Ryan LeutzSince 2016, when Yung Gravy first broke onto the scene with his song “Mr. Clean,” he has grown immensely as an artist, while still maintaining the comedic style that made him blow up in the first place. Over the last few years, Gravy has amassed a large and dedicated fanbase, earned himself multiple platinum plaques, and worked with artists like Chief Keef, Juicy J and Lil Baby, among many others.
Even though Gravy is a rockstar these days, he didn’t always see rap as a viable career.
“I was going to college at the University of Wisconsin. It was 2016 when I dropped my first song and I had a job. I worked for a venture capital company and I was helping these startups do marketing and shit. For like a year and a half, I was just like a mystery rapper and I would only use pinup girls as my art. Then shit eventually started to pop off so I dropped the “Mr. Clean” video and that went up so that was… That was kinda that,” he said.
Gravy has always blurred the lines between being a “comedic rapper” and a “serious rapper.” Especially with bars like “Drunk in Atlanta, I’m at yo crib with the pack like I’m Santa” & “Call me Yung Gravity, I could pull your bitch.” He put his distinct sound into words perfectly on the Rockstar Experience podcast.
“I’d just say like happy turn-up, like I feel like a lot of people would be like ‘Yo this is funny but it’s also kinda just like fun.’ That’s what the label will say, ‘It’s fun not just funny,’” Gravy explained.
Yung Gravy (Photo by Jabari Jacobs)
“Speaking more on your style, your bars are really funny. Did you always set out to be like a funny rapper?” we asked.
“I wouldn’t say I like, planned it, like ‘I’m gonna make comedy,’” he replied. “I always just felt like I would try to make music and then what would come to mind is what I would spit and that’s just kinda the vibe. Like, when I would freestyle and stuff that’s just what would always come to mind.”
When a new artist comes onto the music scene with a specific style or sound, listeners often try to pigeonhole them into a genre. It is especially easy for rappers like Yung Gravy to get typecast as a comedic act as opposed to a serious musician. As one of the most prominent rappers who walk that line, Gravy had great insight on whether or not he resents the fact that people sometimes consider him a comedic rapper.
“Not really,” he said simply.
“If you’re a fan that has the capacity to like my music or that’s their vibe or whatever, they’re not really gonna care about that,” he continued. “You know what I’m saying? They’re probably gonna see the value in it. The bars, the beats and whatnot. The people that are just going to write it off in a bad way, are not the people I need to listen to my music. So I’ve never really gotten disappointed by it. I think it just sets me apart in a way.”
Thankfully we’ve been blessed with more of Yung Gravy’s music, with his new project Gravy Train Down Memory Lane Side A and B. This project contains some brand new tracks as well as some old fan favorites that are making their debut on streaming platforms.
