YoungBoy Never Broke Again Bio
Kentrell DeSean Gaulden, known professionally as YoungBoy Never Broke Again (also called NBA YoungBoy), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Emerging in 2015, he built a devoted regional following through a steady stream of mixtapes before signing with major labels that produced mainstream singles such as “Outside Today” and the chart-topping mixtape AI YoungBoy 2. Gaulden has released multiple top-ten and number-one albums on the Billboard 200 and is noted for his prolific output, melodic delivery, and emotionally candid lyrics. His career has also been marked by legal challenges and periods of incarceration and house arrest, during which he continued to release commercially successful projects.
Early Life and Background
Kentrell DeSean Gaulden was born on October 20, 1999, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Sherhonda Gaulden and Jeffery Staden. As a toddler, he broke his neck while wrestling, and the injury required a head brace until the spine healed, leaving permanent scars on his forehead. Gaulden was raised mainly by his maternal grandmother, Alice Gaulden, because his father was sentenced to 55 years in prison. He dropped out of Baton Rouge’s Scotlandville Magnet High School in the ninth grade and later endured a difficult period in a group home, where he experienced bullying and violence that shaped his worldview.
After his grandmother died of heart failure in 2010, Gaulden’s early adolescence became even more challenging. He later moved in with his friend and fellow Baton Rouge rapper, OG3Three Never Broke Again, and the two used acts of criminality to begin paying for studio time. In late 2014, he was arrested for robbery and sent to a detention center in Tallulah, Louisiana, where he served six months. While in juvenile detention, he began writing lyrics for what would become his debut project, laying the foundation for a career that would soon transform his life.
Path to Rapper
Gaulden first began producing music with a microphone he bought from Walmart when he was fourteen years old. In 2015, he released his first mixtape, Life Before Fame, and quickly followed it with a string of other projects including Mind of a Menace, Mind of a Menace 2, and Before I Go. He attracted attention with his October 2016 mixtape 38 Baby, which featured fellow Baton Rouge natives Boosie Badazz and Kevin Gates. A week later, he released Mind of a Menace 3, and his quick rise in popularity was also fueled by a rap feud with fellow Baton Rouge rapper Scotty Cain in December 2015.
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, he re-released his two mixtapes Before I Go and Mind of a Menace 3. After being released in May 2017 following a plea deal, he released the single “Untouchable” a week later. In July 2017, he released a video for his song “41” featuring cameos from Meek Mill, Young Thug, 21 Savage, Boosie Badazz, and Yo Gotti. By August 2017, after being scouted by Mike Caren, Gaulden signed a five-album record deal worth $2 million with Artist Partner Group and Atlantic Records, marking his entry into the mainstream music industry.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again Career
Early Career (2015-2017)
YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s early career began with the release of his first mixtape Life Before Fame in 2015, followed by several projects that built his regional audience in Baton Rouge. The 2016 release of 38 Baby was a major breakthrough, drawing attention from established artists and fans. After his 2017 release from jail, he signed with Atlantic Records and released the single “Untouchable,” which peaked at number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100. His second Atlantic single, “No Smoke,” peaked at number 61 on the same chart.
On August 3, 2017, he released his seventh mixtape, AI YoungBoy, which charted at number 24 on the Billboard 200, marking his first appearance on the chart. His eighth mixtape, Ain’t Too Long, was released on October 7, 2017, and peaked at number 173 on the Billboard 200, marking his second appearance on the chart. In November 2017, Gaulden appeared as a guest on 21 Savage’s Numb The Pain Tour, further establishing his presence in the broader hip-hop scene.
Breakthrough (2018-2021)
On January 6, 2018, Gaulden released the single “Outside Today,” which peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received quadruple platinum certification by the RIAA. He announced his debut studio album, Until Death Call My Name, on January 11, 2018, and the album was released on April 27, 2018, peaking at number seven on the Billboard 200. In 2018, he also released a series of EPs titled 4Respect, 4Freedom, 4Loyalty, and 4WhatImportant, which were later combined into a 16-track compilation.
By January 2019, Gaulden was on YouTube’s Top Music Artists list in the United States for the previous 101 weeks, making him the most-watched musician across all genres at the time. On October 4, 2019, he released the song “Bandit” with Juice WRLD, which became his first song to reach the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. On October 10, 2019, he released his mixtape AI YoungBoy 2, which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 110,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, becoming one of the top ten biggest streaming debuts of 2019.
In 2020, Gaulden released 38 Baby 2 and Top, both of which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making him the first rapper in history to accumulate three number-one albums in ten months. On September 24, 2021, while incarcerated, he released his third studio album, Sincerely, Kentrell, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making him the third artist besides Tupac Shakur and Lil Wayne to have a number-one album while incarcerated. The album sold 137,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, marking his highest-selling album at that point.
Notable Works and Milestones
Gaulden’s signature work includes AI YoungBoy 2 (2019), which debuted atop the Billboard 200 and received 18 gold certifications by the RIAA for each of its tracks, and Sincerely, Kentrell (2021), which became the third project by an imprisoned artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. He is the youngest artist in Billboard history to chart 100 singles on the Hot 100 and the most certified rapper in RIAA history with 126 certified titles, while 34 of his albums have charted on the Billboard 200.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again Award Nominations
Throughout his career, YoungBoy Never Broke Again has received recognition from several major music institutions. He has been nominated for three BET Hip Hop Awards and one Grammy Award. These nominations reflect his impact on the hip-hop industry and his consistent commercial success, with multiple number-one albums on the Billboard 200 and billions of streams on YouTube.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again Awards Won
YoungBoy Never Broke Again has won one ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Award and one BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Award. In September 2025, he was awarded the key to Kansas City by mayor Quinton Lucas, alongside his own holiday on September 21.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again Family
Gaulden is the confirmed father of eleven children with eight different women, though there are unconfirmed rumors of an additional two children with two other women. His first son was born in July 2016 to then-girlfriend Nisha Keller, and he has had children with several other partners over the years, including Jazlyn Mychelle Hayes, with whom he welcomed daughters and a son. Two of his sons appeared in the video for his single “Kacey Talk.”
Personal Life
In October 2021, after being released on house arrest, Gaulden moved to Utah with his then-girlfriend, Jazlyn Mychelle Hayes, and on January 7, 2023, he married her while on house arrest. In April 2022, he purchased an 8,800 square-foot luxury mansion in Millcreek, Utah, for about $5.4 million, and later purchased another home in Huntsville, Utah, which he dubs “Grave Digger Mountain.” He has publicly spoken about his heavy drug use to cope with depression and anxiety, entering a rehabilitation program in December 2023. In May 2025, following his release from federal custody, Gaulden was granted a presidential pardon by Donald Trump.