- I don't understand the... the need to "flex."
- Arrested as a fugitive. Are those real headlines?
♪ (industrial intro) ♪
- What do we got? - (YoungBoy) You know what
the [bleep] it is. - What the [bleep]? What is it?
- (YoungBoy) What up, NBA fans? You already know.
- Oh, that look like NBA YoungBoy.
- Looks like a home video. - They look so young!
- ♪ Send 'em through the car door ♪
- Ooh, ain't nobody cleanin' that house.
I would be so upset if I came home to my son and his friends
sitting like that.
- This just looks like some guys hangin'.
Where's the production quality in this video here?
- Drugs. That's a new topic.
- He got pills all over the place.
And guns.
- How am I supposed to feel here besides sad and disturbed?
- That was a whole lot. I am not sure.
They looked SO young!
- I couldn't focus on the song. I was paying attention
to how the house looked, and... (laughs)
as a mama, it would've been going down.
- Those are tiny little babies with big ass guns. Not good.
- Same guy? - Oh, he's got some kids now
and he's upgrading his apartment.
- "Never Broke Again presents"
- ♪ I remember I wanted for to... ♪ - This is a more subtle song
right here. - ♪ ...moment'd come ♪
- He's still shooting people. He's still violent.
- ♪ I'm putting everything on the line ♪
♪ Dropped out of school to chase my dream ♪
♪ I had some for to prove ♪ - I like this song right here.
Got a nice little flow to it. - ♪ But now I'm up
and I'm just thinking... ♪ - Oh, the Benjamins everywhere.
- ♪ ...gotta make it through ♪
♪ I do this [bleep] for my mama
and my little brother, too ♪ - I can't really get all the lyrics,
but it sounds like it's at least a little bit more positive.
- ♪ Never change on my gang ♪ ♪ Yeah, I'm stuck with my [bleep] ♪
♪ We untouchable, come run... ♪ - They livin' their life now,
having fun in the pool now, huh? - Ugh. These boys.
They look so YOUNG! I guess that's part of it, right?
- In the '80s, back in the day, I was a DJ, and I was a hip-hop DJ,
so I'm gonna like it.
I know you can't tell by looking at me now. (chuckles)
- You see the same guys with him in the videos?
That means he's bringing his boys from the hood.
Like, "I ain't gonna leave y'all behind."
That's what you do. If I make it, then you gonna make it.
- ♪ Tryna hide from the camera ♪ ♪ Hide from the camera ♪
- Oh, now he's got the mink stole on. - Oh! Now, he's got fur. Okay!
Here we go. Bigger necklaces, fluffier jacket.
- ♪ Pull up in style ♪ ♪ We gon' do a drive by
in the Wraith ♪ - A drive-by in the rain?
(clicks tongue) Yikes.
- ♪ ...just bought a brand new watch from Goyard ♪
♪ I ain't put it on yet ♪ - Oh, Birdman.
Okay. - I don't understand the...
the need to "flex." - ♪ Everything I own... ♪
- He was in the projects. Now, he got the Ferraris in here,
the glamorous life. - ♪ Tryna hide from the camera ♪
♪ Hide from the camera ♪ ♪ I ain't goin' outside today ♪
- And the paparazzi, which you know are his buddies.
- ♪ I'ma pull up in style ♪ - That's cute.
He got that little dog. (laughs) - ♪ I'ma take it to trial ♪
♪ I'ma take it to trial ♪ ♪ Pray to Lord I beat the case ♪
- Not bad. Honestly, I could listen to that
and not be disgusted. - Slowly but surely
he went from mama's house to the pool parties,
you know, getting hotels, getting suites, poppin' bottles.
And now he's like, "This is my house."
Okay, so he's moving up the ladder.
- It's still just videos of him hanging out with his friends.
Why do I even wanna go to YouTube and watch a video of you
hanging out with your friends when I could just be home
hanging out with my friends?
♪ (melancholy piano music) ♪
- ♪ Used to be broke, but now... ♪ - Now he's back in maybe
what's his old neighborhood, gone back to his roots.
- ♪ Oh, you playing with that raw? ♪ ♪ Well, look here, front some [bleep] ♪
- The car chases are pretty cool. (chuckles)
- ♪ The block is hot... ♪ - (chuckles) Sweet.
