The latest expulsion of hip hop music releases are a sign of the times. From the posthumous Long Live Young Dolph to YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s Colors, somehow, someway, a rap career almost promises an early death and it’s sad.
Paper Route Empire’s ‘Long Live Young Dolph’
Young Dolph, real name Adolph Robert Thornton Jr., has tragically transitioned from this life, leaving behind a mourning family and an extensive music discography. His last album, 2021’s PAPER ROUTE iLLUMINATi, showcased Dolph’s exceptional ear for music compiling a list of promising artists, like Key Glock, Joddy Badass, Snupe Bandz, and Kenny Muney, for instance. On Long Live Young Dolph (LLD), the usual suspects are featured on the eight tracks dedicated to the late rapper.
LLD is a sad revisiting of the war on rap that has plagued hip hop fans since the days of NWA and the West Coast, East Coast media instigated beef. Kenny Muney delves into his loss with a melancholy “Role Models,” while Key Glock revs up the energy in his signature cadence on “Proud,” an emotionally aggressive memoriam to his brother in music. Big Moochie Grape responds similarly to Dolph’s death with “In Dolph We Trust,” making a call to action in the most illegal way.
Although the compilation album wraps up with two love songs from Joddy Badass on “I Like” featuring Snupe Bandz and Dolph and Chitana on “Love For Me,” LLD proves, nothing was learned by Dolph’s death. It’s a body for a body, leave it to the lyrics (check out PaperRoute Woo’s “Fully Equipt” and “I Know Why”).
YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s ‘Colors’
On the other hand, there’s 22-year-old YoungBoy. He’s still alive, but for how long? Born Kentrell Gaulden, the Baton Rouge native would have you believe that he’s been “bangin'” since birth. It’s obvious that he’s one of the strongest contenders in hip hop right now. He’s proven to have a steady work ethic which consists of the “All In” rapper churning out platinum hits in between mental health issues, prison bids, and domestic disputes.
An alleged active member proclaiming “4KTrey, Northside 38,” YoungBoy’s Colors is all about murder business. On the 20 tracks that make up his 20th mixtape, the father of seven children inserts gang life throughout nearly every song, hardly making room for vulnerability or well-rounded retrospection, with the exception of a few songs toward the end of the album, such as “How You Been,” “Foolish Figure,” “Emo Rockstar,” and “Emo Love.” In other words, YoungBoy is with the s–ts — well, to an extent.
“And I know that I can leave any day / I’ll be gone on my way / Screaming everything I stand for / I hope my kids don’t carry on / You ain’t gotta live this way, I stacked some money, now you on.”
– YoungBoy, “I Got This”
Gaulden, as the rapper, embodies everything that Jay-Z meant when he titled his 2002 album The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse. Despite his successes, YoungBoy appears to be anchored to a past that follows him like a dark cloud. Better yet, the more success he achieves, the more haters he accumulates as evident by his constant acknowledgement of the “industry” hating him.
YoungBoy has been going through it, too. Fresh out of jail, YB has been dealing with the fallout of King Von’s untimely death involving his peers Quando Rondo and Lul Tim, spewing disses back and forth with NLE Choppa and Lil Durk, and coming to an odd resolve to take half a year away from music and public appearances. Now that he is coming to the realization that bangin’ is not as fulfilling as living a long enough life to enjoy the fruits of his labor, is he in too deep?
His music bangs though. Since that’s all people seem to care about — hate to say it — but the carousel of poignant and real rappers dying at a young age will be the only time that fans might wise up and see what’s really going on.
