YoungBoy Never Broke Again facts for kids

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. Between 2015 and 2017, he released eight independent mixtapes and steadily garnered a cult following through his work. In August 2017, Gaulden was signed to Atlantic Records. In January 2018, he released the single "Outside Today", which peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song became the lead single for his debut studio album Until Death Call My Name (2018) which peaked at number 7 on the US Billboard 200.

In October 2019, Gaulden released the single "Bandit" (with Juice Wrld), which became his first top-ten single. A week later, he released AI YoungBoy 2 (2019), which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. In April 2020, he released 38 Baby 2, becoming his second chart-topping project on the Billboard 200. Later that year, Gaulden released his second studio album Top (2020), which followed suit as his third chart-topping project in less than a year. In September 2021, Sincerely, Kentrell (2021) was released during his incarceration, topping the charts again, making him the third artist besides 2Pac and Lil Wayne to have a chart-topping album while incarcerated. In August 2022, he released his fourth studio album, The Last Slimeto (2022), which marked his final studio album with Atlantic Records. In late 2022, Gaulden signed to Motown and released his fifth album, I Rest My Case, in January 2023. In April 2023, he released his sixth full-length studio album, Don't Try This at Home.

Despite his success, Gaulden's career has been marked by a long history of legal issues that began in 2016, and has released multiple projects during his incarcerations.

Early life

Kentrell DeSean Gaulden was born on October 20, 1999, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He 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. Gaulden was raised mainly by his maternal grandmother due to his father being sentenced to 55 years in prison. He dropped out of high school in ninth grade. While in juvenile detention for a robbery charge, he began writing lyrics for his debut project.

After he was released, Gaulden's grandmother died of heart failure and he moved in with his friend and fellow Baton Rouge rapper, OG3Three Never Broke Again. The two then used acts of criminality to begin to pay for studio time.

Career

2015–2017: Career beginnings and AI YoungBoy

Gaulden performing in 2017

Gaulden 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. Gaulden 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, Gaulden released another mixtape titled Mind of a Menace 3 on November 4, 2016. Gaulden'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 November 2016, Gaulden 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, Gaulden re-released his two mixtapes, Before I Go and Mind of a Menace 3. Gaulden was released from prison in May 2017 after taking a plea deal and posting bail. A week after leaving prison, Gaulden released the single, "Untouchable".

In July 2017, Gaulden 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. In August 2017, it was reported that after being scouted by Mike Caren, YoungBoy signed a five-album record deal worth $2 million with Carren's Artist Partner Group and Atlantic Records while the music had been published under YoungBoy's own Never Broke Again. On August 3, 2017, he released his seventh mixtape, AI YoungBoy which charted at 24 on the Billboard 200, marking YoungBoy's first appearance on the chart. The single, "Untouchable", peaked at number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The second single from the project, "No Smoke", peaked at number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100.

YoungBoy's eighth mixtape, Ain't Too Long was released on October 7, 2017. The mixtape peaked at #173 on the Billboard 200 chart, marking YoungBoy's second appearance on the chart. Just a month later, in November 2017, YoungBoy appeared as a guest on 21 Savage's Numb The Pain Tour.

2018–2019: Until Death Call My Name and AI YoungBoy 2

Gaulden 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. He announced his debut studio album, Until Death Call My Name on January 11, shortly after signing a joint venture deal with Atlantic Records. The album was released on April 27, 2018. Despite being arrested in February 2018, Gaulden promised a new mixtape. Gaulden was released from jail on March 15, and his next mixtape Master The Day Of Judgement was released on May 19, 2018. Throughout the summer of 2018, Gaulden 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 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. On September 7, Gaulden released his mixtape Decided, featuring a sole guest appearance from Trippie Redd. On December 20, Gaulden released another mixtape, Realer, featuring guest appearances from Lil Baby and Plies.

By January 2019, Gaulden was on YouTube's Top Music Artists list in the United States for the previous 101 weeks, which made him the most-watched musician across all genres. This was mainly due in part to his consistency of releasing music regularly and exclusively on YouTube. He was also the 9th best selling artist on the 2019 Billboard Mid-Year Charts and was seventh in the top ten artists ranked by on-demand audio streams without dropping a project in the first six months of 2019.

Gaulden was sentenced to 14 months on house arrest following a probation violation earlier in 2019. Due to the house arrest, he was unable to record music from anywhere besides his house. On September 25, 2019, Gaulden released the "aptly titled" single "House Arrest Tingz".