- I don't understand a lot of this. (laughs)
- ♪ The block is hot, The block is hot ♪
- This YoungBoy's rapping nowadays, man.
It's just-- a lot of it's about, you know, the money, women.
- ♪ I need a zone ♪ ♪ Yeah, I got the... ♪
- I wish that child would stop holding
all that money like that. He gonna get robbed doing that.
- ♪ You got that yayo? ♪ ♪ Well, cook some, [bleep] ♪
♪ [Bleep], you let them Ks go? ♪ ♪ Well, bust... ♪
- Still pointin' his gun. - ♪ You better run
from them, [bleep] ♪ - I mean, maybe that's the genre
that, you know, people just want that.
So lacking originality. - I understand the musical side of it,
like the beat and the lyrics, but I guess I don't really understand
the appeal of the culture, the throwin' money around
and having these ridiculously lavish vehicles.
- ♪ Playboy on this bitch, but he ain't playing though ♪
♪ Too many problems, yeah ♪ ♪ Thinking how I'm gone solve it ♪
- Did he get arrested for aggravated assault?
- ♪ ...my body, yeah ♪ ♪ They selling lies... ♪
- Don't smoke, buddy. It's not good for ya.
- ♪ Don't tell me that you love me if you ain't gon' die for me ♪
- That's true, though. Can't say you got my back
and you be ghost, so I get that.
- He's expressing some emotion now. Okay.
- ♪ You ain't gotta cry to me ♪ ♪ I been giving all my love ♪
♪ Tell me, do you feel it? ♪ - Aw, it's a love song.
- Ahh. - ♪ ...sittin' in penitentiary ♪
♪ All for you, I'll take a slug... ♪ - Arrested as a fugitive.
Are those real headlines or this, like,
(clicks tongue), "Ay"?
- ♪ Being in love never help me solve my problems ♪
- Love can solve every problem. Not really.
- ♪ ...hurt nobody, but still ride around
with that chopper ♪ - But he can rap, though.
I'll give him that.
- It's a love story, but, you know, you got the shotgun
with you and sniper references and stuff. Nice.
- It's not even my genre of music, but it's got a catchy beat to it.
- ♪ Ay, ay ♪ ♪ How you bangin'... ♪
- (amused) "YoungBoy Never Broke Again."
- Are those his kids? Oh my gosh! How old is he?
- The production value went up a lot. (chuckles)
- ♪ I'm thankful for the [bleep] that you had done... ♪
- Aww, look at that little baby.
- ♪ ...my soul up in this music, and I'm hopin' that you hear it ♪
- ♪ I'm steady screamin' 4K Trey ♪ ♪ I'm tryna split a [bleep] wig ♪
- Again with the gun in my face! Stop it!
- ♪ ...know me, don't think twice ♪ ♪ Instead of doin' what's wrong,
lil' bitch, you do what's right ♪ - Wow.
- He's got a big house like that. He has to have a washer and dryer.
He doesn't have to go to laundromat.
- ♪ These killers 'round me, they look up to me ♪
- "These killers around me, they look up to me."
He ain't lyin' either. - ♪ You really mad
that you can't [bleep] with me ♪ ♪ You X'd me out,
you ain't have to [bleep] with me♪
♪ [Bleep], why you came to [bleep] with me? ♪
- Wow. So...
bleak and angry, man. - ♪ These [bleep] be cappin' ♪
♪ We pull up slangin' that static ♪ ♪ Don't do no talkin' ♪
♪ Have your [bleep] together... ♪ - That little baby is CUTE. Oh.
- ♪ I murder from the heart, so you can say what you want ♪
- Um... I like how he progressed. You know, you see from the beginning
from his music and see, you know, him changing
and making more money, etc.
- I don't understand how in American culture
we can think that this is awesome. You don't need to run around
pretending to play with guns and assaulting people
as a way of portraying your strength.
- (FBE) So those songs all came from the rapper NBA YoungBoy,
also known as YoungBoy Never Broke Again.
He's a 19-year-old up and coming rapper
with a few of his songs already going platinum
and several of his videos gaining more than 100 million views on YouTube.
