Everyone has something to say about YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s risqué freestyle over Jay-Z’s 2017 single “The Story of O.J.” from his storied 4:44 album. Renaming the song “The Story of O.J. (Top Version),” the Louisiana-bred rapper that has spent some time living in Houston, Texas and Los Angeles, California nearly addressed everything that has been covered by The Shade Room over his career span.
Ironically, out of everything that the 21-year-old rapper said in the song, the only message the blog ran away with was the lyric in which YoungBoy proclaimed his desire to impregnate Reginae Carter, the daughter of rap legend Lil Wayne. Indeed, it was an interesting declaration considering the ongoing “situationship” he maintains with the daughter of another famous man.
Yaya Mayweather, daughter of boxer Floyd Mayweather, recently gifted the rapper with a very expensive, diamond encrusted bracelet bearing the name of YoungBoy’s grandmother, Alice, for his birthday. Beyond the one-liner that caused YFN Lucci to publicly attempt to son the rapper by saying he was a “real bitch in person,” truth is that YoungBoy is busy setting himself on the path of greatness, and this is despite his controversial past.
“The Story of O.J. (Top Version)” is a self-manifestation. What better way to let the world of hip hop know his intentions of becoming the top rapper in the game than by rapping over an epic song from Jay-Z, one of the best rapper’s to ever do it, or following the mantra of Lil Wayne as YoungBoy proclaims he’s “one of the greatest to ever do it.”
In one standout lyric of the song, YoungBoy seems emo as he says “these bitch ass n****s still gonna criticize ’cause they don’t understand, how the f*** you gonna criticize a man?” It could be that he’s addressing the smoke he had with Rap-A-Lot records owner J. Prince over the H-Town legend attempting to force YoungBoy to kiss the ring in order to get his stolen jewelry back. Or, he could simply just be addressing the social media trolls and nagging blogs. Later, he talks about being worth $10 million, owning a percentage of United Masters, and becoming a CEO.
That’s the genius of YoungBoy. In one moment he can be bragging about his success in the music industry or torturing his ops (enemies), while in the next he’s slipping in some vulnerable admission. It’s pure rawness that only someone genuinely from the hood is capable of authentically portraying.
As YoungBoy stated in the beginning of the song, the favorite rappers be the fake rappers. Anyone from the hood understands the pain of coming up in a damaged and dysfunctional environment. Even when it’s up, it’s never really up. Meanwhile, the rapper posing as a representative of the hood glamorizes it as if it was a trip to Disneyland…
Directed by Rich Porter and Krispy Kam, YoungBoy’s accommodating video shows a landmine of burning human skeletons at a cemetery in what appears to be the fury of hell. This is followed by YoungBoy looking at himself in the mirror, flashing wads of cash, chilling with his crew, drinking lean and smoking a cigarette. In the words of Lauryn Hill, some might mistake this as just a simple song, but that would be too one-dimensional for YoungBoy. He’s more self-aware than depicted in the media about how he’s perceived.
He raps, “Young n***a, O.G. demeanor, they don’t f*ck with him. Rap n***a, trap n***a, lover boy, gang member, Still n***a, that’s me.”
Adversity is his best friend, continuously elevating him to levels that no one would even predict for the “Peace Hardly” rapper. Yet, clearly, the young rapper has issues. But, who wouldn’t coming from his environment? Is it possible that after everything he’s been through, including domestic violence, gang affiliation, family dysfunction, and drug charges, could it be that YoungBoy is just misunderstood?
With mentorship, therapy, and exposure to a higher vibration, is it possible he could be the next Jay-Z or turnaround success story? Who better to reach people from the hood then someone really from the hood? With many years to live, YoungBoy has the potential to impact and inspire young men around the globe. Whether he steps up to the plate is up to him.
YoungBoy’s sophomore studio album Top, released in September, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 100, becoming the third No. 1 album for the rapper.
Watch “The Story of O.J. (Top Version)” below:
