Yung Berg will tell you he's almost famous. He even titled his debut EP with the phrase. But we'd say after releasing one of the biggest rap records near the end of '07 ("Sexy Lady") and being featured on one of '08's biggest hits ("Sexy Can I" by Ray J), we'd say he's pretty darn famous.
While it still has yet to be determined whether or not Yung Berg will get to the status of some of his fellow Chi-town rappers like Kanye and Common, his plans for world domination were somewhat derailed last month. In an interview on Shade 45's Lip Service radio show, Yung Berg (real name: Christian Ward) made clear his preference for light-skinned black women, as opposed to darker-skinned women, who he referred to as "dark butts."
Berg issued an apology, so as to not lose the fans that have made him, well, almost famous. Ironically, VIBE featured him in August's "Real Rap" issue in the "Since I Got Famous..." package alongside other rappers like Rick Ross, Boosie, and Lil Mama. Here's some of what Yung Berg had to say that you couldn't find in the magazine.
VIBE.com: I feel like there’s two Yung Bergs. Like the guy on “Sexy Lady” and the more gangsta guy. How do you balance that out in your music?
Yung Berg: I try and feed the streets. That’s why I’m doing countless mixtapes. I think I’m on my fourth one this year that I’m working on; songs with Lil Wayne, songs with Fabolous. Just to keep the streets happy, and make street records. But then on my album I wanted to make big records. I wanted to make records that sounded—no disrespect to any other producer like Timbaland or whatever because they great—but sounded like it could come from them, but from myself actually. I just wanted to make big sounding records and be able to look at the records and see “Produced by Yung Berg.”
What would say is your signature sound?
My sound is the spaceship. I want to make you feel like you out of space when you listen to my music. I want to use all different sounds never used before. And that’s what I did on the song “Outer Space” that I’m singing on, and then my first single “The Business”. I just wanted to use sounds that nobody was using.
I heard you got arrested on the Ray J set. What was up with that?
It was crazy because we hired police to be on the set to secure us. So I’m on the set, me and Ray, we smoking. This is before the first shot of the day. It’s the whole day, and this the first shot. It’s 8 in the morning. I had like a little roach, I threw it out the Lamborghini when we was about to do the shot. Cop came, he picked the roach up off the ground; “Is he one of the main characters in this video?” “Yeah” “Well that rap video, your not going to be doing it today.” Cuffed me. My security started getting into it with the police. It was just getting crazy. Then they took me to jail, really for no reason, they didn’t have nothing. Shaq came and bonded me out, $4,000 dollars.
Shaquille O’Neal?
Yeah. Shaq came and got me good. And I came right back, and it wasn’t even like I got arrested.
As far a success, I think your first EP sums it up: Almost Famous. What’s that like to be at that level but not quite there?
I’m in it for the long haul. I’m glad because people are getting to know me and they believe the brand.
You’ve been in the game a lot longer than people realize. You had a deal when you 16…
Yeah, I’ve been here for like 7 years. But I wouldn’t say that I was in the game, I just got in the game with “Sexy Lady” Like Wayne was on TV, doing his thing. His first album was so long ago, I love that shit I used to fuck with it.
But Wayne had a different situation, he had Birdman and…
I have no co-sign. In a way it’s like, “Oh, this is Pharrell’s new artist.” You fuck with him already because you fuck with [Pharrell]. But I have none of that so I’m already playing underdog on that level.
How does being from Chicago fit into your music?
The whole soul swag. The soul beats came from Chicago. Kayne wasn’t the only one making those beats. Like No ID taught Kayne how to make beats. So Kayne is the truth, he holding the torch for the city right now. And I aint at all, I want him to do that shit. Twista, that’s my dawg…it all influenced me. I used to go to Kayne’s crib when he used to stay on 95th and Westman, by Harold’s Chicken. People don’t even know that. I fucking lived in a house with Lupe for two months while he was making his first album. Doing that, and the whole process before he really popped off with “Kick, Push”.
What is your relationship with Lupe and Kanye? How do you know them, how’d you meet them?
I knew Kanye through Shawna, No ID, and Cap-1, and my brothers they all used to work together. And I was super-duper young, like 14 just starting to rap. I knew Lupe through one of my producers, Boogs. He used to produce all my stuff when I was on DMX’s label. And him and Lupe started working together and I used to just come to the house to chill with Boogs and Lupe would be there and we got cool.
Are you going to do any records with them?
I would love to. I’m sure if I reached out to Lupe and say, “Yo I want you on a track” he would be like “No problem,” he would do it. But I’m almost famous. - Interview by Jina Huh
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