Ya Boy

Ya Boy
Background information
Birth name	William Joseph Crawford
Also known as	Ya Boy, Ya' Boy, Rich Rocka, YB Rich Rocka
Origin	San Francisco, California
Genres	Hip hop, West Coast hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Black Card Music (current) Black Wall Street Records, Hoo-Bangin Records, Konvict Muzik (former)
Associated acts	Akon, San Quinn, The Game, The Cataracs

William Joseph Crawford, known by his stage name Ya Boy, is an American rapper from the Fillmore District of San Francisco, California. He was formerly signed to both of Akon's labels Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution.^[1][2]

Musical career

In late 2006, Ya Boy signed to Game’s Warner Brothers distributed label The Black Wall Street Records. After making an appearance on the label’s first release - a mixtape, The Black Wall Street Journal, Vol. 1 - Ya Boy begun to work with a number of big-name producers including Scott Storch, Araab Muzik and Cool & Dre on his second full-length album Holla at Ya Boy. The album's lead single, "Holla at Ya Boy," was released in early 2008.

In 2009 Ya Boy, with Nitevision, started his own record label, "Black Card Music" and signed to Mack 10's Hoo-Bangin' Records.^[3] However he would leave that label and in 2010 signed to Akon's label Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution. In August 2010 he released his first single, "Party Girls," featuring Rico Love and a second single "Lockdown" featuring his boss Akon on October 11, 2011. Ya Boy announced in early 2013 that he changed his name to Rich Rocka. He then released a mixtape "Road 2 Rocka" on July 4, 2013.^[4]

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Mixtapes

References

• Redd, Maria. "Redd Roxx Rundown: Livin' Rich with Rich Rocka, formerly Ya Boy". buffalo.com. Retrieved 2013-03-19. 

External links

• Ya Boy's Official Myspace
• Ya Boy's Official Twitter