Multiplatinum American rapper NBA YoungBoy has revealed that he has a heart condition \u2014 and likely \u201cone or two\u201d albums left in his artistic career.<\/p>\n
While a guest on an \u201cOpen Thoughts<\/a>\u201d podcast episode uploaded on Tuesday, the 26-year-old singer-songwriter from Baton Rouge, La., was asked by host Funny Marco if he ever felt like pulling back after performing back-to-back shows. In response, the \u201cBandit\u201d singer recalled the moment when a doctor told him the left side of his heart was swollen.<\/p>\n \u201cI never told nobody, I just kept doing every show,\u201d said YoungBoy, who also goes by YoungBoy Never Broke Again and whose given name is Kentrell DeSean Gaulden. \u201cI finished my tour out like that.\u201d<\/p>\n The rapper did not disclose the specifics of this health condition but shared that a side of his heart is \u201cstill enlarged.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat explains the music, though, right?\u201d YoungBoy followed up, grabbing his chest. \u201cShe\u2019s hurting.\u201d<\/p>\n The rapper has released a total of nine studio albums in his career, gaining early co-signs from Louisiana legends including Boosie Badazz and Kevin Gates. His first four LPs \u2014 including \u201cUntil Death Call My Name\u201d (2018), \u201cTop\u201d (2020), \u201cSincerely, Kentrell\u201d (2021) and \u201cThe Last Slimeto\u201d (2022) \u2014 went platinum.<\/p>\n But NBA YoungBoy fans should brace themselves for what is to come \u2014 or not. The singer revealed on the podcast that he only has one or two albums left in his career. \u201cI\u2019m going to tour one more time throughout my whole life,\u201d the rapper said, \u201cand that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n The podcast \u2014 which has more than 2 million views since Tuesday \u2014 was filmed in South Korea, where YoungBoy moved in an apparent attempt to start over with a clean slate after a series of run-ins with the law in the U.S.<\/p>\n In his youth, the hitmaker spent six months in juvenile detention after committing a robbery, an experience that inspired his 2015 debut mixtape<\/a> \u201cLife Before Fame.\u201d <\/p>\n By 2016, the Louisiana native would be connected to a series of shootings in Baton Rouge<\/a>. He served time for attempted second-degree murder, eventually pleading guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated assault with a firearm, for which he was sentenced to a suspended 10-year prison term and three years of active probation.<\/p>\n Following his release from prison in 2017, he released the Southern hip-hop track \u201cUntouchable,\u201d which marked his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and set the course for his popular-music career. By 2023, YoungBoy would become the youngest artist ever to reach 100 entries on the musical chart<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, serious legal troubles have cast a shadow on the rap prodigy\u2019s career, including in 2018 when he was charged with a kidnapping and assault<\/a> involving his girlfriend. She later denied the allegations, despite surveillance footage that showed the artist throwing her to the ground.<\/p>\n In December 2024, a federal judge in Utah sentenced the rapper to a 23-month sentence<\/a> on gun-related charges after he pleaded guilty to firearm possession as a convicted felon. The charges stemmed from a 2020 arrest<\/a> during a music video shoot in Baton Rouge where police recovered multiple firearms and drugs on the scene. A month before his sentence, the rap star also pleaded guilty<\/a> to his involvement in a years-long prescription drug fraud scheme<\/a> in Utah, avoiding prison time in exchange for a $25,000 fine.<\/p>\n