West Coast rapper YG is now adding “actor” to his resume’ as he stars in the upcoming Mario Van Peebles film, “We The Party,” as the troubled but misunderstood “C.C.” AllHipHop.com caught up with YG to get a few words from him as he was promoting the movie at a special screening in Burbank, California last night:
AllHipHop.com: I’m digging that new song of yours, “I’m A Thug,” produced by DJ Mustard. I was at the video shoot in Compton for that song where those gunshots were fired. Y’all had me running down the alley for my life! [laughter]
YG: [laughter] You was there?
AllHipHop.com: I was there! I just barely escaped the police who were detaining everybody that they could.
YG: My bad, bro. The police was trippin’.
AllHipHop.com: The music was so loud, that I didn’t even hear the gunshots. Did you?
YG: Yeah, I heard them. They sounded like fire-crackers at first. Everybody’s straight, though, and the video is now out.
AllHipHop.com: You’re in this new movie, “We The Party.” Tell us what role you are playing.
YG: I play this dude named C.C. He’s 20 years old and in high school still. He has a baby, and all that. All of the students at school are afraid of him. He doesn’t talk much, and he’s always showing up with band-aids on his face. Snoop Dogg plays my big brother in the movie. After some situations, my character starts to open up as a person and vibe with other people. It’s basically a story about not judging a book by its cover.
AllHipHop.com: This is your first role ever, right?
YG: Yeah, this is my first role. I’m going to do more movies. I’m working on trying to land some more right now. This one was a little bit of a challenge for me, because it’s my first movie. Once the filming started, and I was able to remember my lines, things got easier for me.
AllHipHop.com: Did Snoop Dogg give you any acting tips or advice?
YG: Not really. Mario Van Peebles was the one that was on me. He wasn’t really on me, but he kept telling me how surprised he was that I was able to come in and do my thing.
AllHipHop.com: Let’s talk about your music. You just released a new mixtape.
YG: It’s called 400 Degreez, and it’s out right now. I’m working on an album right now, but we’ve got the “400 Degreez Tour” that we’re doing all of the way to June. Me and Nipsey Hussle are working on something. I’ll be dropping lots of videos in the meantime. I’m working and grindin’.
AllHipHop.com: To me, your music is like a cross between Gangsta rap and what they are now calling “Ratchet music.”
YG: I’m just doing me, bro. I’m not trying to combine anything. I’m just rapping on DJ Mustard beats – and that’s the outcome. They call it Ratchet, so I guess I’m Ratchet [laughter]. You feel me?
We also sat down with Mario Van Peebles and his son, Mandela, for an in-depth interview that we’ll be bringing you very shortly, as well as a review of the movie. “We The Party” hits theaters on April 6.