YouTube Star Ricky Dillon Drops New Album and Music Video Featuring Snoop Dogg / People.com

YouTube sensation Ricky Dillon is going for the Gold. The 23-year-old musician got his start on YouTube, gaining fame and over 200 million views to date with boisterous video blogs and music videos. Dillon is set to release his second album Gold on Jan. 15, along with a new music video for his song "Problematic," featuring Snoop Dogg. "I'm excited, but I'm also nervous, anxious," Dillon tells PEOPLE. "But it's all good." Dillon says the new album showcases more of a personal and "intense" side to the typically comedic, light-hearted pieces he usually posts on social media. According to Dillon, his favorite song on Gold is "Fight and Battle."

"It's about overcoming personal struggles and mental battles with yourself," says Dillon. "And I don't open up very often … It's really nice for me to release something more personal." Dillon had a lot of inspiration for his new video "Problematic," including Justin Bieber. He says he was inspired by Bieber's dance video for "Sorry." "I love that video and so does my director Andrew Vallentine," says Dillon. "We were thinking of ideas, and we were inspired by how he just featured dancers in it. So I'm still in the video [for "Problematic"], but it'll cut to dancers throughout, and they're really, really good.” As for working with Snoop Dogg, Dillon says the experience was "amazing." "I was like, 'This can't be happening,'" Dillon gushed. In fact, the "nice, very humble and welcoming" rapper even gave the young Youtube star a nickname while working together. "He called me 'Slick Rick,' which was funny," Dillon tells PEOPLE. Dillon is proud of how much more involved he was, especially regarding lyrics, with the new album. On his EP, RPD, he helped write one of the songs. But for Gold, he wrote or co-wrote all of the songs. "I've worked harder on my voice with the help of my producer Bobby. We found a really nice tone for me to sing in," says Dillon. "The album is a good variety, a mixture of slow and then, like, crazy stuff. And I have some more surprises that I haven't announced yet." With the release of Gold, the Youtube sensation hopes this year includes experimenting with other forms of entertainment, like acting. But most of all, he is looking forward to what's ahead. "I have a lot of big things coming up," says Dillon.