Happy belated birthday to rapper NBA YoungBoy. He turned 25 on Oct. 21 and has been a defining artist for the new generation. He is one of the best-selling rappers of the 2020s and there is arguably no stronger fan base in music today. In celebration of NBA YoungBoy, we’ll share his top five songs. Did your favorite make the list?
5. “Toxic Punk”
What makes NBA YoungBoy so popular is his ability to fuse gangsta rap and emotional music. One of the best examples of this is “Toxic Punk,” where he croons about his issues and why he is the way he is. He floats between blaming crazy behavior on his drug addiction and the women in his life that don’t really love him.
Top Rhyme: “Thinkin’ ’bout you gone, it got me sad/Ridin’ fast, police on my *ss, huh/Do the dash, hopin’ I don’t crash”
4. “Life Support”
NBA YoungBoy is brutally honest, even when it scares you sometimes. On this track, the Baton Rouge rapper tells us why his daily life feels like he’s struggling to stay alive. Whether it’s the drugs, his dead loved ones, or his traumatic past, it’s clear he’s still fighting demons he can’t get over.
Top Rhyme: “Fuck it, let me pack my clothes, right back to that murder zone/Fuck, I miss my granddad home, shouldn’t have came up off the porch/Feel that I’m gon’ die out here, all alone and by myself”
3. “Bandit” ft Juice WRLD
One of Juice WRLD’s last songs before he tragically died was “Bandit.” The two rappers trade bars back and forth about stealing your girl’s heart. NBA YoungBoy has a few ways of doing that, whether it’s showing her all his guns or taking her shopping, and they all result in her getting taken.
Top Rhyme: “I’m the definition of a bandit (Honest)/Took your heart from out his hands and still ain’t saying shit (On my mama)/Some new killers in my circle you done ran with”
2. “Hate Me” ft Trippie Redd
If you want to see a different side of NBA YoungBoy, this is the song for you. On “Hate Me,” Trippie Redd and NBA YoungBoy take turns sharing why the women in their lives hate them. It gets to the point where it sounds like both rappers are begging for forgiveness because they are tired of all the arguments and drama. If you want some emotional YoungBoy minus all the gun talk, this is the one for you.
Top Rhyme: “Late night, turnt in the club doing my thing/Sip drank, get a cup, I’ma pour the whole thing/Shawty playin’ games, she don’t wanna sell her soul, man”
NBA YoungBoy is at his best when he introspectively talks about his rough childhood in Louisiana. He just turned 25, but he’s seen things many at that age can’t even dream of. Seeing his friends get killed in front of him, even admitting to murders he’s committed, NBA YoungBoy is brutally honest, and that’s what we love about him. That’s why the youth love him so much. He is shameless in all he does, the good and the bad.
Top Rhyme: “I f**k with you, but you don’t f**k with me/But somehow we still find a way to text each other ‘fore we go to sleep/I don’t know s**t about no Jodeci/But you gon’ suck me to his music while I sit back, think, and smoke my weed”
