Yung L.A.

Emerging from Atlanta, GA, where he spent his formative years, the Southern rapper Yung L.A. joined Grand Hustle Records through a contract signed in May 2007. His initial chart entry arrived in 2008 with the track "Ain't I," which united him alongside labelmates T.I. and Young Dro. Ahead of that release, however, "Ain't I" had already spread through the Southern rap underground in a version that spotlighted another Grand Hustle artist, Big Kuntry King, before the more widely recognized pairing took shape. Ahead of his first full-length album, appearances on mixtapes such as DJ Spinz's Offset Shawty (2008) and DJ Infamous' Black Boy White Boy (2009) helped build his profile.