American rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again, also known as NBA YoungBoy or just YoungBoy, was born Kentrell DeSean Gaulden on October 20, 1999. He published eight independent mixtapes between 2015 and 2017, steadily building a cult following. Gaulden signed with Atlantic Records toward the end of 2017. He released the song “Outside Today” in January 2018, and it reached its top position of number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. His 2018 debut studio album, Until Death Call My Name, which featured the song as its lead single, reached at number seven on the US Billboard 200.
With Juice WRLD, Gaulden released the song “Bandit” in October 2019, which went on to become his first top-ten single. A week later, he released AI YoungBoy 2, which made its Billboard 200 debut at number one. He released 38 Baby 2, his second project to top the Billboard 200 charts, in April 2020. Gaulden’s second studio album Top (2020), which was later published that year and became his third project to top the charts in less than a year, followed suit. Sincerely, Kentrell (2021), which was released in September while he was still incarcerated and again topped the charts, made him the third artist, after 2Pac and Lil Wayne, to have a chart-topping album while behind bars. His fourth studio album, The Last Slimeto (2022), which was also his final one with Atlantic Records, was released in August of that year. I Rest My Case (2023), his fifth album and debut with Motown, was made available in January 2023. Gaulden’s career has been marred by a long history of legal difficulties that started in 2016, despite his popularity, and he has released several projects while he has been incarcerated.
NBA YoungBoy is known for his catchy vocals as well as his “signature explosive punch and strong intensity.” YoungBoy has produced over 26 studio albums, EPs, and mixtapes since 2015; he is renowned for his constancy in producing music and for working at a “fast fire pace.” He referred to his propensity to continuously produce songs as a “sickness” in 2023.
