2008 was like a reality show gone wrong for Yung Berg. And we watched.

Sure, he had two hits singles on the charts and dropped his proper debut, Look What You Made Me, but the Chi-Town representing MC was best known for controversy. Disagreements with rappers, catching a beat down and a slap, offending women, a stolen chain, name calling, threats, and endless Internet videos overshadowed any success he may have had. 

Signed at 15 by DMX, his story began with that of a young upcoming MC taken under the wing of an established rapper. While his project with DMX never fully materialized he still worked his way into the Hip-Hop industry and eventually made it big with “Sexy Lady,” showing an inkling of a promising career.  Before his first single he already had a resume that included working with established rap acts he’d written and produced for, so all credit due.

However, Berg is still a fairly new artist and it’s probably not the best game plan to attract that many foes in the industry when you’re still establishing yourself as an artist. Some are already questioning if the 23 year-old has signed the death certificate of his career. That may be too early to determine since he shows no signs of slowing down with more projects underway along with rumors of his own reality show.  

Will 2009 be better than 2008 for Yung Berg?  Here’s a career-spanning run down of what happened, who was involved, and what’s still going on.

•2001 -  A young  15 year-old  from Chicago known as “Ice Berg” [check the video below] impresses DMX at the shooting of the “What These Bitches Want” video and is signed to DMX’s then label, Bloodline Records through  Def Jam.

•2001 - Unlike some parents who often shove their musically inclined children into the limelight, at 15 Berg’s parents send him off to boot camp.

•2005 – Now under the moniker Yung Berg, he returns to the Hip-Hop game and links up with Disturbing The Peace’s Shawnna, serving as her hypeman.

•2005- Along with partners JFK and Rob Holiday, Yung Berg launched the Yung Boss Imprint, a conglomerate of his production crew  (Yung Bosses)  and a roster of artists; since forming they’ve produced for Eve, Juelz Santana, Memphis Bleek and Shawnna.

•April 13, 2007 – After pushing his mixtape with the single “Sexy Lady” to several L.A radio stations and signing with Epic Records, the song becomes a hit. The single easily climbs charts clenching a number 18 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

•July 24, 2007 – Berg’s EP Almost Famous (Epic/Koch) drops, featuring five songs including “Sexy Lady” featuring Junior.

•December 21, 2007 – Yung Berg is arrested in Miami during the video shoot of “Sexy Can I” on marijuana charges.

•January 22, 2008 – 2008 starts off on a good note for Yung Berg when he’s featured on Ray-J’s  single “Sexy Can I” ; in the following weeks and months the single spends time on the Billboard Top 10 for three weeks later becoming a platinum single and selling over half a million ringtones.

•March 2008 – On his radio show, DJ Envy asks Yung Berg about his street single, “Do That There” and if the intro is directed at Bow Wow. Yung Berg insinuates he doesn’t respect the new Bow Wow and doesn’t recognize him without being “Lil’ Bow Wow”.  Rumors later circulate that Bow Wow approached the rapper at an event resulting in an altercation, but that rumor is later found to be false.

•April 2008 – Responding to lingering questions about the lyrics to “Do That There”, Yung Berg reveals to XXLmag.com that 50 Cent advised him to move Bow Wow out the Hip-Hop game. Yung Berg states: “First and foremost, 50 gave me some good advice. 50 told me move him out the game, period. He told me to crush him. He told me demolish him”. He later says he doesn’t want to end Bow Wow’s career and he actually would like to work with Bow Wow, and in fact, if he hops a song with him they’re cool, but if he doesn’t there will be more problems. (well, who wouldn’t want to jump on a track with someone after that ultimatum?)

•April 2008 – Terrence J from BET’s 106^th and Park catches the short-lived wrath of Yung Berg when he mentions the music video host’s name in a freestyle telling him to keep his name out his mouth after he apparently calls him a “ringtone rapper.”

•May 13, 2008 – The third single off his then upcoming album, “The Business” featuring on the rise singer Casha is released. Catching good buzz, the single goes on to reach #33 on the Billboard top 100 successfully reaching high digital sales and also at one point ranking #8 on the Ringscan chart.