- Wow. Okay. He's 19?!
- (FBE) So overall, what do you think of his music?
- I think his music for his age and where he came from,
that's mostly young black guys, you know, that's what
they're gonna rap about. They gonna rap about the street.
It's cool, 'cause, I mean, I grew up like that.
You see people around you, you know, growing up like that.
- Kids who are living in certain areas
and they could relate, because he's telling stories.
He's telling-- even though he's 19, he's telling some grown-ass stories,
things that people are going through. So, that's what I like about it.
- We all have, you know, things that we're angry about,
and we all have our moments where we just wanna let aggression out
and these are really good and healthy ways of coping
with your anger and coping with your issues through music,
through things that are creative.
- A stack of cash, a fancy car, you know, bling, this and that,
I don't get it. I think they could be
doing something else with their time.
- (FBE) As you heard, many of YoungBoy's songs
talk about things like gun violence, but also talks about things
like family and improving his community.
- Right. - I certainly didn't get that
from the visuals in his videos.
- (FBE) Well, he's stated in some interviews how much he cares
about these kind of things and emphasizes them a lot
in his music. As a parent, what do you think
about him incorporating both the hardcore elements
of gun violence as well as family element into his music
and bringing it together? - I mean, I think that
that is reflective of his reality. The best artists do that.
- I don't know anything about where he's from,
but if that's his reality, then that's what he should sing about
and I'm sure that he is working to make it better for himself,
his kids, his family through music.
- I don't have no problem with it, 'cause he's telling the truth.
We don't wanna see young kids always having guns sitting on a table
in music videos or in the house, of course, that.
But at the same time, it's like, "I gotta protect myself"
and this is where he's from.
- That's part of it that actually appeals to me,
because we, as people, are not one-dimensional.
I like having different elements of a person's personality
show through in who they are.
- I kinda feel like they're mutually exclusive.
You can't want to promote empowering your community
and growing your community and bettering your community
while also promoting drug gangs and gun violence.
- (FBE) Well, this is not the first time we've covered
young artists with a history of run-ins with the law
with the parents. One of our largest episodes
on this theme was XXXTentacion, who was infamously murdered last year.
- I remember it. - There are so many young artists
who come from troubled backgrounds whose passions are in the arts.
So, what do you think can be done for us to encourage this level
of passion from young musicians while avoiding getting caught up
in crime or violence? - I don't think it's an easy solution
no matter what comes about. People who are in that environment
are looking to do anything to better themselves,
to get out of that situation.
- Gangster rap is always gonna be there,
'cause there's always gonna be gangsters.
You might not be the gangster yourself,
but you're always gonna have them gangsters around you.
- Art imitates life, so this is all happening
regardless of whether people are singing about it,
writing about it, creating about it.
So, I don't know that there's a way to encourage one without the other.
- Well, just because you come from a troubled background
doesn't mean that you have to promote it positively.
That's where I think that line in the sand is
is when you can talk about how rough you had it growing up
but not glorifying it and then not continuing it.
So finally, whether or not you appreciate his music,
there are many young people out there who connect with it.
So, what would you say to young fans of NBA YoungBoy
who are out there who enjoy his music
and possibly even idolize him? - I guess I would just wanna know why.
Why is it so moving to you? Why is it so touching?
- I'd say listen to the positive in it.
Everybody has a voice and if you live in a really hard place,
that voice is what you need to, you know,
put your pain into. So, do it.
- Whoever is following it finds the positive aspects
and try to-- tries to better themselves
in the most possible sense possible.
- Maybe use it as an imagination, as an outlet without, you know,
going like, "Yeah, and I wanna be that guy, too"
'cause you don't wanna be that guy.
- Talk to your mom and dad and have them play
some really good old school rap or some gangster rap
from back in the day, and you'll like it way better. (laughs)
- Thanks for watching this episode of Parents React.
Shoutout to Matt _Obando. - Subscribe you never miss an episode.
Shoutout to vasco1s. - And make sure you hit
that Like button if you liked this episode.
- Bye! - Hi, guys! JC here,
producer here at FBE. Make sure to subscribe to this channel
and also the React Channel to see the reactors gaming,
competing, and so much more. Check it out. Bye, guys!