The Minnesota rapper opens up about what inspired his country album, his approach to songwriting, and how he uses SoundCloud to create a buzz and build community.
Welcome to Sound Advice, the series spotlighting artists’ creative process and their SoundCloud journey. We’ll get the inside knowledge straight from the source on how musicians, producers and creatives are leaning into everything Next Pro offers to elevate their sound, reach the right audience and catapult their careers. Sound Advice is now available in audio format on the SoundCloud Stories profile.
Minnesota rapper Yung Gravy was the king of going viral before most people even knew what that meant. In 2016, he quit his job to rap and uploaded his first tracks, like “Karen” and “Continental Breakfast” to SoundCloud. He quickly followed that up with EPs like ‘Mr. Clean,’ ‘Baby Gravy’ and ‘Snow Cougar,’ racking up millions of plays in just months and netting himself two platinum singles in the first two years of his career. Through SoundCloud, he also connected with his frequent collaborator and tourmate, bbno$, and together, they’ve built an empire on trap beats, catchy melodies and funny lyrics about food, memes and romance.
Lately, Yung Gravy has been pivoting in a down-home direction; in August, he released ‘Serving Country,’ a country-rap hybrid album that features collabs with Zac Brown and Juicy J. We caught up with Mr. Butter to talk about what inspired his country licks, kicking it with Shania Twain, his approach to songwriting and production, and how he’s used SoundCloud to connect with fans and create a buzz.
LISTEN TO THE AUDIO EPISODE OF SOUND ADVICE FEATURING YUNG GRAVY
LISTEN TO 'SERVING COUNTRY' BY YUNG GRAVY
THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE OF SOUND ADVICE
- Yung Gravy phones in to discuss the creative path that led him to explore country-influenced sounds and what sparked the concept behind his latest album, ‘Serving Country.’
- He reflects on building friendships with HARDY and Morgan Wallen, and the crossover between country artists wanting to explore rapping and vice versa. Gravy takes it back to 2019, when he released a country trap collaboration with Chief Keef, laying the groundwork for his latest musical era.
- We get the backstory on how Yung Gravy and Shania Twain hit it off, leading the pair to collaborate on new music in the studio together, including an epic 13-hour session.
- Gravy breaks down the making of ‘Serving Country,’ and his experiences working with Diamond Pistols, who has produced for a variety of artists including Rich Brian, Lil Pump, blackbear and bbno$, to name a few.
- Yung Gravy explains how his ‘Serving Country’ collaboration with Juicy J, titled “Whoa Nelly,” came together, including revealing how Shaboozey was originally meant to appear on the song.
- Yung Gravy, who wrote the verse originally meant for Shaboozey, also plants a seed that he may drop a deluxe version with the extra Gravy verse as a SoundCloud exclusive — watch this space!
- We take it back to Yung Gravy’s earliest beginnings as an artist, including reflecting on his first track (“Karen”) and how SoundCloud was a formative part of his career growth.
- Yung Gravy discusses the importance of building community with fellow artists, sharing how himself, bbno$, TrippyThaKid and a few others would repost the other’s music on SoundCloud as a way to encourage the other and help increase visibility on the platform.
- We learn more about his initial strategy of dropping new music on SoundCloud every two weeks, and how experimenting with new music at the beginning of his career helped him to steadily build an audience.
- Yung Gravy explains how he first met bbno$ and how their friendship, which began via SoundCloud DMs, has led them to collaborate over the years and complement the others’ talent and creativity.
- Sharing more about how he and bbno$ approach songwriting, Yung Gravy breaks down how even though they are known for witty lyrics and exploring comedic themes in their music, they put a lot of work, attention to detail and expertise into crafting their bars.
- Yung Gravy sheds light into working with Diamond Pistols, who produced ‘Serving Country,’ and forming a full band, called The Candy Boys, to create an extended live set for his 2024 North American Grits & Glory tour. He also shares more about how he has performed at state or county fairs this past year, and the biggest differences between playing in that environment compared to other concert venues.
- For fellow artists, Yung Gravy offers advice for those looking to establish themselves and grow their careers, explaining the importance of making a sound your own and finding what your strengths/unique perspectives are.
- A rundown of the artists that influenced his music in rap music specifically, including Action Bronson, Juice J, Project Pat and Three 6 Mafia, to name a few, as well as how Tommy Richman is a more recent inspiration for him musically.
- Yung Gravy leaves us with a hint of a genre or musical direction he’d like to explore in the near future, and how that might just transport us to a jazz club in Las Vegas in the ‘50s or ‘60s… Stay tuned!
LINKS AND EXTRAS
Follow Yung Gravy’s journey on SoundCloud.
Press play on Yung Gravy’s 2024 album, ‘Serving Country.’
Follow Diamond Pistols, who produced ‘Serving Country.’
Hit play on Yung Gravy’s collaboration with Shania Twain, titled “White Claw.”
Go back to where it all began with Yung Gravy’s first-ever track, “Karen.”
Listen to ‘Baby Gravy 2,’ the 2020 collaborative EP between bbno$ and Gravy, who first connected via SoundCloud DMs.
Check out Yung Gravy’s 2019 country-trap collab with Chief Keef, “Tampa Bay Bustdown.”
Tap in with TrippyThaKid, another artist Yung Gravy first met through SoundCloud.
Explore some of Yung Gravy’s wide-ranging influences, including Action Bronson, Three 6 Mafia, Freddie Gibbs, Project Pat and Tommy Richman, to name a few.
Listen to the Next Wave Country playlist on SoundCloud.
Never miss an episode and follow the official Sound Advice playlist on SoundCloud.
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF SOUNDCLOUD:
- Learn more about using DMs to connect with fellow artists and potential collaborators.
- Learn more about searching your own Likes on SoundCloud.
- Learn more about using private tracks on SoundCloud.
- Learn more about getting started with Insights on SoundCloud.
- Learn more about Advanced Insights, available to Artist Pro subscribers.
- Learn more about unlimited uploads, available with a Artist Pro subscription.
- Learn more unlocking access to unlimited distribution, available with Artist Pro.
To discover additional features a SoundCloud Artist Pro subscription offers, visit here. To catch up on past installments of Sound Advice and make sure you don’t miss out on future episodes, visit here.
Credits: Host: Vivian Host, Executive Producer: Mike Spinella, Producer: KC Orcutt, Audio Engineer: David “DibS” Shackney, Coordinator: Trevor McGee
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