Multiplatinum American rapper NBA YoungBoy has revealed that he has a heart condition — and likely “one or two” albums left in his artistic career.
While a guest on an “Open Thoughts” 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 “Bandit” singer recalled the moment when a doctor told him the left side of his heart was swollen.
“I never told nobody, I just kept doing every show,” said YoungBoy, who also goes by YoungBoy Never Broke Again and whose given name is Kentrell DeSean Gaulden. “I finished my tour out like that.”
The rapper did not disclose the specifics of this health condition but shared that a side of his heart is “still enlarged.”
“That explains the music, though, right?” YoungBoy followed up, grabbing his chest. “She’s hurting.”
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 — including “Until Death Call My Name” (2018), “Top” (2020), “Sincerely, Kentrell” (2021) and “The Last Slimeto” (2022) — went platinum.
But NBA YoungBoy fans should brace themselves for what is to come — or not. The singer revealed on the podcast that he only has one or two albums left in his career. “I’m going to tour one more time throughout my whole life,” the rapper said, “and that’s it.”
The podcast — which has more than 2 million views since Tuesday — 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.
In his youth, the hitmaker spent six months in juvenile detention after committing a robbery, an experience that inspired his 2015 debut mixtape “Life Before Fame.”
By 2016, the Louisiana native would be connected to a series of shootings in Baton Rouge. 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.
Following his release from prison in 2017, he released the Southern hip-hop track “Untouchable,” 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.
However, serious legal troubles have cast a shadow on the rap prodigy’s career, including in 2018 when he was charged with a kidnapping and assault involving his girlfriend. She later denied the allegations, despite surveillance footage that showed the artist throwing her to the ground.
In December 2024, a federal judge in Utah sentenced the rapper to a 23-month sentence on gun-related charges after he pleaded guilty to firearm possession as a convicted felon. The charges stemmed from a 2020 arrest 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 to his involvement in a years-long prescription drug fraud scheme in Utah, avoiding prison time in exchange for a $25,000 fine.
In May 2025, President Trump pardoned YoungBoy, clearing his sentence and other active probation restrictions and drug testing requirements. The artist reacted to the pardon on his Instagram story, saying that it “opens the door to a future I’ve worked hard for and I am fully prepared to step into this.”
When YoungBoy was asked by Marco if he would consider a move back to the United States, the singer replied, “Never in my life.”
Later on, the “Make No Sense” singer hinted at some other legal roadblocks ahead in his transition across the globe: “It can’t be my home until they give me my visa, right?”
Times staff writer Alexandra Del Rosario contributed to this report.
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