If there’s one rapper who undoubtedly had a grip on 2022, it was NBA Youngboy. Despite laying low for a large portion of the year, he came back stronger than ever with The Last Slimeto. The project contained upwards of 30 tracks but even still, he had even more heat in the stash to unleash in the months that followed.
NBA Youngboy closed out an incredibly productive year with Lost Files on December 23rd. The album arrived with little warning or promotion but still managed to move 18K in its first week.
NEW ORLEANS, LA – AUGUST 25: NBA YoungBoy performs during Lil WeezyAna at Champions Square on August 25, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images)
However, it seems like NBA Youngboy’s 2022 run was solely a set-up for big things ahead in the new year. This weekend, the rapper revealed that he has another body of work on the way this week. On Friday (Jan. 6th), he’ll unveil his next album titled, I Rest My Case with the cover art coming via Akademiks.
There’s no information on what to expect but it appears that NBA Youngboy will be relentlessly dishing out new music throughout the year. In October, the rapper announced that he fulfilled his deal with Atlantic Records, to who he has been signed with since 2017. Apparently, the release of The Last Slimeto concluded his contractual obligations to Atlantic.
Since then, NBA Youngboy inked a deal with Motown Records — a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. It will be exciting to what this next chapter of his career will look like, though he’s no stranger to the label, either. He previously inked a deal with Motown for the Never Broke Again imprint including artists like NoCap and Quando Rondo.
It appears that I Rest My Case will be the first project to drop through his deal with Motown Records.
Are you excited to hear more music from NBA Youngboy this year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
NBA Youngboy isn’t the only star in his family. The Baton Rouge rapper’s mom Sherhonda Gaulden previewed her very own unreleased gospel rap song on Friday (Dec. 30).
Gaulden took to Tik Tok to tease the upcoming gospel inspired track with freestyle. Fans immediately flooded the comment section to share their thoughts on the freestyle. “This where NBA got his talent from I see,” one fan wrote. “I’m intrigued. I want to hear it with the music,” another added.
DALLAS, TX – MAY 03: YoungBoy Never Broke Again performs during JMBLYA at Fair Park on May 3, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
This isn’t the first time Sherhonda flexed her rap skills. Last month, the 48-year old went viral with another TikTok video showing off her bars. Gaulden also has her eyes on the acting world. She once slid in Tyler Perry’s DMs for a possible movie role. “Dear mr Tyler Perry,” she began. “I think you should put me in a movie I have no acting skills are nothing like that buy you should just take a change on me.”
Sherhonda also shot her shot with 50 Cent back in June requesting to be casted in one his hit TV shows. “Ok they say I’m to gangster for Tyler Perry,” she shared on Instagram. “But I’m not stopping until I’m in a movie @50cent f*** With yo girl.”
50 Cent was intrigued by Sherhonda’s post. “You so Gangsta, this sh** might work,” he responded immediately. Aside from being a comedian and rap star mom, Gaulden also prides herself on being a grand-mom. She shared a sweet Facebook post back in March, gushing over her grand babies.
“I have 12 grandchildren all under 5,” she wrote. “I have to have a relationship ship with their mothers until there old enough to come and call on their own until then I love them all.” Check out a clip of Ms. Gaulden’s new gospel track below.
As 2022 comes to a close, NBA YoungBoy is keeping his foot on the gas. Just last week, he dropped off his eighth project of the year, Lost Files.
On Wednesday (December 28), he returns to drop off yet another single, “Letter To Big Dump.” The song serves as the Baton Rouge native’s tribute to his late friend, Big Dump. He was tragically shot and killed four years ago, in 2018.
Throughout the track’s nearly nine-minute runtime, the 23-year-old candidly reflects on losing people close to him. Moreover, he addresses the effects that these losses have on him. Drums are noticeably absent from the beat, as YoungBoy instead opts to get deep over a simple guitar loop.