•May 2008 – Yung Berg jokes about his album delay saying in his Internet video, “My album was supposed to be released July 1st, but like I’ve been saying all day it’s been pushed back further than Flo- Rida’s hairline.”

Oddly enough, Flo Rida’s reaction to the comment is barely heard or pretty non-existent while his label mate and friend, Brisco, takes it upon himself to deliver the message to Yung Berg.

Brisco:  See n***as from the streets, when they make that transition to rap they gotta understand to stay in character, there’s certain things you gotta watch what you say. Before you say things you got to pause then I'ma say it, so I’ma pause, then I'ma say this. Yung Berg I'm not Flo-Rida, I'm his twin, Brisco, how you doin’. You did a record with me and Lil' Wayne we was at the studio me, I'ma f**k you up. Only reason I'ma f**k you up is because you talkin' too much and you a lil' guy. I thought you was Ice-T's son, they said Yung Berg I thought you was Ice-T's son you feel me that's why I was tryin to feel you, but  b***h lied to me.  When a n***a catch you, Yung Berg, "Sexy Lady like to know you”, that boy, I'ma beat your little red a** , boy".

•July 2008 – While appearing on Shade 45’s Lip Service Radio, Berg responds to the Flo Rida/Brisco question by saying he squashed the beef and that he and Flo Rida are on good terms, but if he has to he’ll punch Brisco in the mouth for his involvement

•July 2008 – Yung Berg makes more comments on the Lip Service radio show. This time he has the Internet going nuts after he makes derogatory statements about dark-skinned women calling them “dark butts.”

Yung Berg:  “I’m kinda racist, not even like that. I don't like dark butts. You know how some women prefer light skin men or dark skin dudes. It's rare that I do dark butts - that's what I call’em.  It’s like no darker than me.  I love the pool test. If  you can be like baby, I met you at the club  let’s go back to my house jump in the pool exactly like you are and you don't come out looking better than you looked before you got in the pool - then that's not a good look.  Eyelashes coming off…any girl that use brown gel to lay down her baby hair is not poppin'.” 

•July 11, 2008 –Attempting to numb the uproar over his comment, Yung Berg appears in a video exclusive on AllHipHop.com and issues an apology for his comments citing his own mother is a “lovely dark skinned lady” and that he would never want to insult any woman. [click here for vid]

•August 2008 – It wasn’t all beef and beat downs for Yung Berg.  On a positive spin he aligns himself with the Declare Yourself campaign to help register young people to vote.

•August 10, 2008 - Yung Berg and four others are arrested in NYC and charged with possession of a weapon, marijuana and menacing following a limo driver’s complaint about an altercation with the five men (later that month, despite not showing up for court the judge drops his gun charges).

•August 12, 2008 - Yung Berg’s first full-length album Look What You Made Me (Epic/Koch) is released. Despite one of the biggest hits of 2008 (“Sexy Can I”) being featured and the success of his single, “The Business,” the album only reaches #20 on the top 200 .

•August 22, 2008 – In town for 102.7’s Summer JAMZ Yung Berg drops by the Plan B Nightclub in Detroit where he catches a beat down ending in his signature Transformer chain being snatched. Trick Trick, who has ties to the club speaks to AllHipHop.com days later to clear the air that he didn’t set Yung Berg up and actually stopped the fight.

Trick Trick: “My lil n****s got him. The label called and told me he wasn’t coming, so I wasn’t expecting him. So there was no need for me to tell the lil homies that ‘aye, the n***a’s straight,’ because he wasn’t coming. I saved that n***a’s life. He would probably be dead right now or in a coma if I hadn’t ran over there and pushed the lil homies back so they could quit stomping this n***a.”

In the same time span, Trick Trick speaks to Power 92.1’s Sean Anthony and Big Keith saying that he doesn’t know the whereabouts of the chain but that Bow Wow may know (Bow Wow having any involvement was pretty much never taken seriously since after the incident pictures circulate on the Internet of everyone from unknown men to Trick Trick’s brother and daughter with the Transformer chain)

•August 27, 2008 — Brisco’s alleged twin brother Jay Stones takes offense at Trick Trick and what went down in Detroit. Stones, and everyone else in the vid, proceed to incriminate himself by busting guns on the Internet via YouTube. Okay.

