YG: "I Wanna Benz" [ft. Nipsey Hussle and 50 Cent]
“I wanna blow some bands/ And still have some bands.” I mean, that’s what everyone wants. As the hook on YG’s “I Wanna Benz”, the line almost sits you down with its force. The Compton rapper doesn’t get accused of being a “lyricist” too often, but that’s only because he says what needs saying so clearly that we aren’t left with much to squabble over.
YG’s been relatively quiet this year, except for in June, when he was shot in the studio and popped up shortly after with the song “Twist My Fingaz” and another perfect line (“I’m the only one who made it out the West without Dre/ The only one that got hit and was walking the same day”). That song had a lot less DJ Mustard, who defined YG’s 2014 near-classic My Krazy Life, and a whole lot more classic G-Funk. “I Wanna Benz” is the same: Even though it’s produced by London on da Track, Young Thug’s closest collaborator, it sounds like something from the Above the Rim soundtrack (or Menace II Society, which is quoted in the song’s opening). The guests, Nipsey Hussle and 50 Cent, sound as good as they have in years, particularly 50 Cent, who has been flailing uncomfortably in a hit-free vacuum for an eternity. They are representatives of gangsta rap, unchanged by times, and YG’s making this music better than everyone else right now.
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