“Look inside my eyes, I know they seen evil / But I been this way since I was a child and I feel I’m the one who deserve to leave here / I had a conversation with the man who contracted your life to be gone / I hope you seen my progress and glad I’m movin’ on, I’m grown” the Baton Rouge native sings explicitly in the first verse.
He dedicates the outro to addressing Dump directly, talking in a stream-of-conscious manner. “I’m over here, I’m gettin’ myself together, Dump / I’m startin’ the real n*gga, I’m too real / I’m holdin’ it down, man, I know, I know for a fact, you proud,” he says.
Although the new track is yet to arrive on streaming platforms, make sure to listen to it on YouTube above for now. Comment your thoughts on the song afterwards. Finally, make sure to tune into our newest holiday playlist here.
Quotable Lyrics:
They think I’m crazy from all this pain runnin’ deep through me All the hurtful things, I just sit ’round and play like I don’t see Give up all these things for to feel my grandma kiss on me Broke down and I cried, ran to the bathroom, Jaz followed behind
Promising or controversial, Hip-Hop was not short of headlines in 2022. The world’s most popular genre once again reigned supreme on Billboard and streaming charts while holding down its faithful community’s hearts. While everyone’s contributions are notable, a few artists dominate the current landscape. Headlined by Bad Bunny, below are The SOURCE’s five Top 5 Hip-Hop Artists of 2022.
Bad Bunny
If there is a record meant to be broken, Bad Bunny did it. The Latin Hip-Hop superstar’s Un Verano Sin Ti album sat at the top of the Billboard 200 for 11 non-consecutive weeks. Bad Bunny has the most week at No. 1 in nearly six years, matching Drake’s Views effort of 2016. Bad Bunny was named the year’s Artist of the Year on Apple Music. Un Verano Sin Ti, Bad Bunny’s sixth project in four years and one of the most streamed albums on Apple Music in 2022. More than 18.5 billion plays of Bad Bunny music have been created on Spotify this year, and his album “Un Verano Sin Ti” was the No. 1 most streamed album globally. In 2022, Bad Bunny’s concerts grossed $393.3 million globally, and his North American tour grossed $356.5 million this year.
Drake
Drake’s run at the top of Hip-Hop continues to be one of the most impressive we have ever seen. Since his 2009 debut with So Far Gone, Drake has been at or near the top of the game. 2022 was not different for The Boy as he followed up his Certified Lover Boy album with two more, completing a trilogy. First was the dance-infused summer soundtrack, Honestly, Nevermind. If that left a void in the mouths of certain rap fans, he doubled back with Her Loss, a collaborative batch of banners crafted alongside 21 Savage. In addition, Drake made high-profile guest appearances on album’s from DJ Khaled, Future, Jack Harlow, and more. Speaking of the Her Loss album, Drake and 21 Savage had the biggest Hip-Hop first-week debut of the year and made a global No. 1 debut with the “Rich Flex” single. Drake also topped the Beatles for most Top 5 singles in history and is the only rapper with more than 19. Not to mention hitting the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 twice. It’s Drake’s world; we live in it.
Kendrick Lamar
2022 marked the return of Kendrick Lamar, a.k.a. Mr. Morale. Exploding back on the scene with an instant classic in “The Heart Pt. 5,” Kendrick Lamar put the game on notice before any parts of the complete Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers album were played. Follow that with the four-part album of well-crafted music, and what do you get? Album of the year nominations at the Grammys. The album took over the No. 1 spot on the charts, powered by a whopping 300 million-plus on-demand streams. Lamar followed that up with a tour of the same name, which he recently told The New York Times was an aim for “Hood Beethoven.” Mission accomplished.
NBA Youngboy
Love him or hate him, NBA Youngboy is one of the most prolific rappers on the planet. The Louisiana rapper shook off any legal issues to ink a new deal with Motown and flooded his fans with tons of new music, including the recently released Lost Files. The only person who could keep a new Youngboy album off the top of the charts was Bad Bunny. For 2023, Youngboy is eyeing a tour across America.
Future
Already a Rap Icon, Future cemented his status with a stellar 2022. Future ends 2022 with a flurry of RIAA certifications, capping up the best year of his career. I NEVER LIKED YOU, his chart-topping album, becomes one of only four albums to earn platinum status in 2022. “WAIT FOR U,” featuring Drake and Tems, gained triple-platinum status and was named the RIAA’s Top Certified Single of 2022. “PUFFIN ON ZOOTIEZ,” another hit, achieves platinum status. In August, Hip-Hop’s favorite Toxic King notched his 150th career Billboard Hot 100 entry. Future is also the fifth Artist in history to debut at #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard 200, with I NEVER LIKED YOU topping the 200 and “WAIT FOR U” topping the Hot 100.
NBA Youngboy has stepped into the lane of talk radio with his new, Never Broke Again Radio show on Amazon. During last week’s episode, The “Kacey Talk” rapper listed his top 5 favorite rappers.
“My top five rappers I’ll say, Yeat, I’ll say [Young] Thug, I’ll say French Montana…Glizzy, I will say Shy Glizzy, yeah, the last one Soulja Slim,” said NBA Youngboy.
The Louisiana rapper has collaborated with three of the five rappers on his list. Back in 2020, Youngboy and French linked up for “So Real” from his CB5mixtape. Shy Glizzy appeared on YB’s 3800 Degreez mixtape on the track “Hard.” He worked with Yeat recently on the “I Don’t Text Back” from Youngboy’s Hey Ma’ I Got A Family album. He has yet to collaborate with Young Thug or his fellow New Orleans native Soulja Slim. From YB’s track record, it is only a matter of time before the latter collab comes to fruition.
As you can see, NBA Youngboy has no problem giving credit to his fellow rap peers. His new Amazon radio show launched earlier this month shows off his versatility.
2022 has been an extremely busy year for NBA YoungBoy. Dropping eight full-length projects and a string of YouTube videos, the Last Slimeto rapper is maintaining his label as one of the hardest-working rappers in the game.
Not only has he been busy with his music career, but also with his personal life. In September, he welcomed his 10th child into the world.
NBA YoungBoy performs during Lil WeezyAna at Champions Square on August 25, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images)
Seemingly as a result of all his overwhelming success, the “Make No Sense” rapper says he wants to eventually move his family to Europe.
“We got to stay prayed up[.] I really want to move [to] Europe with my family once all of this [is] put behind me,” he wrote in the short social media post. “I’m stacking money until then!!” the 23-year-old added.
Considering YoungBoy’s family consists of 10 kids and multiple baby mamas, the move would certainly be a complicated one.
To make matters worse, he’s gotten into some public feuds with the mothers of some of his children. One of them, Drea Symone, took to her Twitter account in October to call YB out for not being present in their daughter’s life. “[I’d] Trade all the money in the world for my youngest daughter to have a father,” she wrote.
Regardless, the Baton Rouge native’s latest project of the aforementioned eight this year, arrived in the form of Lost Files just last week. Containing 21 tracks and no features, the tape follows his Quando Rondo collab album, 3860. In October, he teamed up with DJ Drama for the Gangsta Grillz mixtape, Ma’ I Got A Family.
Furthermore, the 23-year-old was evidently active during this holiday season. On Saturday (December 24), he was engaging in arguments online with Blueface. In the rather light-hearted exchange, the rappers debated over who gets more girls. “You get your group and I’ma get my group, and we gon’ see who got the baddest h*es,” he told the “Bleed It” rapper.
What’s your favorite song or project that YoungBoy has dropped this year? Comment down below. Finally, make sure to tune into our newest holiday playlist, which can be found here.
