William Joseph Crawford (born January 28, 1984), known by his stage name Ya Boy (also known as Rich Rocka), is an American rapper from Fillmore District,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He is best known for his 2011 single " Lock Down" (with

DJ Drama Tyree Cinque Simmons (born April 22, 1978), known professionally as DJ Drama, is an American disc jockey (DJ), record executive and music promoter. He initially gained recognition as the DJ for Atlanta-based rapper T.I., and continued to gai ...

featuring

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

). The year prior, he signed with the latter's record label,

Konvict Muzik Konvict Kulture is a record label founded by R&B singer Akon, Melvin Brown (music manager), Melvin Brown and Bu Thiam in 2003 under the name Konvict Muzik. Artists including T-Pain, Kat DeLuna, Mali Music (singer), Mali Music, Red Café, Dolla ...

, having first signed with San Quinn's Done Deal Entertainment to release his debut studio album, '' Rookie of the Year'' (2005). The following year, he signed with the Game's Black Wall Street Records, and later Mack 10's Hoo-Bangin' Records in 2009, although he released no albums with both labels.

Early life

Crawford grew up in San Francisco's Fillmore District, and graduated from El Camino High School in South San Francisco. His cousin is football player Stevie Johnson.

Career

In 2005, Crawford signed with San Quinn's Done Deal Entertainment and SMC Recordings to release his debut album, '' Rookie of the Year'' in May of that year. In 2006, Crawford signed with the Game's record label The Black Wall Street Records, an imprint of Warner Bros. Records. After making an appearance on the label's collaborative mixtape, ''The Black Wall Street Journal, Vol. 1'' (2006), Crawford began working with producers including Scott Storch, Araab Muzik and Cool & Dre, the latter of whom produced his 2008 standalone single, "Holla at Ya Boy". In 2009, Crawford formed the record label Black Card Music, and signed himself and the label to Mack 10's Hoo-Bangin' Records. He released no projects with the label, and instead signed with

's labels

and Kon Live Distribution in February 2010. The following August, he released the single "Party Girls" (featuring Rico Love), and later the single "Lockdown" (with

featuring Akon) in late 2011. The latter song was shared with disc jockey DJ Drama as part of his third album, '' Third Power'' (2011). Crawford changed his stage name in favor of Rich Rocka in early 2013. He then released the mixtape ''Road 2 Rocka'' on July 4, 2013.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Rookie of the Year'' (2005) *'' Rich Rocka'' (2013)

Mixtapes

References

External links

*
Ya Boy's Official MyspaceYa Boy's Official Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ya Boy Living people People from South San Francisco, California African-American male rappers Hip-hop musicians from San Francisco Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area West Coast hip-hop musicians 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 1984 births 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians