YoungBoy Never Broke Again

Kentrell DeSean Gaulden (born October 20, 1999), known professionally as YoungBoy Never Broke Again or NBA YoungBoy, is an American rapper recognized for his prolific output, raw lyrical style, and deep connection with his fan base. Rising from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he began recording music at 14 with a Walmart microphone and gained local attention through a series of mixtapes, particularly 38 Baby (2016), which featured Boosie Badazz and Kevin Gates. After a brief rap beef with Scotty Cain in 2015 and a rapid mixtape rollout, Gaulden signed with Atlantic Records in 2017, marking his mainstream breakthrough with singles like “Untouchable” and “No Smoke,” followed by the platinum hit “Outside Today” and his debut album Until Death Call My Name (2018). His 2019 collaboration with Juice WRLD, “Bandit,” became his first top-ten Billboard Hot 100 hit, and the mixtape AI YoungBoy 2 debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with every track certified gold. In 2020, he repeated this feat with 38 Baby 2 and Top, making him only the second hip-hop act to earn three number-one albums in a year. His third studio album Sincerely, Kentrell (2021), released during incarceration, also topped the charts, joining rare company alongside Tupac and Lil Wayne as jailed artists with No. 1 albums. Despite mixed reviews, The Last Slimeto (2022) and his 2023 Motown releases I Rest My Case and Don’t Try This at Home charted in the Billboard 200’s top ten. Gaulden has sold over 85 million digital units in the U.S., surpassed 15 billion YouTube views, and became the youngest artist in Billboard history to chart 100 songs on the Hot 100. He holds the most RIAA platinum-certified albums among rappers between 2015 and 2025, and his accolades include an ASCAP Award, a BMI Award, three BET Hip Hop Award nominations, and a Grammy nomination. He founded his label Never Broke Again in 2015, signing artists like NoCap and Quando Rondo. Gaulden’s career has been shadowed by legal issues, including multiple arrests from 2016 onward and a lengthy federal case that led to over three years in custody, including house arrest from 2021 to 2024. He was ultimately acquitted in Los Angeles but convicted in Baton Rouge, serving time before being released on probation in April 2025. Despite these challenges, YoungBoy Never Broke Again has continued to redefine success in rap with relentless output, digital dominance, and unmatched fan loyalty.