Bobby Shmurda has a few choice words for Blueface. The “Hot Ni**a” rapper seemingly reacted to the “Thotiana” star’s recent conversation with NBA Youngboy. As we previously reported, Bobby and Youngboy have been feuding since exchanging heated words via Twitter last month.
Blueface recently made an appearance on NBA Youngboy’s Never Broke Again Radio show and asked about the Baton Rouge rapper’s beef with Shmurda. However, Youngboy doubled down on his claims that he never had beef with the Brooklyn rapper.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 08: Bobby Shmurda attends Sapphire Night Club hosted by Chris Kattan at Sapphire New York on August 08, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images)
“You ain’t even strong enough to do this with me, bruh,” YB said about Bobby. “I’mma stay out your way, bruh. I’m going to stay the fuck out of your way. “Cause I see you let these White people stuck you stupid-ass in jail and let you out and give you not one thing,” he continued. “And now you ready to kill somebody and go back to jail.”
Bobby must have caught wind of the interview shortly after. He took to his Instagram stories, seemingly addressing both Blueface and YB with a message. “Gang bangers is blogging about Bobby Shmurda together,” he laughed. “I ain’t gon’ respond to this nigga. This nigga is a reality star on TV show.”
However, Bobby’s rant didn’t end there. “I’m not to respond to this nigga,” Bobby continued. “There’s no way, I’m too gangsta…you can’t pay me a billion dollars to suck nobody’s dick. You can’t pay me a billion dollars to do nothing outside of my morals. Meaning, I can’t talk about the next nigga for no money.”
Bobby Shmurda reacts to Blueface asking NBA Youngboy about their beef.
Neither Blueface nor NBA Youngboy have responded to Bobby’s post. But both stars have recently made headlines for other reasons. NBA Youngboy revealed his top five rappers list sparking much debate on social media. As for Blueface, fans dragged the rapper for spending Christmas Day with his baby mama and kids instead of girlfriend Chrisean Rock.
NBA Youngboy is never shy about giving credit to his fellow rappers and those that came before him. The 23-year old rapper recently gave a shout out to some of his favorite artists in the game while revealing his top five list of rappers.
During last week’s episode of his Amazon program Never Broke Again Radio, Youngboy listed French Montana as one of his top five rappers in the game. “My top five rappers I’ll say,” he began. “Yeat, I’ll say [Young] Thug, I’ll say French Montana…Glizzy, I will say Shy Glizzy, yeah, the last one Soulja Slim.”
ATLANTA, GA – NOVEMBER 29: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) Rapper NBA YoungBoy performs onstage during Lil Baby & Friends concert to promote the new release of Lil Baby’s new album “Street Gossip” at Coca-Cola Roxy on November 29, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
Youngboy and French joined forces back in 2020 for French’s track “So Real” from his CB5 mixtape. He worked with Shy Glizzy on “Hard” from his 3800 Degreez mixtape. As for Yeat, the duo recently teamed up on the track “I Don’t Text Back” off Youngboy’s Hey Ma’ I Got A Family album.
This isn’t the first time the Baton Rouge rapper publicly gave credit to his peers. On another episode of Never Broke Again Radio, Youngboy credited his artist Quando Rondo for being a much “better rapper” than he is. “The world be hating so bad, and I be keeping it so gangsta. Man, Quando rap way better than me, and them bitches be hating on my five. I don’t like that twisted ass sh**.”
NBA Youngboy may be young in age, but his accolades of that of a seasoned vet. Last month, he surpassed Jay-Z by having the most Billboard 200 entries. The success of his latest album MIGAF took Youngboy’s grand total of entries on the chart up to 25, surpassing Jay-Z, who has 24. The Top also gets his fair share of love from rappers.
Snoop Dogg once named NBA Youngboy is his list of favorite rappers. Trippie Redd once came under fire for comparing the young star to the late Tupac Shakur. See what else Youngboy had to say in the full clip below.
