Kentrell Gaulden, alias NBA YoungBoy, is back to jail. The young rapper was condemned to 27 months in prison this week after he pleaded guilty to federal gun charges. This new legal hindrance signals the tip of the iceberg in this long, arduous journey for this wonderfully talented artist.
YoungBoy’s troubles started in 2020 when a police raid on a music video shoot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, saw several firearms confiscated. The case led to YoungBoy being charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, for which he risked serving a 10-year sentence. He later pleaded and was sentenced to 27 months.
Besides serving the time in prison, YoungBoy will have to go through an extremely strict five-year probation wherein he will not be allowed to consume liquor and drugs. Indeed, these could make huge differences in his life and career. But YoungBoy is undeterred. He immediately released five new songs on YouTube as soon as his sentencing was over, which goes to show how dedicated he is to his work.
The rapper’s music draws many times from his personal experiences, and the latest releases about the turmoil he has gone through are no exception. His fans have welcomed the new music and appreciate the honesty and, to some point, the vulnerability attached to them. Besides, the legal troubles have stirred debate within the hip-hop community, with some decrying the treatment that the justice system has doled out to a young Black artist.
The problems for YoungBoy don’t just stop with his latest gun charge. He has been facing a lot of charges, including prescription drug fraud, which further complicated his career momentum.
Despite setbacks, this rapper keeps moving forward, fueled by just pure energy and love for the craft. Now that his conditional sentence has been handed down, the industry-occasioned by a healthy dose of fans-might be more interested in how the controversy will continue to submerge him into improvement.
