It's never too late or too early for a rapper to chase their dreams. Hip-hop has always been driven by the youth, and the last few years within the genre have accentuated that point; the newest names in the game have been skewing younger and younger. At just 17 years old, Yvngxchris has mad waves all across the internet, thanks to how well his songs "Kyrie Irving," "Bitch I'm Joe Biden" and more have been streaming. Toss in his viral smash "Blood On The Leaves," which is a modernized flip of the same Nina Simone "Strange Fruit" sample Kanye West used on his 2013 song of the same, and it becomes even clearer that the Chesapeake, Va. rapper is really making noise. The track has over 7 million TikTok videos dedicated to it, and the accompanying YouTube video has racked up 3 million views in two months.

Yvngxchris jumped into rap in 2017, influenced by his father playing a lot of hip-hop around him, most notably, Lil Wayne. He chose to record music through iPhone earbuds, and aimed to mix together aspects from some of his favorite rappers, like Ski Mask The Slump God and Comethazine, which explains his rapid-fire flow. There is a younger sect of rappers who cut their teeth through the internet, and Yvngxchris is in that fold. What separates him from the pack is how clever he is, along with his pure rapping ability. The topics in his music most center around fun, girls and money, and he has a knack for knowing what will work.

After "Kyrie Irving," which appears on his 2020 project, Everybody Hates Chris!, took off that year, Chris' career began to form. He also dropped projects KennikaForever! and Levity that same year. Last year, Yvngxchris signed a deal with Columbia Records and hometown hero Pusha-T ultimately decided to manage the teen talent. Balancing newfound popularity with trying to be normal teenager in addition to a budding rap career would be a lot for anyone, but Yvngxchris handles it in stride. He's all smiles while he talks to XXL about his road to this point, and what lies ahead.

Watch Yvngxchris' The Break Live interview below.

Follow Yvngxchris' on SoundCloud and Instagram.

Standouts:

"Bitch I'm Joe Biden"

"Blood On The Leaves"

"Extravagant"

BabySantana's "Off the Leash!" featuring Yvngxchris and Luisss

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