''AI YoungBoy 2'' is the twelfth full-length
mixtape
In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...
by American rapper
YoungBoy Never Broke Again
Kentrell DeSean Gaulden (born October 20, 1999), known professionally as YoungBoy Never Broke Again or NBA YoungBoy, is an American rapper. From Louisiana, United States, Gaulden released eight independent mixtapes and garnered a regional foll ...
, released on October 11, 2019, by
Never Broke Again
Never Broke Again, also known as Never Broke Again, LLC, often abbreviated as NBA, is a record label based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, founded by American rappers YoungBoy Never Broke Again and OG 3Three Never Broke Again in 2015. It was launched ...
and
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
.
It features guest appearances from
NoCap and
Quando Rondo—both signees of Gaulden's record label, Never Broke Again.
The project features production from several established record producers, including
Buddah Bless,
CashMoneyAP,
JetsonMade,
Mike Will Made It
Michael Len Williams II (born March 23, 1989), known professionally as Mike Will Made It (often stylized as Mike WiLL Made-It) or simply Mike Will, is an American record producer. He is best known for producing trap beats for several Southern hi ...
,
Nick Mira, and
Wheezy. The mixtape serves as a sequel to YoungBoy's breakout mixtape, ''
AI YoungBoy
''AI YoungBoy'' is the seventh solo mixtape by American rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again. It was released on August 4, 2017, by Never Broke Again, distributed by Atlantic Records, serving as his first commercial release with Atlantic. – Spoti ...
'' (2017), alongside a follow-up to his eleventh full-length mixtape, ''
Realer'' (2018).
''AI YoungBoy 2'' received positive reviews from music critics, while also appearing atop
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
' "Best Albums of 2019" list.
It debuted at number one on the US
''Billboard'' 200 chart, marking Gaulden's first number one on the chart. It earned 110,000
album-equivalent unit
The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, often shortened to just unit, is a sales metric in the music industry that defines the number of streaming media, songs streamed and music download, songs downloaded equal to one Record sales, tradi ...
s, of which 3,000 were pure album sales.
Six of the fifteen album tracks debuted on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, and as of 2023, all tracks on the project have been certified gold or higher by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
. The mixtape was supported by three official singles: "
Self Control
Self-control is an aspect of inhibitory control, one of the core executive functions. Executive functions are cognitive processes that are necessary for regulating one's behavior in order to achieve specific goals.
Defined more independen ...
", "Slime Mentality", and "
Make No Sense
"Make No Sense" is a song by American rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again. It was sent to urban contemporary radio on January 14, 2020 as the third single from his twelfth mixtape '' AI YoungBoy 2'' (2019). It was produced by Buddah Bless.
Back ...
".
Release and promotion
On August 4, 2017, the first part of the "AI YoungBoy" series titled "AI YoungBoy" was released. It reached number 24 on the
''Billboard'' 200 and was certified Gold by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
. On August 14, 2019, Gaulden was released from jail and put on house arrest after being in police custody for 90 days following an assassination attempt on his life. With no news of a new project, on October 8, 2019, Gaulden's videographer Louie Knows had taken to his
Instagram
Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
to share the mixtape's official cover art alongside its release date.
Singles
On September 1, 2019, Gaulden released the official music video for "Slime Mentality". On September 6, the aforementioned track was bundled with "
Self Control
Self-control is an aspect of inhibitory control, one of the core executive functions. Executive functions are cognitive processes that are necessary for regulating one's behavior in order to achieve specific goals.
Defined more independen ...
" as "The Continuance", released as the album's first and second single. On September 25, while under house arrest, Gaulden released the official music video for "
House Arrest Tingz" which failed to appear on the mixtape, however appeared as the eighteenth cut of his second studio album, ''
Top
Top most commonly refers to:
* Top, a basic term of orientation, distinguished from bottom, front, back, and sides
* Spinning top, a ubiquitous traditional toy
* Top (clothing), clothing designed to be worn over the torso
* Mountain top, a moun ...
''. The album's sixth cut, "
Make No Sense
"Make No Sense" is a song by American rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again. It was sent to urban contemporary radio on January 14, 2020 as the third single from his twelfth mixtape '' AI YoungBoy 2'' (2019). It was produced by Buddah Bless.
Back ...
" was sent to
urban contemporary
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...
radio on January 14, 2020, as the album's third single, following a rise in the track's popularity. The track was released alongside its official music video.
Critical reception
According to ''
The Fader
''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture.
History and work
It is owned by T ...
'', the mixtape deals with "difficulties he's faced over the past year".
Regarding the cover art, Joshua Espinoza of ''
Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' concluded that it depicts "a clear reference to the constant headlines about his legal issues".
Writing for ''
HotNewHipHop
''HotNewHipHop'' (HNHH) is an online publication that covers daily news about hip hop and pop culture, including streetwear, sports, and Sneaker collecting, sneakers. In addition to its editorial content, HotNewHipHop also produces the video seri ...
'', Alex Zidel stated that throughout the mixtape, "YoungBoy utilizes his melodious talents and hook-making mastery throughout the bulk of the songs". Zidel wrote that "the lyrical content is incredibly versatile", however, "the general sound of the project may be too uniform". He concluded his review, by writing that the mixtape "is a very enjoyable body of work" and listeners won't regret tuning in. Writing for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'',
Jon Caramanica
Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music.
Biography
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Caramanica received his bachelor's degree ...
wrote that the album "is a harrowing swirl of personal trauma, treacherous relationships, murderous fantasies and ice-cold bluster". He complimented the project, noting that the project "captures
aulden'sgifts well". He wrote that "sometimes, perversely, his vocal affect and his lyrics don’t match up", allowing his verses to feel unpredictable. Citing the album as a "critic's pick", the project as a whole is described as "an excellent work of sing-rap urgency".
''
Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' ranked the mixtape as the thirty-fourth best project of 2019. Lucas Wisenthal of ''Complex'' noted that the mixtape covers Gaulden's "supreme self-confidence" on "Make No Sense" and his introspection and vulnerability on "Lonely Child".
Jon Caramanica for ''The New York Times'' ranked ''AI YoungBoy 2'' as the third best album of 2019. Caramanica wrote that "the howls of sadness and vitriol" on the album "are almost disorienting".
Accolades
Commercial performance
''AI YoungBoy 2'' debuted at number one on the US
''Billboard'' 200 chart, earning 110,000
album-equivalent unit
The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, often shortened to just unit, is a sales metric in the music industry that defines the number of streaming media, songs streamed and music download, songs downloaded equal to one Record sales, tradi ...
s (including 3,000 pure album sales) in its first week.
This became YoungBoy's 12th chart entry and his first US number-one album.
In its second week, the album dropped to number two on the chart, earning an additional 80,000 units. In its third week, the album dropped to number four on the chart, earning 64,000 more units. In its fourth week, the album climbed to number three on the chart, earning 62,000 units, bringing its four-week total to 316,000 units.
On September 22, 2020, the mixtape was certified
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over a million units in the United States. On August 4, 2022, it was certified double platinum.
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
*
2019 in hip hop music
*
List of ''Billboard'' 200 number-one albums of 2019
References
{{YoungBoy Never Broke Again
2019 mixtape albums
YoungBoy Never Broke Again mixtape albums
Albums produced by Mike Will Made It
Sequel albums
Atlantic Records mixtape albums
Never Broke Again albums