Last week, the BET Hip-Hop Awards included great performances from some of the hottest artists in the game. The event included nominations of great artists such as DaBaby, Drake, Future, Lil Baby, Megan Thee Stallion, Pop Smoke, Roddy Ricch, Young Thug and more. One artist that looked to be on the outside looking in was Youngboy Never Broke Again also known as NBA Youngboy. He was not nominated for any awards nor did he perform for the awards. This has led many of his fans to believe that he is being somewhat blackballed. While I am not sure about that, I am here to tell you he is on the path to greatness.
There are multiple reasons to why he is destined for greatness. The first reason is because he is very popular at still a very young age. Youngboy gained fame very quickly especially at the age of 16. From then on, he has added to his fanbase for almost 5 years. If you factor in his legal troubles, he has not even had that much time as he was restricted from making music constantly. Currently he is over 8.5 million subscribers on his YouTube page. He also had the most streams in October according to Southern Hip-Hop Music Power Charts.
The second reason why he is destined for greatness is his work ethic. Youngboy is a different kind of artist. Many artists will make maybe one or two albums a year to keep the fans wanting more and also for their album to gain popularity. Youngboy constantly makes music and is very active. In 2020, he has put out two mixtapes and one studio album. His mixtapes give a studio album feel as he always has plenty of songs on there. From my memory I can not think of one mixtape he has made that has less than 10 songs and that is a great thing. The more songs you make can increases the chance of making a new hit.
The final reason why Youngboy is on the way to greatness is that he makes great music. It sounds easy, but everyone cannot do it. He has a good flow, and he has a habit for making catchy songs that people can remember. For example, songs like “Make No Sense”, “Outside Today”, and “No Smoke” have catchy hooks and rhythm. Some rappers dream of doing the numbers he does, and it comes from making excellent music. He always makes songs that his fans love, and he always gains new fans from the few features he does. He has done features this year with big names such as DaBaby and the Migos. Even with those strong artists, he made plenty of noise on their songs.
Although he had no nominations for any award, his fans and the industry need to understand he will be fine. Youngboy is a different breed and is not just an era artist. He has skills and tactics that make him stand out and be the biggest artist in hip-hop. Sooner than later he will get the recognition he deserves.
– De’Vante Martin is a sophomore mass communication major from St. Joseph, La.
