What up gang. Back with the real you know what’s the deal. Over the years we’ve seen some of the greatest come ups to hit hip hop, from the late Juice Wrld, to Drake, fans just gravitate to some artists on a higher level. The city of Baton Rouge has opened the world to another legendary artist, he goes by the name of NBA YoungBoy.
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With massive streaming numbers, a following to rival that of hip hop’s greatest, and being labeled one of the biggest artists ever, he came from the ghetto to iconic status. But, YB has a dark cloud over his head, one that continues to get him into deadly beefs, mental instability, and always in and out the prison. Right now, he’s gotten into trouble again, and this time it may put him away for a very very long time. Today, we’re going to try to understand just who he is and what brought him from the trenches to the top of hip hop, to facing a life behind bars.
Kentrell DeSean Gaulden, now known to the world as NBA YoungBoy wasn’t always the superstar he is today. He really came up from the trenches of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a kid that just wanted to be a kid but never got the chance to.
He would lose his father to the court system at the age of 4 after he was apprehended and sentenced to 55 years behind bars for a botched robbery attempt https://youtu.be/yktrvc0Lk_A (2:44-2:46)
This left YB with his moms, older sister and younger brother
After already having a rough start to life, his worries were far from over. YB would be the point of near losing his life when Wrestling with a dude down the street went wrong and he got slammed off the bed and broke his neck https://youtu.be/5DKLc2yfOak (0:48-1:26) It left him with a Halo neck brace that has given him significant scars to this day
His mother was pursuing a career in rap https://youtu.be/kMnKydru6Ow and after what happened to his father, she left YB with his grandma where he was raised on 38 Chippewa street which would become what inspired one of his breakout mixtapes, but we’ll talk about that later.
YB didn’t have a choice in the decision, always feeling like his mom always put other guys before him https://youtu.be/yktrvc0Lk_A (3:12-3:24) But his grandma would be a blessing in disguise, making sure he was taken care of and becoming the first person that made him feel the love he craved https://youtu.be/yktrvc0Lk_A (3:27-3:35) Sadly, she would pass away and he would move in with his brother OG 3Three
https://youtu.be/M1B8kL97cjY (1:08-1:29) https://youtu.be/T6Dq6drDwFQ (0:34-0:48)
YB would drop out of school to pursue his passion for rapping https://youtu.be/yECcCfJanFU (1:27-1:41) https://youtu.be/CiqEGLhxbVE (0:15-0:29) It was something instilled in him since he saw his mom rapping in the studio and wrote his own raps around 3rd grade https://youtu.be/JvrTXE0IBOw (0:35-0:51) Him and OG 3Three would begin falling deeper into the street lifestyle, firstly as a way to support their music careers https://youtu.be/CiqEGLhxbVE (1:14-1:17) https://youtu.be/nYhz5NlXBog (2:10-2:15) OG 3Three’s mom did everything she could to try support the two in their dreams https://youtu.be/yECcCfJanFU (4:35-4:44) but eventually the street life enticed YB and 3Three deeper https://youtu.be/i-CwapOvXvo (2:35-3:00) https://youtu.be/nYhz5NlXBog (0:47-1:02) This resulted in YB getting his first escalated case in the justice system. He would be held for robbery at around the age of 14 and doing 6 months in juvenile detention https://youtu.be/CiqEGLhxbVE (1:37-1:49)
That was the start to YB maturing further in his music. Being locked up would teach him valuable lessons and allow him the time to write music https://youtu.be/CiqEGLhxbVE (2:11-2:36) These songs would become one of his first releases, his “Life Before Fame” mixtape https://youtu.be/CiqEGLhxbVE (2:40-3:02)
YB would become more and more influenced the more he sank into the hood. His childhood days was spent even on house arrest at one point https://youtu.be/LbHjEJM56Ow But YB had bigger dreams, and wanted to make it out for him and his folks. This was the inception to his clique NBA (Never Broke Again) with a mission to be just that https://youtu.be/PGER-wzXXow (3:10-3:17) He would release a bunch of successful mixtapes like Mind of a Menace
Mind of a Menace 2
Before I Go
And the infamous mixtape that received album level acclaim, 38 Baby based on where he grew up
YoungBoy was on a path to greatness and smashing the stigma of his city. But you know how it goes. Can take the dude out the hood but can’t take the hood out dude. YB was arrested in December 2016 outside a Club in Downtown Austin, TX https://youtu.be/9rcsSXah6yE (0:27-0:45) and held on $200,000 bail.
This was in relation to a drive by shooting a month earlier where him and three other suspects offloaded shots in the 2000 block of Kentucky Street. One of his homies would be hit in the neck and they would crash the whip.
YB, the driver, Derrick Guice 
and another accomplice would hop out and leave their homie leaking. Luckily for him but unfortunately for them, he was transported to a local hospital and tended to. Speculations led to word spreading that the person shot in their neck was an NBA affiliate who would later snitch, which led to YB’s arrest. But that has never been confirmed.
Authorities say the drive-by was retaliation for the loss of YB’s cousin, Boozilla.
