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Entertainment

23rd Mar 2018

New G-Eazy doc depicts his rise from YouTube rapper to global star

Will Lavin

Life hasn’t always been easy for G-Eazy.

The latest YouTube Artist Spotlight Story takes a look at the life and times of rap sensation G-Eazy.

With 4.8 million subscribers and having amassed over 3.1 billion views across YouTube, with daily views reaching as high as 11.4 million, it only made sense that the video streaming giant shed some light on the Bay Area rapper who went from nothing to something all thanks to his music.

Titled These Things Happened, the film, directed by Rob Semmer (Creative Director for FADER), takes viewers behind the scenes of G-Eazy’s ascent to superstardom. Mixing concert clips, backstage interviews and documentary footage of the rapper’s hometown, including the street corners where he used to hand out mixtapes more than a decade ago, it’s an enlightening film that further proves if you have a solid work ethic as well as talent then the sky really is the limit.

Highlighting the role of YouTube in his success, G says:

“It didn’t work the traditional route until I got it popping on my own on YouTube. I’m forever grateful for the opportunity that was presented to an artist like myself.

“If you’re not active on YouTube, if you’re not visible, if you’re not giving that window into your life at all, then you’re just disappearing.”

“It’s an honor to partner with and help tell the story of an artist with such a clear vision,” said Lyor Cohen, Global Head of Music at YouTube. “It’s equally rewarding to work with a label like RCA that is so supportive in collaborating to propel G-Eazy and bring context to his journey.”

G-Eazy’s latest album, The Beautiful & Damned, is out now. Check out our review here.