YBN Nahmir

At just 17 years old, YBN Nahmir burst onto the scene in 2017 through the viral platinum single "Rubbin Off the Paint," shifting almost instantly from an online gamer to a recognized rap figure. Core members of the YBN collective included him alongside Cordae and YBN Almighty Jay, each achieving major traction in quick succession. Millions of streams and video views propelled their tracks onto Billboard charts, as did the 2018 mixtape YBN: The Mixtape, which gathered standout material such as Nahmir's follow-up headliner "Bounce Out with That." His later solo project Visionland arrived in 2021 and housed the third platinum single "Opp Stoppa," after which he joined Def Jam and signaled the affiliation via "Bows" in 2022.

Raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Nicholas Alexander Simmons established the YBN crew in 2014. Both his music and the larger collective emerged from a circle of adolescent online gamers whose audience initially coalesced around his in-game presence, occasionally featuring freestyles during Grand Theft Auto sessions. Over time he refined an energetic, combative approach shaped by key Bay Area voices including E-40 and Mozzy, then began posting material across social platforms. Momentum surged with "Rubbin Off the Paint," whose video surpassed 20 million views within weeks and reached number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100 by year's end. A remix from Vince Staples expanded its reach even further. Subsequent releases such as "I Got a Stick," "No Hook," and "Bail Out" also performed strongly, yet the concise, aggressive "Bounce Out with That" proved the most potent successor, logging hundreds of millions of streams, charting on Billboard, and securing platinum status alongside the debut hit.

April 2018 brought a deal with Atlantic Records, followed that fall by the crew mixtape YBN: The Mixtape, which matched the impact of prior singles and featured appearances from Wiz Khalifa, Chris Brown, Cuban Doll, and additional established names. Further singles appeared over the next two years, among them "Baby 8," "Opp Stoppa," and 2019's "Fuck It Up" with City Girls and Tyga, plus 2020 cuts "Talkin,'" "2 Seater" featuring G-Eazy and Offset, and "Wake Up." TikTok virality lifted the 21 Savage remix of "Opp Stoppa," turning it into Nahmir's second Hot 100 entry at number 78 in March 2021 and previewing the full-length Visionland. Alongside both versions of that track, the album incorporated earlier singles and "Ca$hland," a collaboration with Too $hort and E-40. Platinum certification for "Opp Stoppa" arrived in early 2022, and Nahmir issued "Bows" that July as his opening release under Def Jam.