Yungeen Ace Insists He'll Beat Lil Durk in a Basketball Game

Life can be tough at times but better days lie ahead. Jacksonville, Fla. rapper Yungeen Ace survived a deadly quadruple shooting in 2018, which claimed his brother and friends' lives. Still in the early stretches of his career, Ace kept releasing music after his recovery and truly gained momentum, breaking out with his somber track "Pain," which has been streamed over 13 million times on Spotify, along with a YouTube video at more than 31 million views. Yungeen Ace's authenticity and willingness to be honest about his feelings set him on a rising trajectory, but he's also an easygoing guy who doesn't mind loosening up. In this week's edition of XXL's Who Am I?, Yungeen Ace talks about his days back home in Jacksonville, the secret behind one of his hits and his basketball ambitions against Lil Durk.

"I'm from Jacksonville, Fla., the jungle, that's where it's at," Yungeen Ace says. "You gotta make your own way out there, you gotta really get it out the mud. But I'm the voice for them, I speak for them." He takes his role as the voice for the tougher parts of home seriously. As a kid, he was a bit of a troublemaker. "We be in and out of people shit, fuckin' up, fightin' whoever we see first, throwing rocks at people window." Most kids get into mischief, and he looks back on those days with a smile on his face.

Some of his favorite artists as a kid were two rappers who surely made their mark in Louisiana and beyond. "I used to listen to Lil Boosie, [Kevin] Gates," Ace shares. He later reveals a surprise pick. "You know who I like though? Justin Bieber. When I was young, he had come out with that song 'Baby,'" he explains with excitement. "I'd do a song with him today."

These days, Yungeen Ace finds himself busy with his rap career, but when he has down time, he's flexing his athletic abilities. "I could play basketball, too, now," the Down South rhymer reveals. "I go to L.A. Fitness. I get on niggas' ass in basketball, ya feel what I'm sayin'? I'll ball anybody up. Me and Durk be arguing about basketball. He think he could beat me. Chicago people can't play basketball... I'm athletic too, feel me? So Durk know he can't beat me, man. He be arguing with me all day. I'll dunk on Durk, ya feel me?"

Watch Yungeen Ace's Who Am I? interview below, where he insists he'll beat Lil Durk in a basketball game, explains how he made his new song "Bad Chick," the misconceptions about him and more.

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