Kentrell DeSean Gaulden (born October 20, 1999), accurately recognized by his stage name YoungBoy Never Break Again (also known as NBA YoungBoy or simply YoungBoy) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Between 2015 and 2017, Golden released eight independent mixtapes locally and online. In late 2017, Golden was signed to Atlantic Records, which released his most successful single, Outside Today, in January 2018, which peaked at # 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was the lead single off his debut studio album. Until Death Call, My Name, released in April of the same year.
The early life of YoungBoy Never Broke Again
Kentrell Golden was born on October 20, 1999, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. YoungBoy broke his neck while wrestling as a child and was forced into a headband until his spine healed. The brace left permanent scars on his forehead. YoungBoy was supported fundamentally by his maternal grandmother due to his father being condemned to 55 years in prison. He dropped out of ninth grade and informed his mom he needed to concentrate on his music career and was soon arrested for the crime and sent to a detention center in Tallulah, Louisiana. While there, he started composing lyrics for his première project.
After he was discharged from the detention center, Golden’s grandmother passed away from heart failure, and Golden moved in with his friend and colleague rapper NBA 3Three (also known as OG 3Three). The two then went into crime to pay for the studio.
2016–2017: Beginnings and A.I. Youngboy
YoungBoy first started recording tracks with a microphone he bought from Walmart when he was fourteen. He released his debut mixtape Life Before Fame in 2015. A list of supplementary mixtapes developed, including Mind of a Menace, Mind of a Menace 2, and Before I Go. YoungBoy garnered attention with his 38 Baby mixtape in October 2016, featuring fellow Baton Rouge natives, Boosie Badazz, Kevin Gates, and other rappers such as Tha Don and NBA 3Three. A week later, on November 4, 2016, YoungBoy released another mixtape titled Mind Of A Menace 3. YoungBoy’s rapid rise in popularity can also be linked to his beef with fellow Baton Rouge rapper Scotty Cain in December 2015, both of which featured death threats. While there has never been any real violence between the two rappers, their feud has garnered 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 car shooting. While in jail YoungBoy announced two mixtapes. YoungBoy was released from prison in May 2017 following a plea agreement and bail. A week after his deliverance from jail, YoungBoy published the single “Untouchable”.
In July 2017, YoungBoy released a music video for the song “41,” which included cameos from famous artists including Meek Mill, Young Tag, 21 Savage, Boosie Badazz, and Yo Gotti. On August 3, 2017, he released the A.I. YoungBoy, which peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard 200. Single “Untouchable” peaked at No. 95 on the Billboard Hot 100. AI YoungBoy’s second single, “No Smoke”, peaked at No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. Also in August 2017, YoungBoy announced AI Tour YoungBoy.
2018: Until Death Call My Name
YoungBoy published his presentation studio album Until Death Call My Name in January 2018, quickly after contracting with Atlantic Records. The album was released on April 27, 2018. The original “Outside Today” was issued on January 6, 2018. The song became Golden’s highest song on the charts, peaking at # 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite being arrested in February 2018, Golden promised to release a new mixtape. YoungBoy was released from prison on March 15, and his next mixtape, Master The Day Of Judgment, was released on May 19, 2018. During the summer of 2018, YoungBoy released a series of four mini-albums, each containing four tracks. The first of these, 4Respect, was released on August 24, followed by 4Freedom, 4Loyalty, and 4WhatImportant on August 30, September 6, and September 14 respectively. In connection with the release of the final part, all four EPs were combined into a compilation of 16 tracks called 4Respect 4Freedom 4Loyalty 4WhatImportant. Young Boys’ 12th mixtape was delivered on September 7, 2018, with a single company feature from Trippie Redd and peaked at # 9 on the Billboard 200. On December 20, YoungBoy released another Realer mixtape featuring guest appearances by Lil Baby and Plies.
2019: Youtube charts and A. I YoungBoy 2
As of January 2019, YoungBoy Never Break Again has been on YouTube’s Top US Music Artist list for the previous 101 weeks, becoming the most popular musician across all genres. This was mainly due to his regular sequence of releasing music exclusively on YouTube. He is also the 9th best-selling artist on the 2019 Billboard Mid-Year charts and is ranked seventh in the top ten artists ranked by audio streams on-demand, without dropping the project in the first six months of 2019.
NBA YoungBoy is currently serving a 14-month house arrest sentence after violating probation earlier this year. Therefore, he cannot record music from anywhere other than his home. On September 25, 2019, YoungBoy released the single “House Arrest Tingz”.
On October 10, 2019, YoungBoy released the AI YoungBoy 2 mixtape. The mixtape is a sequel to his 2017 breakthrough AI Youngboy and features 18 songs, including the previously released song “Slime Mentality”. AI YoungBoy 2 became his first number one album on the Billboard 200 chart, hitting 144.7 million on-demand audio streams in its first week, making it one of the top ten streaming debuts of 2019.
