* Artist: William "Ya Boy" Crawford
* Birthday: 12/21/83
* Hometown: San Francisco, CA
* Genre: West Coast Rap
* Years Active: 2002-Present
* Representative LPs/EPs/Mixtapes: Rookie Of The Year
(Done Deal Ent. LLC/ 2005), Future Of The Franchise
Mixtape (Done Deal Ent. LLC/ 2005), Chapter 1: The
Rise (Precise Music Group/ 2007), Turf 2 Tha Club
Mixtape (DJ Rah2k/ 2005)
* Appearances: The Rock: Pressure Makes Diamonds (San
Quinn/Done Deal Ent. LLC/ 2005), Block Tested, Hood
Approved (Big Rich/Koch/ 2006), Champ Bailey (Bailey/
City Boyz Records/ 2006) Black Wall Street Journal, Vol. 1
Black Wall Street Records/2006)
Fillmore Rapper 'Ya Boy' Gaining Acclaim
By Abdul Bassa
By Abdul Bassa
In recent years San Francisco's Fillmore District resident William Crawford, better known as "Ya Boy" has been stirring an immense buzz in both the underground and the main stream Hip-hop scene.
From writing lyrics for Britney Spear's estranged husband Kevin Federline's rap debut to radio drops on 106.1 KMEL, Crawford has done it, is doing it, or is going to do it.
Crawford's music career began in 2002 when Crawford released the first song he ever recorded the would-be radio hit "16's Wit Me" produced by South San Francisco producer "Big D".
The track also sampled audio of the "Imperial March" from the block buster "Star Wars". The song was met with great praise locally and would set the foundation for Crawford's entire music career.
Many say that Rap is in Crawford's blood, being as his family ties in the industry include hard hitting artists like Quincy "San Quinn" Brooks, James "Bailey" Bailey, "Messy Marv", and "Black Wall Street Records" producer "Phat Rat".
Crawford's main claims to national fame were his songs on DJ Skee's Hype Radio and collaborations with Jayceon "The Game" Taylor. The best known of which being Crawford's "100 Bar" couplet; "The Black Wall Street Journal, Vol. 1" debut of "100 Bars Of Crack" then Precise Music Group promotional release of "100 More Bars", both songs were received with tremendous play.
Crawford has gone through many record labels beginning his career with Fillmore based and family owned "Done Deal Ent." moving on to "Black Wall Street Records"; owned and run by Compton rapper "The Game" until late last year when Crawford launched his own record label, "Precise Music Group" under which he released new street album "Chapter 1: The Rise".
"Chapter 1: The Rise" features cameos from "Malika", incarcerated New York rapper Moses Michael "Shyne" Leviy, platinum Atlanta rapper Clifford Joseph "T.I." Harris Jr., underground Los Angeles rapper "Bishop LaMont" (of "Aftermath Records"), and former member of the "DMX" affiliated group "Ruff Ryders", Jin "Jin" Au-Yeung.
Some of Crawford's notable and upcoming projects include, a cameo on the remix to famed 'Myspace Girl' Tila "Tila Tequila" Nguyen's hit single "I Love U", collaborations with underground Los Angeles rapper "Omar Cruz". Crawford is also expected to release a nationally distributed album titled "Hollah At Ya Boy", the lead single which was produced by Florida duo “Cool & Dre” recently hit radio stations around the country.
Expect certified hits from "Ya Boy" and look out for his future and past releases. Great things are to come from the soon to be platinum artist, in the words of West Coast Rap legend "Dr. Dre" "Ya Boy marks the beginning of the next episode of West Coast fury."
Abdul Bassa
Copyright © by World Wide Connected HipHop & RnB All Right Reserved.