• October 3 2008 – The slap heard around the world; as Maino explains to Hot 93.7’s Jenny Boom Boom that he slapped Yung Berg to teach him a lesson…

“Yeah, I did smack him, but it was in a club in Atlanta, I’m in Atlanta. Yeah he was a little disrespectful, so I just tried to clean him up a little bit and you know just give him some togetherness that’s all.  I just wanna say this Jenny ‘cause people try to make it seem like I’m out here bullying these kids, like this kid is a little boy to me and I like him. We’ve been on tour all summer together. I like him, he put me on his remix. I don’t know what his problem was last night, I seen him earlier in the day we was at a concert, we performed at the same concert and for some reason later on in the club he approached me, he said to me, ‘yo I heard I heard you was talking reckless about me'. So I said 'What?’ He said 'Yeah, I heard you were talking reckless about me.’ So his body language and his mannerisms lead me to believe he was being disrespectful to me, so I slapped him, that’s all I did to him. For people who are like oh he’s this big or this, that, I smacked him, it ain’t like I beat him up or tried to hurt him, I just smacked because he of what he said to me I took to be disrespectful. He didn’t come to me and ask me a question, he was like steppin’ to me or something.”

•October 2008 – Yung Berg sets his attention on R&B singer Ne-Yo after the R&B star tells Power 106’s Big Boy that Yung Berg is the artist he’d like to three finger slap the most.  He later explains that he likes Yung Berg and thinks he’s talented but said he wanted to smack him for “lack of originality for jockin’ Lil’Wayne.”  Showing he’s truly in the year of the gentleman, Ne-Yo says in an interview with MTV that he refuses to engage in beef despite Yung Berg’s video response to Ne-Yo questioning Ne-Yo’s sexuality, dragging up old pictures, and talking about Ne-Yo’s girl.

Ne-Yo:  "Response for what? That ain't my lane, dude. I don't beef. I don't do that. That ain't my thing. I don't do diss records. I don't do beef. I don't do any of that blogs talking about cats. I don't do that. That ain't my thing. I'm a grown man. I got money to make."

•December 2008 – Catching heat from all angles, Drew Sidora, an ex-girlfriend of Yung Berg’s, releases an unofficial version of her first single “Not Alone”(Yung Berg Diss)” featuring Young Jeezy circulates on the Internet and is rumored to be directed towards Yung Berg. However, the official released song is “Not Alone,” minus a Young Jeezy appearance and confirmation it’s about Yung Berg

•January 2009 – A video that doesn’t quite explain when the incident took place surfaces on line showing Yung Berg getting arrested in Miami for public intoxication after crashing a motorbike with a female companion riding with him [the vid has been removed].

When arrested he pleads with the officer that he doesn’t deserve to get arrested because he’s signed to Universal and is an artist.

•January 12, 2009 – New year, new drama.  Young Trump, a rapper from New Orleans and the son of C-Murder goes on record to put to rest rumors there was a physical fight in a club between him and Young Berg and that he that he started the rumor himself.

Young Trump tells VladTV: “Pretty much I don’t know where the rumor came form but it’s crazy. I’m  chillin’, I’m getting like mad calls people asking me about that. It’s a little rumor going around but I heard from a mutual friend in Los Angeles that he took it real serious and that he really wanna war with me. So , I’m like bring it on it’s whatever like I’m like dude don’t do that don’t get in that war. You don’t really know if the rumor true. Like I feel like he ain’t do nothing to Trick Trick when he jacked his chain, he ain’t do nothing to Brisco but when Ne-Yo say something he attack Ne-Yo and Ne-Yo a R&B dude so when you get  real street n***as he ain’t do nothing  you feel me. Plus I know a lot of dudes in Chicago so I got a lot on him”.

Young Trump records a diss track called “Career Ender” featuring Chi-Town Harry where Young Trump calls Yung Berg Hip-Hop’s punching bag and a snitch while Chi-Town Harry says he’s an embarrassment to Chicago,

•January 11, 2009 - Our own Illseed "reports"—it's the Rumors section, for all you sensitive rappers out there—that Yung Berg's "Big Brother" (no Kanye & Jay-Z) has skewered him with a dis record where he basically calls him a swagger jacker. (Click here to hear song)

The saga continues…