YB would receive a call from a fellow Baton Rouge rapper Kevin Gates behind bars that gave him encouragement for the future. YoungBoy was facing up to 10 years in prison, but the judge had a heart seeing as he was 17 and had a lot of potential to do better and bring change with the large influence he had on the youth. After a lengthy emotional talk in court, the judge leniently gave YB a suspended 10-year prison sentence but placed him on supervised probation for three years with the condition that he must remain arrest and conviction free. This meant that if he got into trouble again the original 10-year sentence would be back in effect.
He would post a reduced bail of $50,000 and was back home https://youtu.be/Xk_T9TtD7_Y (0:22-0:40) https://youtu.be/x6TajMRcTBo
YB got the break of a lifetime and he wasn’t going to let it go to waste. Soon after he dropped the hit “Untouchable” with a meek cameo on a facetime giving him some advice https://youtu.be/ipM9SkIkwCY (0:00-0:15) On the outside, Kevin Gate’s prophecy would come full circle and YB would have record labels
running him down. He would sign with Atlantic https://youtu.be/p8_MFk8KX18 (4:23-5:00)
https://youtu.be/i-CwapOvXvo (4:05- 4:32) A bit of information here people normally overlook. YB has often times gives Meek credit for his rap alias https://youtu.be/JvrTXE0IBOw (1:03-1:18) https://youtu.be/p8_MFk8KX18 (1:01-1:05).
YB would seem to be on the path to better behavior, but his habits got the best of him not too far down the road. Videos would surface of him putting hands on his then girlfriend, Jania https://youtu.be/4aMd2XBPFwQ (0:00-0:56)
He would again find himself back into hands of law enforcement on February 24th 2018, arrested in Tallahassee, Florida, and extradited to Georgia’s Ware County Jail, facing charges of assault, weapons violations and kidnapping and held without bail
https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46064/title.youngboy-never-broke-again-arrested-for-outstanding-warrant
Jania would deny all allegations and say they were simply playing https://youtu.be/4aMd2XBPFwQ (1:00-2:18) but that didn’t stop YB from being in serious trouble for violating his parole conditions. But again, the judge seemed to have a liking to YB and instead of putting him away for 10 years as originally agreed, she let him off on $75,000 bail but with some hefty added restrictions https://youtu.be/jSr8un0f_Aw
This man seemed lucky or extremely blessed and had a purpose in life. YB was out once more, but guess what? Yep right back in he went, this time on a separate incident with a female on February 11th 2019. YB and female companion Starr Thigpen would be arrested after he directed her to attack house cleaning when they entered his room thinking they were already gone, as check out time was up https://youtu.be/gk4vbw4ZZNw (0:07-0:21) https://youtu.be/VcRDPOPYH4M (2:41-5:44)
YoungBoy would be charged with 2 misdemeanors, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, and disorderly conduct. You’d think he’d calm down, right? Wrong. Just a few months after in May 2019 on Mother’s Day, he would be involved in a deadly shoot out with his opps in front the Trump International Beach Resort in Sunny Isles Beach, Miami, which left his female companion at the time hit in her shoulder, a 5-year-old boy crazed, and an innocent bystander losing his life.
https://www.local10.com/news/2019/05/13/man-killed-woman-wounded-in-shootout-involving-rappers/ https://youtu.be/jaSiWsYcafc (0:18-0:22) https://youtu.be/mwisAEjGI4Q
Even though YB wasn’t held for the incident because he was the victim of a failed assassination attempt, he would be apprehended for having a firearm, breaking rules of his probation. Here is where luck just doesn’t seem the be the case, this man has really got to have a guardian angel. The judge would only sentence him to 3 months behind bars and banning him from performing for 14 months. After serving his 3 months YoungBoy was back in business on the outside on house arrest https://youtu.be/ewI8Ftqt2Uk https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/courts/article_ab6735e6-bf4e-11e9-a938-8fda5df7f67d.html
YB seemed really untouchable at this point and was basically dominating the rap game. Making it through 2019, in April 2020 he would find himself between a stabbing between two women at his home, where his alleged fiancé at the time Yaya Mayweather, wanted his female companion Lapattra Jacobs gone when the altercation happened https://youtu.be/8u5Davgnoc8 https://youtu.be/JXt56aYkYsQ
YB would dodge being implicated for anything that happened, but as always, his guardian angel couldn’t catch a break. In September 2020, YB was back in the news and in custody of law enforcement after him and 15 other members of NBA and BBG were arrested (BBG stands for Bottom Boy Gorillas and they are affiliated with NBA in the deadly beef with TBG Top Boy Gorillas. I did an in-depth vid on this, so you’ll have to check it out to catch up on some serious street politics with YB. I’ll link it in the description)
YoungBoy would be held on multiple gun charges, and a considerable amount of cash, 47K and a 300K cashier’s check to be exact, along with firearms and drugs were seized. Turns out YB and his crew were filming a video with guns waving all over the place at abandoned house on Chippewa Street when the police were informed about their shenanigans and pulled up on the scene https://youtu.be/33kjRYYJcHo (0:431:12) https://youtu.be/Mc8tR2NW8QE
YB would post $75,000 bond and be back to doing his thing again. That’s not even the craziest part. The judge would order that the police return valuables seized to YB. He would get back the 47k, jewelry, and a cashier’s check worth 300K https://www.wbrz.com/news/judge-orders-brpd-return-jewelry-47k-in-seized-cash-to-nba-youngboy/#:~:text=day,%20Rain%20returns-,Judge%20orders%20BRPD%20return%20jewelry,%20$47K,seized%20cash%20to%20NBA%20YoungBoy&text=BATON%20ROUGE%20-%20A%20judge%20has,video%20shoot%20earlier%20this%20year.
