YG Opens Up About THE GENTLEMEN’S CLUB, Therapy & The Lasting Fallout From “FDT” [Video]
YG discusses THE GENTLEMEN’S CLUB, therapy, depression, and the continuing performance restrictions surrounding “FDT” in a candid interview with Big Boy.
YG joins Big Boy for an extended conversation about the experiences behind THE GENTLEMEN’S CLUB. Released on June 19, the rapper’s seventh studio album pairs its polished black-tie presentation with some of the most personal writing of his career, moving through depression, trauma, insecurity, and the pressure of confronting parts of himself he no longer wants to carry.
During the interview, YG discusses reaching particularly dark points in recent years and explains how therapy helped him address those struggles both individually and within his family. That process runs directly through records such as “HITMAN,” “READY TO DIE,” “INSECURE,” and “MID LIFE CRISIS,” where the album’s larger story turns inward rather than presenting another straightforward collection of West Coast anthems. The 15-track project also features Pusha T, Tyler, The Creator, JID, Ab-Soul, Shoreline Mafia, Buddy, Ogi, Isaiah Falls, Odeal, Sasha Keable, and PayGotti.
Big Boy also asks whether the current political climate could bring YG back for another sequel to “FDT.” He has no plans to revisit the protest record, partly because the original continues to create problems nearly ten years later. YG says some promoters still agree to book him only if he leaves the Nipsey Hussle-assisted song out of his set, and recalls a college contract that allowed the organizers to withhold his payment if he performed it.
Originally released during Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign and later included on YG’s 2016 album Still Brazy, “FDT” drew attention from the Secret Service and became one of the era’s most recognizable protest records. Its repercussions now sit alongside a much more intimate discussion of survival, accountability, and the changes that shaped THE GENTLEMEN’S CLUB.
Watch YG’s full conversation with Big Boy below.