On October 4, 2019, Gaulden released the song "Bandit", with rapper Juice WRLD, released as the final new song by Juice WRLD as a lead artist before his death. The song reached number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming NBA Youngboy's highest charting single.

On October 10, 2019, Gaulden released his mixtape AI YoungBoy 2, and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. The mixtape is a sequel to his 2017 breakout AI Youngboy and features 18 songs, including the previously released song "Slime Mentality". Gaulden was able to get his first number one album on the Billboard 200 because the album had accumulated 144.7 million on-demand audio streams during its first week, becoming one of the top ten biggest streaming debuts of 2019.

2020–2021: 38 Baby 2, Top, and Sincerely, Kentrell

In February 2020, Gaulden released his mixtape, Still Flexin, Still Steppin. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, becoming his second-highest charting album after his 2019 number-one album AI YoungBoy 2. On April 24, 2020, Gaulden released his mixtape 38 Baby 2, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200. On August 20, 2020, Gaulden announced the release of his second studio album titled Top, which was released on September 11. It includes the Hot 100-charting singles "All In", "Kacey Talk", and "My Window" featuring Lil Wayne. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and became his third number-one album in under one year.

On November 11, 2020, Gaulden released his fourth solo project of 2020, the mixtape Until I Return. It was released exclusively on YouTube, and was made available three days later to streaming services with four additional songs. The mixtape has no guest features. On November 20, 2020, Gaulden released a collaborative project with Rich the Kid, titled Nobody Safe.

On September 24, 2021, Gaulden released his third studio album, Sincerely, Kentrell from prison. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 making him the third artist besides 2Pac and Lil Wayne to have a number one album while incarcerated.

As part of the album, Gaulden released the hit single "Life Support" on September 10 of that year, which saw significant success, even as he was currently incarcerated.

Following his release from jail in late October 2021, he released a number of singles beginning in November, including "Heart and Soul", "Alligator Walk", and "Blackball". The singles led up to his collaborative mixtape with Birdman, From the Bayou, which was released on December 10, 2021, after initially being announced in March 2018.

2022: Colors, The Last Slimeto, and numerous other projects

Gaulden released another mixtape, titled Colors, on January 21, 2022. This mixtape garnered attention due to the singles released previously, in which he dissed rappers King Von and NLE Choppa on the tracks "Bring the Hook" and "Know Like I Know", respectively. On March 4, 2022, Gaulden released Better than You, a collaborative mixtape with DaBaby.

On April 1, 2022, YoungBoy Never Broke Again released the Last Slimeto Sampler This led up to his fourth studio album, The Last Slimeto, which is also his final album with Atlantic Records, and was released on August 5, 2022. In May, it was reported that Gaulden rejected CEO Craig Kallman's $25 million offer to renew his Atlantic deal, calling the label out on its artist integrity. He also called to be released from the label along with fellow ex-labelmate Meek Mill. Additionally, in July 2022, he terminated his performance rights management deal with ASCAP and joined Irving Azoff-headed Global Music Rights.

Through Never Broke Again's Instagram page, it was announced that YoungBoy had finally completed his contract with Atlantic Records.

YoungBoy was featured on The Game's album Drillmatic – Heart vs. Mind, on the track, "O.P.P", but was later removed, a week after the album's released on August 12, 2022, over a clearance fee of $150,000 ordered by YoungBoy, causing the track to be remastered without his contributions and thus, the album to be re-released.

On September 4, 2022, YoungBoy released the YouTube exclusive single "Purge Me". On September 5, 2022, through DJ Akademiks it was announced that YoungBoy would release a surprise mixtape titled Realer 2, presented as a sequel to his December 2018 Realer. However, the mixtape did not release according to plan. On September 6, 2022, at around 4 PM EST, the mixtape was released primarily to YoungBoy's YouTube channel. Just a day later on September 7, the mixtape was added to all digital streaming platforms; despite YoungBoy's departure from Atlantic Records, the mixtape was distributed through the label.

On October 7, 2022, YoungBoy released his twentieth mixtape, 3800 Degrees through Never Broke Again and Atlantic Records. The project pays homage to Juvenile's 1998 400 Degreez and Lil Wayne's 2002 500 Degreez. The mixtape features guest appearances from E-40, Mouse on tha Track, and Shy Glizzy. The project marks YoungBoy Never Broke Again's fifth release of 2022 (fourth solo).

On October 16, he announced another project, Ma' I Got a Family, to be released the same week as his twenty-first project, and his sixth release of the year (fifth solo). Just days later, the tracklist was released, announcing Nicki Minaj and Yeat as the mixtape's only features. On October 21, 2022, the mixtape was released and was presented as a DJ Drama Gangsta Grillz exclusive.

