods affiliation.
These specifics give Stay Dangerous a crucial point of distinction – generally, the lyrics never stray far from the basic rap triumvirate of sex, money and violence, and YG doesn’t cover his subject matter with a huge amount of wit or creativity. Yet the rapper makes up for lyrical dullness with a sound that can be tantalising. His flow is curious – a slightly unruly drawl that threatens to slide off piste at any moment – and when matched with his penchant for gloomy backing tracks (noirish synths, tinkling piano) it can transform even the most routine bars into something seductive.
Bolted on to those foundations are moments of warmth – eerie opener 10 Times eventually erupts into the sound of a gospel choir, while the Quavo-featuring Slay begins with a Kanye-esque old-school R&B sample. But slices of imported soul are few and far between; YG doesn’t rely on outside sources to provide scintillating hooks. On Handgun, the central refrain is delivered in irreverent sing-song vocal, halfway between a comedy yokel and South Park brat; during the course of Big Bank (featuring Big Sean, Nicki Minaj and 2 Chainz), its title is transformed into an infectious chant.
Stay Dangerous may have been designed to hammer home the seriousness of YG’s gang background, but his wisest move was to match the menace with a sense of exuberant fun.
