Ya Boy- I'm Bout To Murdah This Shit

Sadly, I haven't been moved by too many west coast projects over the past few months man. I never thought supplying folks with authentic and worthwhile west coast hip-hop would be something so hard to do. With the Beat junkie/Dilated Peoples fam taking a break from recording to tour in the spring and summer months it seems like there's a weaker stream of things from the left coast to put up, lol. Fortunately someone has come around and really surpirised me. Ya Boy is a hip-hop artist from San Francisco, who spends a lot of time in L.A. and who was once signed/affiliated with Black Wallstreet records (now on Precise Music Group). I first heard him on a few of the earlier Black Wallstreet mixtapes featured here and there, he was pretty impressive in spots and I promised myself I'd check out some of his solo stuff if I ever had the chance. Well, I did when he dropped his first major mixtape "Optimus Rime"....I have to say I wasn't the least bit impressed. He seemed very much so like a hit or miss guy, who had the ability to do some ill stuff, but was choosing to try his hand at landing a hit commercial song/freestyle....I thought nothing of it and moved on, disapponted that yet another guy with considerable talent had chosen to dumb his stuff down, and make music that didn't reflect his true colors. Still, even on the "Optimus Rime" tape there were severeal standout tracks that begged some intrest and provided a flleting glimpse into what could be. Fast Forward to his second major mixtape "I'm Bout To Murdah This Shit". The difference is like night and day. Leaving pretty much all the bad elements from his first tape at the door and consolidating his lyrical ability, great mic presence and delivery to this new project, Ya Boy has taken a much different direction this time around. "I'm Bout To Murdah This Shit" is a very, very, intricately crafted and dope effort. From the refreshing and focused production to the harder and more concise lyrics, Ya Boy gives his new fans and hip-hop enthusiasts all something that they can agree on when it comes to his music; now, everyone must acknowledge that his momentary flashes of brillance have become a definite process. He's started to put it all together. He is now nothing less than a viable artist, whose new tape has cemented him 100% in the west coast hip-hop landscape. Rarely can someone get credibility that fast with me, but he just really put forth a project that is just that impressive and has done a complete 180 in his approach. This endeavor sounds eeriely more like an album than a mixtape. Songs like "Pick Me Up" put Ya Boy's insight and vunerability on full display and allow the connection between him and his fans to truly happen. Make no mistake however, this ain't no softcore therapy session by any stretch. Ya Boy wields powerful and gritty street rhymes over dark strings and keys with such fluidity, many a west coast OG would be proud to say he's from their side of the world. There's an air of menace in this album that is very appealing. It hasn't been since the late and mid nineties that a guy from Cali has been able to capture that raw essence of the area. All in all this is a very complete and sound offering from Ya Boy, who has managed to do something that few artists can; come back better the second time around. Hats off to him for doing so. Tracks to check for: "Pick Me Up", "Gettin Money" and "Back Against The Wall".

-BIG D O


01 Intro
02 Dyin to Pop It
03 Ride On Dem
04 I’m Gonna Murdah This Shit!
05 Been There Before
06 Tryna Make My Money
07 Gettin Money
08 Pick Me Up
09 Like It Or Not
10 Diamonds In My mouth
11 Playa Hate On Me
12 Knock On Wood
13 Why I Grind
14 Outro

http://www.mediafire.com/?znmzwt9q1fw