At just 22 years old, NBA YoungBoy a.k.a. YoungBoy Never Broke Again has secured his fourth No. 1 atop the Billboard 200 with his recently released album Sincerely, Kentrell.
The 21-track project successfully dethroned Drake’s three-week Certified Lover Boy run on the Billboard 200 but even more historic, it puts NBA YoungBoy in the same class of the late Tupac Shakur and Lil Wayne as the only rappers who released No. 1 albums while incarcerated.
The Baton Rouge rapper was taken into federal custody in March after a sensationalized police chase played out on social media for all his fans to see. Consequently, NBA YoungBoy was charged with a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing a firearm not registered to him.
Releasing an album from behind bars doesn’t yield the typical fan rally support one would expect circulating around such an isolated incident. Prior to his Donald Trump-induced prison release, Kodak Black dropped his third studio album Bill Israel to little fanfare considering his stature: the project peaked at No. 20 with 16,000 album-equivalent units in November 2020.
YG Calls Mozzy The 'New 2Pac' As Master P Recalls Outworking Late Rap Legend
YNW Melly, whose highly publicized murder case has even inspired a top-scale podcast production, has also seen a decline in album traction during his imprisonment. The Florida rapper released his 2nd studio album, Just a Matter of Slime, in August (which ironically featured Kodak Black) to a No. 11 Billboard 200 opening – down three notches from his 2019 debut album YNW Melly vs. Melvin (also released while incarcerated for the aforementioned murder charge).
Throughout the years, several rap stars such as T.I., Gucci Mane, Lil Kim and Boosie Badazz have attempted to weather the lack of promotional storm with jailhouse album drops while others such as Bobby Shmurda, Shyne, Remy Ma, Master P’s brother C-Murder saw their rap careers stall once there was no material to keep their names buzzing.
Few rap fans would argue the most iconic and initial occurrence were one and the same when 2Pac released Me Against The World on March 14, 1995, while serving time at Clinton Correctional Facility in New York for aggravated sexual assault.
The late rap martyr would go on to serve eight months but the album — featuring some of his greatest hits including “Dear Mama,” “So Many Tears” and the title track — would go on to not only immortalize him before death, it would pave the way for his infamous Death Row days.
Sheff G Unleashes Great John-Produced 'Drum Drummy' Video In Spite Of Incarceration
Lil Wayne, on the other mic hand, managed to find a lesser-known album to etch his way into history. Released on October 12, 2010, in between parts III and IV of his famed Carter album series, I Am Not A Human Being touted both Drake and Nicki Minaj in their rookie seasons on the songs “Right Above It” and “What’s Wrong With Them” respectively, onward to a platinum plaque as Weezy F. sat on ice for criminal possession of a weapon. He ended up spending eight months on Rikers Island for the case.
Check out YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s current league-leading Sincerely, Kentrell album below.
Why the fuck is this even an article?
And I’m not hatin on him. I see him out here doin his thing. Obviously this is clickbait but nevertheless…
This boy sucks ass
Your dad sucks harder and more often
On your momma pussy lips and titties. GTFOH with that weak ass trolling. This is my drawbridge.
He always spitting diarrhea of the mouth.
He’s horrible as a rapper. A bunch of autotune, a dirty fart, some herpes, a bunch of random noises,mixed with no brain activity and some bootleg hood movie DVDs.
You’re a hatin ass old head bitch
You must either be one of his many baby momma/herpes victims or on of his groupies or you’re just one of his BEYOND retard fans who deserves to be bitch slap by the good idea fairy until it knocks some common sense back into you enough to realize that dude is wack af and there’s plenty of other non-incarcerated rappers with actual talent for you to enjoy out here. Your brain can’t be completely turned off already, can it?
Trent Clark can eat a fat dick for this article.
Seems like you wanted to watch Trent Clark too ALL KINDS of gay ass shit
Unless he goes diamond… Twice. He has no place in ANY conversation with Pac.
He will
He’s going dust bunnies lol
Nice he’s doing well for himself but in my 30’s i just don’t be feeling his kind of music…
Hahahahhahahah same conversation as pac and wheezy . Hahahahhahahah. Pac would bitch slap somebody if they put him in the same category as auto tune mumble rap. Sorry this isn’t hip hop
That’s because Me Against the World is the greatest rap album of all time. Flawless.
Ja Rule > NBA Youngboy
What a BS category created just for the sake of creating a category. Next they will say he is the first incarcerated rapper with 8 kids to hit #1 on billboard just to say he the greatest of all time. Its sad how these milenial journalists suck up to auto-tune singing rappers.
I heard NBA I kept flipping. Boring. B.s. #1. LMAO. Kanye’s was. The 1 that blew me away
Drake. I just don’t like his Canadian fakeness w his lil lil friend. Tory little. My opinion. There is firrrrre on Donda. Not all. MOST. IM VIBING
BETTER PRODUCTION. BETTER Studs Io PERSONAL NOT. Cos. Lol. Melly w get a wakeup call when he gets Capital murder NO REMORSE just wear in gold in prison. Typical. FLORIDA. LAST. BoozieAsss and Kodak Slack
Talk about aggravating just to see there faces including Tory and DRAKE I’m sick of seeing his Face. Lol. Peace bro. I agree……..
BAN Rap w any use of autotune JUST SUCKED. EQUAL TO. WNBA IN MY ASS VOLUME 2. ASSHOLE BROKE AGAIN. HA HA
4 number 1’s and I cant name a single song by this dude. Oh well
Freedom
That’s cuz all this new rap nowadays is straight garbage and these dumb ass kids don’t know real rap. I don’t like not one song on this whole album, sad.
Wow a lot of hating ass old mfs in these comments damn.
There’s pac, a million levels below that there’s Wayne and another million levels below that is this trash. These guys come and go so fast due to a lack of genuine talent. Just gimmicks no artistry.
I’m 30 years old and will continue to slap “his garbage rap” everyday. But to say he’s in the league of Pac? Cmon now lol. And he’s definitely better than lil Wayne
Lil gayne I don’t care, wayne been wack, but 2Pac? Hell no MidBoy will never be