YG is entering a new era of maturation, as heard in his new song “2004.” He uses his platform as a rapper to open up about an experience he’s learned is quite common for men in the Black community: being a victim of sexual abuse.
YG tells ABC News Live he was sexually assaulted by a 30-year-old when he was just 15 years old, but hadn’t realized what happened until years later. “You go through life and you see stuff and you learn stuff and it’s like, ‘I got raped,’” he says.
He says he kept the information from his family, who learned of the experience when they heard the song.
YG credits producer J.LBS (J Pounds) for giving him the push to “dig deep” during their recording session and “talk about something you ain’t never talked about.”
He says he was surprised that “90 percent of the people that I played it for — the men, the males — they all got similar stories.”
“That was the conversation everyone was having,” he says. “It was like, ‘Yeah, I was sexually abused.’”
With “2004,” YG hopes that he can inspire people to tell their own stories, adding he may go deeper into his journey on the upcoming album The Gentleman’s Club.
He says, “Seeing people reaction, it’s been good for me because it got me going deeper on the album like with records cuz I’m like, ‘Damn. They respond to it like that. Alright bet. I got some more stuff I can talk about."”
“People say I live a dangerous life — I talk about that and I give it to you straight like that,” YG says. “Now me going through this growing stage of my life, it ain’t hard for me because I’m telling my truth.”
If you are affected by abuse and needing support, or know someone who is, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). You can also chat online at thehotline.org or online.rainn.org, respectively.
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