Without looking it up, who would you judge is the biggest creative person on YouTube in the United States right now?

Is it Ariana Grande? She's been putting up huge numbers since releasing a record-breaking video for "give thanks u, next" in late 2018. Perchance Kodak Black? He'due south always performed well on YouTube and he'south still riding a wave later dropping the video for "ZEZE" featuring Starting time and Travis Scott. Or is it Bad Bunny? Drake? Ed Sheeran? Time to come? XXXTentacion? Taylor Swift? Nope.

No artist is having more than success on YouTube right now than YoungBoy Never Broke Again. Currently sitting at No. 1 on the YouTube Music nautical chart, he is the nigh-watched musician beyond all genres. And he's been able to do it without the bells and whistles of expensive videos, cheap viral tricks, or big-budget music rollouts. Equally far every bit musicians get, he's established himself as the king of YouTube.

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Prototype via YouTube

YoungBoy Never Broke Again has been on YouTube's Superlative Artists list in the United States for the by 101 weeks, and he's been No. 1 for the last 19. This week, he sits atop the list with 54.6 million views, above Kodak Black (xl.2), Postal service Malone (39.ix), XXXTentacion (35.2), and Lil Baby (32.4). His overall numbers are staggering. YoungBoy has netted over iv.1 million subscribers since the beginning of 2017. He has managed to average over 8 million global views per 24-hour interval over the past month.

"I think in the world of simulated rappers and sh*t, people can JUST experience his authenticity." - Louie Knows

The Baton Rouge rapper is only 19 years former, but his rise has been in motion for years. He released 4 mixtapes (Life Before Fame, Listen of a Menace, Listen of a Menace ii, and Earlier I Go) before a major breakout moment came with 2017's 38 Baby, which featured Boosie Badazz and Kevin Gates. Since then, he's released 8 solo mixtapes, two collaborative projects, and iii EPs. In 2017, his efforts were rewarded when he signed a rumored $ii one thousand thousand, five-album deal with Atlantic Records, and dropped his debut studio album, Until Death Telephone call My Proper noun, last April.

YoungBoy's ascent hasn't been without controversy. He spent time in jail for attempted first degree murder charges in 2017 and was indicted for charges of aggravated assault and kidnapping in early on 2018 after footage surfaced of the rapper allegedly assaulting his girlfriend Jania Jackson. His legal issues have slowed coverage from some media outlets and potential corporate sponsors, but they've done zero to limit his rise on YouTube.


YoungBoy's music performs the all-time in Dallas, Texas (x.9 meg views per month); Atlanta, Georgia (9.64 one thousand thousand views per month); and Houston, Texas (9.22 million views per calendar month). The majority of his YouTube traffic comes from the United States: He ranks considerably lower on the global artists chart at No. 54. The Billy Rouge rapper does well on Spotify, besides, but the numbers pale in comparison to his YouTube performance (he ranks 494th in the world in global Spotify streams).

Then, why does his music translate so well to YouTube? Any vlogger volition tell you the secret to success on YouTube is consistency, and YoungBoy follows this formula too. Over the last two months, he has uploaded to YouTube eighteen times, and often makes a habit of releasing music on the video platform before information technology arrives on any other service.

His visuals are simple. There are guns and depictions of street life, but no fancy camera work or any other forms of glitz and glamour. In comparison, an artist similar Ariana Grande has had her YouTube channel for 11 years, only has uploaded less than 25 music videos in total. Each of Grande's videos average more than views than YoungBoy gets on a per-upload basis, but his consistency is translating to more than overall impressions (and a friendly relationship with YouTube's algorithms).

Louie Knows is 1 of YoungBoy's become-to video directors, responsible for recent visuals like "Valuable Hurting" and "I Came Thru." He says there wasn't a conscious plan to focus on consistently uploading simplistic videos: This is just what makes YoungBoy YoungBoy. "It'south what makes him pop on YouTube because the fans desire to see him and how he opens upward," Louie says of the raw way. "They desire to see this in activeness considering information technology helps them pigment a picture show of who he really is through watching him in these videos." Discussing YoungBoy'due south lack of a primary plan to YouTube success, Louie adds, "Honestly, his strategy is whatever he feels is right in his center."

Louie points to this, every bit well as the simplicity of the visual, as the differences between YoungBoy and an creative person like Ariana Grande. "Respectfully, she has probably never been on a low budget set," he says. "When it comes to YoungBoy, he comes from the streets, the lesser. They are looking for his personality and that rare moment when he opens himself upwards and allows himself to perform freely. Because of this, his videos rack up millions of views off of fiddling to no budget." Louie adds, "People like his no-filter, 'I don't give a fuck' mental attitude. This might audio crazy, but the way that he acts frequently reminds me of 2Pac. I call up in the world of false rappers and shit, people tin can just feel his actuality."

In 2019, SoundCloud has lost its identify as the get-to platform for rising artists, and YouTube is filling that need. As competing streaming services roll out pricey subscription plans, YouTube remains free. In plough, it has the largest base of users, and its content reaches listeners who don't take access to premium subscription services. Intentionally or non, YoungBoy has struck a chord with fans who go to the service in search of a raw style—and he's connecting with a massive audition.