Compton rapper AD blew up in the rap scene with his 2015 club banger “Juice,” which took over airwaves and functions up and down the West Coast. But don’t get it twisted, AD isn’t your average turn up rapper or even street rapper, he embodies a genuine love to creating music and more importantly, rapping.

Growing up in South Central meant being surrounded by the reality of the streets. At age 18, his good friend was gunned down on AD’s porch, a traumatic experience for any teenager to witness. If it was 30 seconds later, he would have been there with him. With gang-related activities being at his fingertips, he found music to be his therapy. In high school, he began battle rapping, even joining a rap group with 03 Greedo.

3 years ago, AD unleashed his critically-acclaimed mixtape By The Way. Now, he returns with the follow-up, By The Way 2, with standout features from Trey Songz, O.T. Genasis, G Perico, Saviii 3rd, Rucci, AzChike, and 1TakeJay. Lead singles include “MIND” ft. O.T. & “Bruce Lee” ft. Chike.

Speaking on the new project, he states, “The thing is, I was going through a time in life where music became a job for me — versus me having fun with the music. It’s about being inspired again. I started having fun with the shit, I freestyled the whole album top to bottom.