Cause I Came Fromluxury, by Michael Levey, is a personal album about the author’s personal life and business adventures. I first came across the book in 2021 while surfing through the internet. I liked the loose-leaf pages that were in between the more serious books and music ebooks. I immediately recognized the style and laid-back feel of Michael Levey’s writing and soon I was hooked.
- The story of a young boy who never broke out into mainstream music like so many other debut albums have done in the past few years. This is largely due to the fact that Levey is not one of the most talented writers in the industry. He has, however, managed to produce an interesting story about his life that isn’t too serious or too tongue-in-cheek. The levity of this book comes from its structure.
- The first half of the book involves Levey as a young boy who is trying to figure out what “business lyrics never broke” really means. He is also trying to decide between being a bad boy or a good one. Eventually, the story branches off to his thoughts on why he joined the Army in the first place. The novel ends with a reflection on how much he resents the war in Iraq and wishes he had never gone there. Although the war is over in part, there are still remnants of battle debris in the streets of Baghdad.
- The second half chronicles the singer’s rise to stardom. The war turns him into a more stable, confident man, but he still has the same youthful exuberance that was present when he first started out. In part one, the young boy wonders what it would be like to sing “Wrecking Ball” by Pitbull and perform “Baby Even Though It’s Old.” In this part of the memoir, we learn that the title of that track was actually “Baby Even Though It’s Old.”
- The final chapter of “38 Baby 2” traces the career of Youngboy’s friend and manager, Gaulden. He takes the stage in support of Youngboy at one of his shows and shares stories of being scammed by various businessmen trying to take advantage of the rising star. Youngboy relates how he finally decided to stand up to the bullies, telling the crowd, “You don’t have to wreck your nerves to make me rich!”
Despite how much you might want to think this story is nothing more than another sales pitch for a terrible album, but Levey keeps things real. He tells the story of how a simple conversation about getting rich turned into a song that became a smash hit. He also shares with the world how he decided to go on to say “Baby Even Though It’s Old,” instead of “Wrecking Ball.” This book will make you think, and if you think about it enough you will probably cry.