The playboy can be identified by his smooth delivery, calm focus, and quiet strength. 

Yung Berg, one of the music industry’s fastest rising stars, is one of the few rappers to come along in quite some time and fit that definition to a T.  Berg kept the hot summer clubs and streets cool with his inescapable banger, "Sexy Lady". 

 However, with Almost Famous: The Sexy Lady EP available now, and his upcoming LP, Look What You Made Me set to be released soon you might want to slow down before rushing and placing Yung Berg in a box, labeling it “playboy,” and shutting it permanently sealed.

As he shares his thoughts on being shipped off to military school, keeping it gangster vs. keeping it cool, getting over a broken heart, and being a role model, you’ll find there’s a little bit more to this “playboy” than you might expect. 

Still, read this in a warm place because you just might catch a whiff of a cool breeze from the smooth confidence alone.                 

How would you describe your music?

It’s a combination of a lot of different things.  I’m the best gumbo around; there’s a whole lot of s%*t mixed in, but you may not know who’s cooking it or what it is.  But onc e you get it it’s good.  I’m influenced by everybody from Anita Baker to Jay-Z, so it’s real broad.  I can never really single out anyone in particular.

What is the primary difference to be expected from the EP and the LP?

The EP was the pre-game show and now we’re getting ready to go to the big game. The LP is ridiculous.  It’s a dream come true.  I got Rich Boy, Jim Jones, DJ Khaled, Eve, Shawnna, Ray J, Amerie, Trey Songz, Lloyd, Fabulous, Twista, and Collie Buddz.

That sounds like you’re going to have one featured artist per track.  That’s a whole lot of collaborations.

No, it’s like three of us one track and three of us on another track.

Do you ever see yourself forming a rap group or some kind of musical partnership since you obviously enjoy collaborations?

Lloyd and I are about to start the movement.  My single “Manager,” features Lloyd.  We work like 24/7, so you never know, but I’m with it.

You were previously signed to DMX’s Bloodline Records label at the age of fifteen.  You once said that your parents pulling you out of that deal saved your life and career.  What were you referring to in that statement?

I was a wild dude back in the day.  I was a little DMX and he was like my big brother.  I wanted to be like him.

So he was a good influence, but also a negative influence?

Yeah, you know everybody is [a negative or positive influence] in their own sort of way, but it was all positive for me.

Your parents weren’t comfortable with the idea of you being a rapper.  How do they feel about your success now?

They love it, and they’re happy and excited for me.  I really stuck with what I wanted to do, and everything panned out for me so they’re not mad at all.

Your parents seem to be pretty strict.  What do they think of your lyrical content, specifically the sexually suggestive hit single, Sexy Lady?

I’m grown.  I just had my 22nd birthday not too long ago, so there’s nothing that they can really say now. 

One of the things that your parents did have a say on is the decision to send you to military school.  What did you gain from your time in military school?

My time in military school was more of a humbling experience.  It taught me that you could be at the top one day, and at the bottom the next.  So don’t take anything for granted and really go hard. 

Do you have any views on the fact that the military primarily targets and recruits young, poor, minorities?

I don’t like the fact that mainly young black people and [other] minorities are getting shipped off to fight in a war that’s probably senseless. I think they’re [the government] just pimpin’ the situation. 

 You once stated, “If you don’t write your raps get away from me.”Yet you have writing credits on albums by Shawnna and Eve.  Isn’t that a bit of a contradiction?

No, that’s my family.  If I come up with a hot hook or I got a good idea for the project, then it would be wrong to hold that back.  I’m just talking to [the] cats that solely let somebody else write their [entire] record.  For example, there are guys that might be in the same category that I’m in, but it’s a gimmick.

Speaking of family, your brother, Cap-One, will be the first artist to debut from your entertainment venture, the Yung Boss imprint.  What are the similarities and differences between you two?

He’s more street because he lived it, but he still has the same swagger that I have.  I wouldn’t talk about anything that I didn’t live.  I have been around street dudes, but I don’t think it’s necessary for me to give into that because it’s not my life.  My life is [about] a young fly dude that’s internationally accepted.

In the earlier part of your career you did rap about more street topics.  What inspired the change from rhyming about the street to the lyrical topics that you choose to deliver today?

I just came to grips with the reality that my life was the s%*t, and that if I just talked about my life then it would bring more people closer to me.  Also, I would be able to be real.

What message are you trying to send with your music and image?

The message is that dreams do come true.  Don’t ever sit back at home and think it’s not possible for you to be in a good position because I did it.  So you can make it happen.

Being that you have a lot of young fans do you consider yourself a role model for young people?

 Yes, but I wouldn’t say for young people as a whole because I do my fair share of bad things.  But I’m inspiration and motivation for every young guy that wants to do anything in the entertainment industry, and is coming from ground zero and making it to the top. 

What is the one piece of advice or warning about the industry that you would give to those young people looking to break into the industry?

You have to come to grips with the fact that at the end of the day it’s a business.  The suits behind the desk are gon’ be there, but rappers and artists come and go.  So you just have to keep doing your thing and strive to achieve, because the labels can really dictate and determine what you do. 

You seem like a very confident kind of guy.  So in light of the recent marketing campaign 50 Cent vs. Kanye West, if you could go up against any other rapper in a similar campaign who would it be and why?

I would want to say Weezy,but I guess just because of my look and how girls are attached on to me it would have to be Bow-Wow.

Yung Berg vs. Bow-Wow would be interesting.

[Laughs] I wouldn’t even do it, but it sounds funny.  It might look good on paper.

I read that you suffered a broken heart about 2 years ago.  What was the hardest part of your break-up?

Uhhh man, I was really down with my shorty and she just wasn’t down for me no more, and she turned her back on me.  It ended at a point when I was on the road and it kind of messed me up.  I took that negative energy and made hits about it so I’m cool.

How are you enjoying the single life now?

Lovely.