Even though YG’s latest single from his upcoming album I Got Issues is called “Maniac,” the accompanying video isn’t all that crazy at first glance. Then you see a guy in the back Blood walking in a “Thriller” jacket and you realize, “Oh yeah. Someone must have lost their mind.”
I kid, but YG’s new song and video are pretty typical of the material he’s put out from the new album so far. The Compton rapper subtly details the stressors that have been making his life “krazy” since even before he got famous (see what I did there?), and brashly reveals the effect getting rich and famous has had on them. He also shows off his increasingly polished wordplay skills, a facet of his artistry that has been overlooked and underrated for the past few years. Ever since he started writing his raps down, he’s had a plethora of clever turns of phrases like this one: “I put bands on heads, give you a headband, n****.”
The rollout for I Got Issues hasn’t gone quite as smoothly as YG wanted though. After dropping well-received singles like “Run” and “Toxic,” YG expressed his disappointment in Def Jam after the tracklist for the album — which features surprise features like Nas — was released prematurely.
Despite that snafu, though, anticipation for the album seems about where it should be and it looks like he’s on track for another well-performing project when I Got Issues drops on September 30. Pre-save it here.