Whoever is this mans guardian angel, I want to hire em.
Just a month after that incident, YB would be the target of an investigation for allegedly beating and kidnapping a man with intent to put him in a body bag, before his manager called and told him to let him go. Nothing has come of it as yet but police or on the case https://balleralert.com/profiles/blogs/nba-youngboy-beat-up-man/ If you thought all of this is just mind blowing, we haven’t even spoken on his beefs and public falling out with his mom and his cries for help. While dodging life in prison, his anger got him into a series of fights and serious altercations with numerous rappers like Fredo Bang, The Blue Demon Lit Yoshi, JayDaYoungan, Gee Money (RIP), and even fellow project baby Kodak Black https://youtu.be/r5gspm9P2f8 https://youtu.be/WtqbQv9ExXM https://youtu.be/YoEL94ieflM https://youtu.be/qqpYfG6NQp8 He even got into it with Houston OG J Prince https://youtu.be/l1qktbXkSBM(0:03-0:35) YB was wilding and coming at anyone, including fans https://youtu.be/j2DE0GPBiPY and even his moms https://youtu.be/Y0cN3qK-P8k (1:05-2:13). He was even being filmed by pedestrians riding around blasting music flashing the draco without a care https://youtu.be/nkYoc3ovQe4
His destructive habits would ultimately lead to the point that he may never return from. In March 2021, the feds would pull YB over on an outstanding federal warrant in Los Angeles, and he would take them on a high-speed chase before fleeing on foot and was actually leaving them in his dust. Feds was not playing and got the K-9 unit and a Chopper in the sky to weed out the rapper and place him under arrest https://youtu.be/TPTvm936kbc (0:00-0:42) https://www.wafb.com/2021/03/23/nba-youngboy-taken-into-fbi-custody-los-angeles/#:~:text=In%20September%202020,%20Gaulden%20and,were%20confiscated%20during%20the%20arrest.
Turns out the warrant stemmed from the previous arrest of him and 15 other members with the set of firearms around. After using DNA tests to try and pin one of the firearms seized then to YB, the feds came up without a match of his fingerprints on any.
When the feds come for you, they don’t give up until they get you. They would obtain a search warrant for the SD card for the camera man on site, and in footage found, YB would be caught in 4K holding guns in the video.
This violates his parole, and got him jammed up in the system. History shows that he’s untouchable, and it seemed to be the case here again. By some miracle, a California magistrate judge would grant YB pre-trial release contingent on Louisiana’s approval, but a Louisiana judge would out right revoke that notion on April 1st stating YB’s violent characteristics and history over the years as reasons for his decision. https://www.wafb.com/2021/04/05/nba-youngboy-remain-jail-until-trial/
The world is now watching as one of the biggest artist’s life hangs in the balance. Many criticize the rapper, labeling him a loose cannon, but really, he was misunderstood. He was searching for love in his fans https://youtu.be/yECcCfJanFU (4:45-4:52) Wanting a woman that could be his escape https://youtu.be/yktrvc0Lk_A (4:05-4:22), he was dealing with pain and trauma from his life https://youtu.be/ZC29gpnl3ZE (1:35-1:45), and his demons was eating away his mind https://youtu.be/jf6sDt363_E https://youtu.be/PwJui8D0zxQ (0:12-0:24) https://youtu.be/LpqyvfpOhT4 When death starts feeling like an option, that’s when you know he’s dealing with a lot https://youtu.be/OvA467OR0ow (0:20-0:42). YB simply wanted to live a life he never had, away from all the drama so he can be a kid again and give the life he always wished for to his family and kids https://youtu.be/OvA467OR0ow (3:43-4:15) https://youtu.be/pJCbqS7Q6zo (5:10-5:34) https://youtu.be/yECcCfJanFU (3:58-4:16) https://youtu.be/JvrTXE0IBOw (2:17-2:35) https://youtu.be/9L_hm5CVcKc (4:58-5:17). The same thing that brought him success, might be his downfall https://youtu.be/OvA467OR0ow (3:00-3:40) Pray for YoungBoy Ya’ll, I’ll stay on top his case and keep ya’ll updated on the real https://youtu.be/wpJQzMVl7Xg (4:57-5:22)
Insider Hotspot Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRomM7ZedDRRo8bPBG8XuFA/videos
Chad is a professional journalist specializing in Hip-Hop culture and writing music reviews.