The holiday season usually puts people into a festive mood and promotes generosity. However, it appears as though this isn’t quite the case for Blueface.
On Saturday morning (December 24), the “Thotiana” rapper took to his Instagram account to go live with the Island Boys. Once the twin brothers joined, the trio immediately began to start showing throw shots at each other.
Rapper Blueface attends Atlanta Black Pride Weekend Pure Heat Community Festival at Piedmont Park. (Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage)
Kodiyakredd, one half of the Florida duo, was quick to instigate an argument with Blueface about each other’s girls. “She’s better looking,” the Florida native says about his girlfriend, before proceeding to wake her up to show her face to the Live. “Why would you wake your girl up to do her like that? Your b*tch is trash,” says the “Thotiana” rapper.
He didn’t show his girlfriend, Chrisean Rock, but Redd aired out his thoughts on her anyway. “Your girl’s a sloppy drunk, off that cheap ass liquor,” the Island Boy clapped back.
Evidently, the artists have a lot to say about each other. “We actually talented. We have personality, we have all that. You still talking, like boring me, making me snore and sh*t like that. Let’s talk about some gangsta sh*t, some jailbird sh*t. You happy you went to jail and bonded out, good for you. When your trial hits, you’re gonna hit it like Tory Lanez and cry on the floor, so shut your b*tch ass up. You got kids, go take care of them,” Redd went on to say.
His twin brother, Flyysoulja, wasn’t as involved in the arguments. “I’m telling you, your brother [Kodiyakredd] is a documented b*tch online,” the L.A. native makes sure to tell him. The live exchange lasted for nearly an hour in its entirety.
Additionally, the “Bleed It” rapper got into an entertaining, more light-hearted exchange with NBA YoungBoy. “You know I got more b*tches than you,” the 25-year-old says.
The Baton Rouge native subsequently laughs it off. “I’ma keep it gangsta.. I’ll say, I done came across some sh*t that show you be getting down and you ain’t f*cking with the Slime,” he replies. He goes on to invite Blueface to do a “bad girl’s club” with each other. “You get your group and I’ma get my group, and we gon’ see who got the baddest h*es,” he suggests afterwards.
What are your thoughts on Blueface’s most recent antics? Sound off in the comments down below. Finally, make sure to tune into our newest annual Christmas playlist here.
As always, NBA YoungBoy is keeping his fans on their toes. One day after delivering his Lost Files mixtape, the Louisana-born rhymer is back with a single. Titled “No Sleep,” he uploaded the track on YouTube earlier today (December 24). Currently, streaming numbers are moving upwards of 250K.
In the video’s caption, the 23-year-old writes, “This shit is crazy my n*gga. I ain’t pray for this, I ain’t stay up all night for this. I won’t be broken. No matter what I’m thankful.”
YoungBoy Never Broke Again performs during JMBLYA at Fair Park on May 3, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
He continues, “They wish I was f*cked up, time then changed. I will come when you ain’t expecting it.”
Throughout his lyrics, YoungBoy reflects on how life was before finding fame. “High school, knew the kids, they knew I was wearin’ the same uniform back to back / Grandma left me as a kid, time went, she ain’t never come back,” he reflects on his first verse.
“On the road doin’ sows, the murder came, it was history after that / My sister sayin’, ‘Leave me ‘lone,’ I’m in her room tryna make her listen to me rap.”
Later in the song, YB says that falling in love was his “biggest mistake.” “I wish that it never came ’round,” he solemnly admits.
Stream NBA YoungBoy’s “No Sleep” single exclusively on YouTube below. Afterward, revisit his recently released Lost Files mixtape here.
Quotable Lyrics:
High school, knew the kids, they knew I was wearin’ the same uniform back to back Grandma left me as a kid, time went, she ain’t never come back On the road doin’ sows, the murder came, it was history after that My sister sayin’, “Leave me ‘lone,” I’m in her room tryna make her listen to me rap
(@nojumper)
