Ya Boy

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Ya Boy
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Background information
Birth name	William Crawford
Also known as	YB, Boy, #1 MySpace Artist
Born	December 21, 1983
Origin	San Francisco, California
Genre(s)	Rap, West Coast hip hop
Years active	2002-present
Label(s)	Precise Music Group Done Deal Entertainment, LLC
Associated acts	The Game, San Quinn, Black Wall Street, Done Deal Entertainment, LLC
Website	yaboymusic.com

El Camino High School graduate, William Crawford born on December 21, 1983, better known by his stage name Ya Boy, is an American rapper from the Fillmore District of San Francisco, California. He started rapping in the year 2002, with his song "16's With Me" being the first to hit it big locally. "16's With Me" was #1 on both major bay area radio stations, KMEL and KYLD for a number of consecutive weeks.^{[citation needed]} It was produced by South San Francisco producer Big D and sampled the Imperial March from Star Wars. Recently Ya Boy has gotten much underground hype from his song 100 Bars of Crack where he raps 100 bars over Dr. Dre's Nuthin' But a "G" Thang beat. It is featured on The Black Wall Street Journal Vol. 1. Even more recently, Ya Boy released "100 More Bars" which is done in the same style, but it uses the insturmental from the Jim Jones song "We Fly High".

Ya Boy was given his name by his cousin Bailey, and was helped to develop into a rap artist by his other cousin San Quinn. In the Summer of 2005, Ya Boy released his first solo mixtape, Future of The Franchise, and it sold 10,000 copies in the first month alone. This was to be followed up by his debut album, Rookie Of The Year on Done Deal Entertainment, LLC. His album features E-40, Turf Talk, Clyde Carson of The Team, San Quinn and more. The first single off the album was produced by Rick Rock and is titled "Step Ya Game Up."

In 2006, Ya Boy began an affiliation with The Black Wall Street. The Game took him under his wing and the two began to network. His affiliation with Game brought him a step higher in the rap game, as he began to collaborate with big name producers such as JR Rotem, Nu Jerzey Devil and Scott Storch to name a few. Pop star Britney Spears' ex-husband Kevin Federline called upon Ya Boy's talent for writing, and is having him write rap songs for his debut album. Since then he has left the label for unknown reasons. Ya Boy has stated in the song "Down By The Bay" saying "2006, Phat Rhat made the call, Gave me a million dollars nd' brought me to Black Wall. And still can't relack, told the fam i'd be back, but when I come back, I'd be back with a plaque."

Ya Boy is the nephew of Phat Rat, who helped him found the Precise Music Group label[1], and has been helped on the music scene by his uncle.

He is to release his second studio album in 2007, but it is unclear on which label. He is also included on Tila Tequila's single I Love U remix.

According to a recent feature on Details' website men.style.com, despite his gangster image, Ya Boy is being managed (at least in part) by Brody Jenner, star of the short-lived Princes of malibu and MTV's The Hills. [2]