YoungBoy Never Broke Again

Hailing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, YoungBoy Never Broke Again stands out as an exceptionally productive rapper whose raw street storytelling has cultivated a devoted fanbase. Emerging among the promising newcomers of 2015 and 2016, his early momentum faced a brief interruption due to a six-month jail term. Upon his 2017 release, he established himself as a consistent Billboard presence through a steady stream of mixtapes, EPs, and singles. His first studio album, Until Death Call My Name, entered the Billboard 200 Top Ten upon its 2018 arrival, while the 2019 mixtape AI YoungBoy 2 claimed the top position. Multiple 2020 mixtapes kept him high on the charts until his second album, Top, reached number one; he capped that intense year with another mixtape plus the Rich the Kid collaboration Nobody Safe. YoungBoy reclaimed the Billboard 200 summit in 2021 via Sincerely, Kentrell and landed at number two with 2022’s The Last Slimeto. He sustained his output with quick-fire mixtapes such as 3800 Degrees and the DJ Drama-hosted Ma’ I Got a Family. Early 2023 saw the arrival of I Rest My Case, the first project under his Motown agreement, swiftly followed by further releases including Decided 2 and the 2024 set I Just Got a Lot on My Shoulders.

Born Kentrell DeSean Gaulden in Baton Rouge in 1999 and originally known as NBA YoungBoy, the artist drew initial inspiration from local figure Lil Phat before beginning to rap and record. His first mixtape, Life Before Fame, surfaced in 2015 and was soon succeeded by the three-part Mind of a Menace series. Illuminating the harsh and violent circumstances of his upbringing, YoungBoy demonstrated a gift for dense lyricism that echoed contemporaries such as 21 Savage and Boosie Badazz. The 2016 release 38 Baby featured fellow Baton Rouge artists including Badazz and Kevin Gates. At year’s end, Before I Go Reloaded compiled earlier tracks while questions lingered about his career path. After exiting prison in 2017, he delivered his Atlantic debut AI YoungBoy, which contained the single “Untouchable” and entered the Billboard 200 Top 25. Later that year came the collaborative mixtape Fed Baby’s with Moneybagg Yo, followed shortly by the brief Ain’t Too Long project that first circulated as a streaming playlist before charting on the Billboard 200.

The platinum-certified Until Death Call My Name, YoungBoy’s inaugural official full-length, arrived in April 2018 and soon reached the Billboard 200 Top Ten; it included contributions from Future, Lil Baby, and Birdman along with the Top 40 single “Outside Today.” Less than a month afterward, the mixtape Master the Day of Judgement appeared. A trio of EPs—4Respect, 4Freedom, and 4Loyalty—dropped across August and September, later combined with extra material into the expanded 4Respect 4Freedom 4Loyalty 4WhatImportant. Before year’s end the prolific artist added the mixtapes Decided and Realer. October 2019 brought AI YoungBoy 2, which debuted at number one. Still Flexin, Still Steppin followed in February 2020 and peaked at number two, while 38 Baby 2 arrived months later and topped the charts; alongside a DaBaby guest spot, the project featured YoungBoy’s mother, Sherhonda Gaulden, on “Bout My Business.”

September 2020 marked the release of Top, his third project that year and second studio album. The 21-track set included appearances by Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne and opened at number one on the Billboard chart. He closed the year with a rapid series of drops beginning with the crew compilation Never Broke Again, Vol. 1, then the Top Ten mixtape Until I Return and the Rich the Kid collaboration Nobody Safe. Several charting singles, among them “White Teeth” and “On My Side,” preceded Sincerely, Kentrell, his third studio LP, which surfaced in September 2021 and became his fourth Billboard 200 number-one release. He ended the year with From the Bayou, a Cash Money mixtape issued with label co-founder Birdman that reached the Top 20.

Colors, YoungBoy’s opening 2022 mixtape, peaked at number two, while the DaBaby collaboration Better Than You landed in the Top Ten. The expansive 30-song The Last Slimeto arrived in August and narrowly missed the top spot. Although billed as his final Atlantic project, subsequent releases including the Realer 2 mixtape continued through the label. Early October brought 3800 Degrees, followed two weeks later by the DJ Drama-hosted Ma’ I Got a Family featuring Nicki Minaj and Yeat. November saw 3860 alongside Quando Rondo, and the compilation Lost Files appeared just before Christmas.

The first 2023 release, full-length I Rest My Case, marked the start of his Motown partnership and charted in the Top Ten. It was followed by the 85-minute Don’t Try This at Home, which included guests Nicki Minaj, Post Malone, the Kid LAROI, and Mariah the Scientist and debuted at number five on the Billboard 200. Next came the mixtape Richest Opp, which reached number four and marked the rapper’s 15th Top Ten album. November 2023 brought Decided 2, the sequel to his 2018 mixtape, peaking at number 17. The Never Broke Again compilation Compliments of Grave Digger Mountain arrived in 2024, accompanied by singles such as “Act a Donkey” and “Tears of War.” I Just Got a Lot on My Shoulders, YoungBoy’s seventh studio album and final Motown project, was released in December 2024.