Baton Rouge, Louisiana, rap star YoungBoy Never Broke Again — also known as NBA YoungBoy — is feeling the weight of his lengthy house arrest sentence.
On Jan. 8, the “Bandit” hitmaker made an appearance on The Bootleg Kev Podcast from the comfort of his cushy mountaintop estate in Salt Lake City, Utah. Despite living large, the rap star donned a somber look on his face as he opened up to Kev about the 2020 Baton Rouge arrest that led to his felony drug and weapon charges along with his indefinite house arrest in 2021.
YoungBoy, 24, told Kev that he often secludes himself to one room within his massive estate to “stay sane” as he waits out his lengthy trial. He’s been watching The Sopranos and iconic films like The Godfather to pass the time. The rapper claimed he wasn’t too “big” on fatherhood either.
“It’s a crazy topic because I’m not the type to sugarcoat nothing,” the father of ten said as he played with his youngest son, Klemenza, whom he shares with his wife, Jazlyn Mychelle. “I’m four walls every day. We bond a lot… but I’m just sitting here all day.
When asked about his plans for the future, YoungBoy didn’t seem too optimistic.
“I’m kind of set on going to jail right now. I used to live my life, but I don’t let it bother me or no shit like that. You make the bed you lay.”
The weight of the rapper’s looming prison sentence has also minimized his passion for music.
YoungBoy came blazing into the rap industry at 15 and quickly climbed the rap charts with hits like “All In” and “Like A Jungle” over the years. Thanks to his machine-like efficiency, the hip-hop star has landed 96 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and 26 projects from the rapper have earned spots on the Billboard 200. The platinum-selling artist said he still has a large vault of unreleased songs waiting to see the light of day, but, shockingly, he doesn’t feel like the industry has caught on to his talent.
“I never seen them say it,” the soft-spoken rhymer shared after Kev claimed he was among some of the great rappers that sit on top of the “Mount Rushmore” of the hip-hop scene.
“I just don’t want to go until they say it and it’s molded. The industry. You know who the industry is? That’s the people.”
The 24-year-old hitmaker continued, “I real-life hate this shit. This shit takes a toll on me, my wife. I wouldn’t blame it on the industry…. I’m not that strong. I cry a lot.”
When asked if he was going to therapy to work through his issues, YoungBoy revealed that he had a session scheduled, but the rap star confessed that he didn’t have close friends or confidantes to talk about the troubles weighing down on his spirit and morale.
“I don’t even love music to the point where I run to the microphone no more,” he revealed.
YoungBoy told Kev that he hopes to get to a space financially where he can move his family to a private island in the middle of the water. He also has dreams of going fully independent.
“I’m down for it. I know I won’t fail, but right now, I want that money, man,” the artist added.
Legal trouble continues to mount for the patriarch as he waits on house arrest to hear the outcome of his federal Louisiana gun trial.
According to the Advocate, in July 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit gave prosecutors the green light to use an incriminating video of the star, born Kentrell DeSean Gaulden, as evidence in his ongoing trial. Initially, the courts ruled in favor of the “Right Foot Creep” rapper, determining that the video couldn’t be used as evidence.
The footage, which was seized from a 2020 video shoot, allegedly shows the rapper holding a Glock and posing with another gun “outfitted with a vertical foregrip,” according to the outlet. YoungBoy’s photographer reportedly shot the video, and snippets were shared on social media. Some clips were also used as B-rolls in the hip-hop star’s music videos.
“It was never released publicly,” the Advocate noted.
Legal reps worry that the footage could hurt the Baton Rouge native’s trial.
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