Through Billboard, on October 24, 2022, it was announced that following the completion of YoungBoy Never Broke Again's contract with Atlantic Records, YoungBoy would sign a joint venture contract between Motown Records and YoungBoy's own label Never Broke Again. The joint venture deal was signed just over a year prior in September 2021, prior to the announcement of YoungBoy's addition to the label.

On November 25, 2022, YoungBoy teamed up with Never Broke Again signee, Quando Rondo for their collaborative mixtape, 3860. The mixtape was preceded by four singles, "Give Me a Sign", Cream Soda" (performed by Quando Rondo), "Keep Me Dry", and "It's On". Despite the project being uploaded to YoungBoy's YouTube channel, on the day of the mixtape's release, YoungBoy revealed that he did not want the mixtape to be released due to his past disputes with Atlantic Records, the label under which the mixtape was released under, subsequently leading to the removal of the mixtape from YoungBoy's YouTube channel. YoungBoy further noted that Quando respected his wishes for the mixtape to not be released, however, Atlantic Records proceeded to release the project.

On December 23, 2022, YoungBoy released the compilation album Lost Files which purely consisted of leaked songs from 2018 onwards. The project marked his final release of the year. The project peaked at number 45 on the Billboard 200 selling over 18,000 copies in its first tracking week.

2023–present: I Rest My Case, Don't Try This at Home, Richest Opp, and Decided 2

On January 3, 2023, YoungBoy's label released the official artwork for his fifth studio album I Rest My Case on their Instagram. On January 4, 2023, YoungBoy released a series of promotional singles, most notably "Black" which peaked at number 93 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was released on January 6, 2023, and is YoungBoy's first project under a new artist deal with Motown Records. The album peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200, marking YoungBoy's lowest charting studio album.

Through Billboard, on February 1, 2023, YoungBoy was announced to appear on the magazine's cover which was released alongside an interview. Appearing on the cover marked YoungBoy's first in five years since his October 2017 appearance on The Fader. Through the interview, it was noted that YoungBoy's sixth full-length studio album titled Don't Try This at Home is in the works.

On February 24, 2023, YoungBoy appeared as a feature on Yeat's third studio album Afterlyfe on the second track, "Shmunk". Weeks later, on March 17, 2023, YoungBoy would appear as a feature on "I Don't Mind", the fifth track on Lil Pump's third long-awaited studio album, Lil Pump 2.

On February 27, 2023, YoungBoy released "Next", a promotional single leading up to his sixth studio album, Don't Try This at Home. Just days later on March 2, 2023, YoungBoy issued another single, "Demon Party". Weeks later, through Motown Record's official Instagram, it was announced that the album would drop on April 21, 2023, and it would consist of thirty-three songs. The album's single, "Rear View" with the Atlanta singer Mariah the Scientist was released on April 14, 2023. The album released according to plan on April 21, 2023, featuring guest appearances from Mariah the Scientist, Nicki Minaj, Post Malone, and the Kid Laroi. The album debuted at number 5 on the Billboard 200 after selling 60,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. Furthermore, YoungBoy became the youngest artist in Billboard history to chart 100 songs on the Hot 100 after "Big Truck" debuted at #100 on the chart.

On May 8, 2023, YoungBoy announced a mixtape titled Richest Opp and its release date of May 12, the same release date as rival Lil Durk's album Almost Healed. Following this announcement, Durk's album was delayed. Richest Opp debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with 51,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.

On October 26, 2023, YoungBoy released the music video for "Deep Down". A day later, on October 27, 2023, YoungBoy released two more singles, "Now Who" and "My Body". The singles would appear on YoungBoy's twenty-first mixtape, Decided 2, the sequel to his September 2018, Decided.

Musical style

NBA YoungBoy has been noted for his melodic vocals and "signature aggressive punch and high energy". He is known for his consistency in releasing music, with his work ethic described as being of a "rapid fire pace". YoungBoy has released a total of twenty-six studio albums, EP's, and mixtapes since 2015.

Philanthropy

In 2017, following the release of YoungBoy's seventh solo mixtape, AI YoungBoy, he gave away $20,000 in cash in the neighborhood he grew up in. Just a year later, in October 2018, YoungBoy gave a fan what seemed to be $10,000 for graduating high school in order to push more of his younger fans to stay in school.

