“I make good music on drugs, but I swear I don’t need it”
Let us be the judge of that. YFG Fatso has a story to tell before “Sanity Evaded” even begins. Born 2007 in Chicago, the young man was the right age in the right place for the rise of drill music, and it shouldn’t be surprising that he looked up to the likes of Chief Keef and Lil Durk as he sought his own break in rap. In 2023 got that break by signing with Durk’s OTF (Only the Family) and dropping the single “ScarFace,” which took him from an aspiring regional rapper to one with a much bigger reach. Unfortunately Durk’s fame has been both a blessing and a curse.
With his mentor facing trial on a murder-for-hire charge, and that trial expected to start two days after this review, it can hardly come as a surprise that “Sanity Evaded” seems to be creating distance between Durk and Fatso. There’s no mention of OTF when you look at the album — just Fatso himself and Santa Anna Records, a label imprint under Sony Music. Of course there’s no official confirmation that the two have parted ways, but if Fatso wants his career to continue, he can’t go all in with his chips on someone else’s cards hoping they win big. Are there any cameos from Durk on the 16 songs and 44 minutes of this album? No — and I didn’t expect any. Both men have to handle their own business.
“Risk and then we’ll reap, and we don’t sleep
’til all eat, this more than fast money”
Durk’s trial is far from his only concern. Fatso had his first daughter at only 16 years old, and “Ain’t I” makes it clear what he’s thinking about. “I just grind to feed my kid.” The ominous 905 beat (that’s the name of a producer, not a sampler, just so you know) provides all the ammunition this driller needs. Most of the time his vocals are straight up and down, but “P E R C O S E T S” seems aptly named given the heavy AutoTune usage. It’s hard to avoid the fact that the more recreational drugs young rap artists consume, the more comfortable they become with that Tune, as though singing becomes easier than spitting bars. For someone who grew up not being able to sing I felt like the opposite was true.
The affection Fatso has for Chicago is a huge plus on songs like the SarKay laced “Come Home.” Fatso couldn’t wait to get the hell out of Cali in the song, even though he “grew up the bad way” and “didn’t care what my dad say.” It’s understandable given his pops was locked up by Fatso’s own admission. You might wonder why someone making Chicago drill would be so fond of it given the prevalent violence, but as the old saying goes, pressure makes diamonds. If you can survive to make it in rap music you’ve got something to be proud of. Besides between us I think Chicago gets a bad name when the violence endemic to it isn’t exactly unique compared to any large metropolitan area in America.
The most surprising thing about Fatso might be that he has a spiritual side. ProdbyLeak gives Fatso a soft piano melody to offer prayers to the heavens on “Help Me Jesus,” where he confesses his sins and admits “I do what I want, I’m a savage” even while he obviously wants more. You can hear a choir in the background at times and they try to lead him to the path of enlightenment. “Tears fall out my eyes, why am I around? I got low self-esteem.” Now that’s the kind of brutal honesty listeners can relate to.
So yes — when YFG Fatso says he doesn’t need to be on drugs to make good music on “Sanity Evaded,” I believe him. I’m not even 100 that he needed Durk to get where he is right now. Does he embody a lot of the tropes of the drill genre? By choice. Does he sing more than he needs to? At times. Do I see there’s more to the man than surface level appearances? Definitely. He tries to hide his true self at times through bragging about having an AK in his pants and talking down on his opps, but this is a young man with a daughter to take care of and a lot to live for, and that comes out in his songs even when he’s trying to posture for his audience. Fatso is not my first choice for a rap nom de plume but I think he’ll be alright. Keep your eye on him going forward.
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