In a recent interview with Noisey, Young Money Yawn stated about the reception from his hometown of Hampton Roads, VA that "…most of Virginia are critics. They're critics of themselves and to other people. Most people in Virginia don't want people to get ahead of them." As a native and current resident of the area for the last 5 years, I'll vouch as no truer words have been spoken about a place that's the definitive example of the phrase "crabs in a barrell".
The"757", as it is known by those that call it home, is an area literally bubbling with talent underneath its murky surface. There's no glamorous life here, but its definitely not the picture perfect idea of suburban America either. A single street is usually what separates most middle class homes from what most of the nation would consider the "ghetto". There's absolutely no music community, and most who choose that career path end up going elsewhere. Yet, the area has produced some of the most recognizable names in the industry, providing those who still reside with a prideful love/hate attachment to the place.
Y$Y made his come up the only way most men from this area know how, drugs and other street dealings. Last year, he chronicled the reality of his exploits in the form of "Gutta", a banger that had the local radio stations jumping, and garnered the attention of Pusha T and contemporary's like Young Thug, who had Y$Y open for him.
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/96494897" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="450" iframe="true" /]
Going over the classic beat from Jay-Z's In My Lifetime Vol.1, Y$Y brings us visuals for "Imaginary Players" a track from his recently released Lost Scriptures mixtape. Directed by Wap, the emcee visually shows us what players do, while verbally explaining his disgust of those that front. If anything can be gathered from these tracks, its that Y$Y is an artist worth watching. Learning from his native musician brethren that preceded him, he may be the next artist to bring VA into wider acclaim.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/_DpVIM14Bt0[/youtube]
Soundcloud.com/youngmoney_yawn