In April 2019, YoungBoy headed down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, his hometown, to feed the homeless in the area and set up a shelter for people in need while handing out food to the public. In August of the same year, while incarcerated, YoungBoy and his team funded an annual "Back to School Drive" in order to give children school supplies, backpacks, clothes, alongside other necessities which may be hard for them or their families to acquire. Through a phone call from jail, YoungBoy stated, "I hope everybody has fun. Thank you for coming". In 2020, following the release of YoungBoy's chart-topping sophomore studio album, Top, on behalf of the artist due to his legal circumstances, Mr. Gerald Gaulden, Cameron Brown, and Ms. Monique, all who have been around YoungBoy since his childhood would donate school supplies funded by YoungBoy to Capitol Elementary in Sacramento, California.

In November 2022, while on house arrest in Salt Lake City, Utah, YoungBoy partnered up with NAACP in order to donate 500 turkeys to Baton Rouge families in need for Thanksgiving. Furthermore, he funded a Thanksgiving buffet at Boil & Roux in Baton Rouge during his "Stop The Violence" movement in order to stop violence within black communities.

"Aye! Stop the violence. Look at me! I could promise you it's a bigger side of life. Stop the violence."

Just a month later, in December 2022, YoungBoy partnered up with his long-time rivals Fredo Bang and TG Kommas alongside NAACP and Metro Health Education in order to give back to their community in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to donate thousands of toys to the youth for Christmas alongside donating toys to the children's sector of Baton Rouge's Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. They also hosted a private diner to provide food and gifts for people who recently lost their homes in house fires.

Business ventures

Never Broke Again

Following YoungBoy's signing with Atlantic Records in 2017, his music had begun to be released under Atlantic and Never Broke Again, a record label founded by YoungBoy, his brother, Rodrick "OG 3Three" Jeanpierre, and their close friend, Kyle "Montana" Claiborne. YoungBoy's aim was to guide his friends into the music industry and give upcoming artists a platform to share their music. Never Broke Again's music would originally be distributed through UnitedMasters, however, on September 8, 2021, it was announced, that Never Broke Again would sign a global joint venture deal with Motown who would distribute their music and release compilation albums under the joint venture. Despite YoungBoy being a co-founder and the face of the label, it's run by Kyle "Montana" Clairborne. When asked about the inspiration behind the label, YoungBoy noted, "I felt like I had a responsibility to my artists to make sure to find the right partner for my label. I'm looking forward working with Ethiopia, Kenoe and Motown Records."

The label has been home to several artists such as YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Quando Rondo, and NoCap, as well as record producers and engineers such as Jason "Cheese" Goldberg and Khris James.

Amp talk show

On December 8, 2022, it was announced through the Never Broke Again Instagram that YoungBoy would ink a deal with Amazon's Amp. Following the announcement of the partnership, each Friday YoungBoy would host the radio show at 8 PM Central Time. Each episode would feature popular guests and celebrities such as Blueface, Rich the Kid, and Ja Morant; YoungBoy would interview his guests following their arrival. Despite Ja being announced as an official guest, the show was canceled on the same night and stopped airing since.

Fashion

In 2020, YoungBoy collaborated with ASAP Bari's popular streetwear brand, VLONE to bundle with his newest studio album at the time, Top.

In July 2023, YoungBoy released his own sneaker chain under his Never Broke Again Clothing as the "Grave Digger". This was followed by a collaboration with Supreme in which he was announced as the face of the Fall/Winter 2023 Series. Ahead of YoungBoy's eighth full-length studio album expected to be released in late 2023, YoungBoy announced his collaboration with the popular streetwear brand, Guapi.

Personal life

At 24 years old, Gaulden is the father of eleven children with nine different women. Two of his sons, Kayden and Kacey, appeared in the video for his single, "Kacey Talk".

In a 2017 profile for The Fader, Gaulden named Kamron as one of his sons. Kamron was born in July 2016 to Starr Thigpen just weeks after Kayden. However, a DNA test later confirmed that he was not the biological father.

On January 7, 2023, Gaulden married his long-time girlfriend and the mother of two of his children, Jazlyn Mychelle Hayes.

Since his move to Utah, Gaulden has been visited by missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he has stated his intention to be baptized into the church once his ankle monitor is removed.

Discography

• Until Death Call My Name (2018)
• Top (2020)
• Sincerely, Kentrell (2021)
• The Last Slimeto (2022)
• I Rest My Case (2023)
• Don't Try This at Home (2023)

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: YoungBoy Never Broke Again para niños • List of highest-certified music artists in the United States