Kentrell DeSean Gaulden (born: October 20, 1999), known professionally as YoungBoy Never Broke Again (also known as NBA YoungBoy or simply YoungBoy), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Between 2015 and 2017, Gaulden released eight independent mixtapes, locally and online, and steadily garnered a cult following through his work. In late 2017, Gaulden was signed to Atlantic Records, and distributed two additional mixtapes before releasing his highest charting solo single, "Outside Today" in January 2018, which peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was the lead single for his debut studio album Until Death Call My Name, released in April of that year. His follow up singles include "Valuable Pain", "Slime Belief" and "Genie"
In 2019, he released AI YoungBoy 2, which became his first chart-topper, peaking at number one on the Billboard 200 in 2019, and includes the singles "Self Control", "Slime Mentality" and "Make No Sense". Youngboy also worked with fellow rapper Juice WRLD on "Bandit", which peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 to become his highest-charting single and his first top ten song.
Early Life
Kentrell Gaulden was born on October 20, 1999, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. YoungBoy broke his neck while wrestling as a toddler, the injury requiring a head brace until the spine healed. The brace left permanent scars on his forehead. YoungBoy was raised mainly by his maternal grandmother due to his father being sentenced to 55 years in prison. He dropped out of ninth grade and told his mom he wanted to focus on his music career and was soon arrested for robbery and sent to a detention center in Tallulah, Louisiana. While there, he began writing lyrics for his debut project.
After he was released from the detention center, Gaulden's grandmother died of heart failure and Gaulden moved in with his friend and fellow Baton Rouge rapper, NBA 3Three (also known as OG 3Three). The two then used acts of criminality to begin to pay for studio time.
Career
2016-2017: Beginnings and A.I. YoungBoy
YoungBoy first began producing music with a microphone he bought from Walmart when he was fourteen years old. He released his first mixtape, Life Before Fame in 2015. A string of other mixtapes followed including Mind of a Menace, Mind of a Menace 2, and Before I Go. YoungBoy attracted attention with his October 2016 mixtape, 38 Baby, which featured fellow Baton Rouge natives, Boosie Badazz, Kevin Gates, and fellow rappers Stroke Tha Don and NBA 3Three. A week later, YoungBoy released another mixtape titled Mind of a Menace 3 on November 4, 2016. YoungBoy's quick rise to popularity could also be attributed to his “song-for-song rap beef” with fellow Baton Rouge rapper Scotty Cain in December 2015, in which songs from both rappers included death threats. Although no real violence ever occurred between the two Baton Rouge rappers, their feuding attracted a lot of attention.
In December 2016, YoungBoy was arrested in Austin, Texas on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder in connection with an alleged drive-by shooting. While in jail in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, YoungBoy released two mixtapes Before I Go: Reloaded and Mind of a Menace 3: Reloaded including "Win or Lose", "Don't Matter", and "Too Much". YoungBoy was released from prison in May 2017 after taking a plea deal and posting bail. A week after leaving prison, YoungBoy released the single, "Untouchable".
In July 2017, YoungBoy released a video for his song, "41", that included cameos from notable artists including, Meek Mill, Young Thug, 21 Savage, Boosie Badazz, and Yo Gotti. On August 3, 2017, he released his mixtape, A.I. YoungBoy which charted at 24 on the Billboard 200. The single, "Untouchable", peaked at number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The second single from AI YoungBoy, "No Smoke" peaked at number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. Also in August 2017, YoungBoy announced the A.I. YoungBoy tour.
2018: Until Death Call My Name
YoungBoy announced his debut studio album, Until Death Call My Name in January 2018, shortly after signing a joint venture deal with Atlantic Records. The album was released on April 27, 2018. He released the single "Outside Today" on January 6, 2018. The song became Gaulden's highest charting song, peaking at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite being arrested in February 2018, Gaulden promised a new mixtape. Youngboy was released from prison on March 15, and his next mixtape Master The Day Of Judgement was released on May 19, 2018. Throughout the summer of 2018, Youngboy released a series of four EPs, each containing four tracks. The first of which, 4Respect, was released on August 24, followed by 4Freedom, 4Loyalty and 4WhatImportant on August 30, September 6 and September 14, respectively. In conjunction with the final part being released, all four EPs were combined into a 16 track compilation titled 4Respect 4Freedom 4Loyalty 4WhatImportant. Youngboy's 12th mixtape Decided was released on September 7, 2018, with a sole guest appearance from Trippie Redd and peaked at number 9 on the Billboard 200. On December 20, Youngboy released another mixtape, Realer featuring guest appearances from Lil Baby and Plies.
Discography
Studio albums
- Until Death Call My Name (2018)
Mixtapes/EPs
- 38 Baby (2016)
- Al Youngboy (2017)
- Master the Day of Judgement (2018)
- Decided (2018)
- 4Respect 4Freedom 4Loyalty 4WhatImportant (2018)
- Realer (2018)
- AI YoungBoy 2 (2019)
This page was created by Jvoshua on January 13, 2020.