JayDaYoungan

A relentless mixtape grind, gun-heavy music videos and a distinctive voice have made JayDaYoungan a favourite of Gen Z hip-hop fans. Born Javorius Scott in 1998, JayDaYoungan was raised in a small town in Louisiana, where his childhood dreams of playing professional basketball were foiled by street life and misbehaviour in school. Eventually, he dropped out of school and began releasing music influenced by fellow Louisiana natives Lil Wayne and Kevin Gates. With ease, JayDaYoungan delivers grim stories of violence, drug use and paranoia via syrupy, hypnotic vocal melodies that he insists aren't shifted by Auto-Tune, earning him comparisons to Boosie Badazz. Songs like "Sliding Freestyle" and "Muddy Situation" from his 2017 mixtape The Real Jumpman 23 harken back to the production of other Louisiana rappers, but he later diversified his sound. His 2018 hit, "Interstate", is a twinkling, R&B-tinged devotion to hustling, and both "Elimination" and "23 Island'' employ folksy, countrified guitar licks to accent his tales of betrayal and disloyalty. He followed a prolific run of mixtapes (nearly a dozen in only three years) with his 2020 Atlantic Records debut, Baby23, which features cameos by two young Southern standard-bearers, Gates and Moneybagg Yo. With artistic growth powered by an impressive work ethic, JayDaYoungan gave every indication of following a parallel trajectory.