Hip-hop’s YB: Spitting rhymes, spreading the Gospel
YB is a musical evangelist.
As his website, YBofficial.com, puts it, the independent Christian hip-hop artist “is what happens when optimism meets melodic trap. [He] wraps emotional storytelling over hard-hitting 808s.”
Each composition of his is a commanding sermon in which he flows in an effortless midtempo, displaying an earnestness and an intensity that ensures the listener pay heed to his words rather than simply bobbing along with the beat.
In an Oct. 8, 2019, Democrat-Gazette story, YB explains that his stage-name initials form a question. “Why be normal? Why be content? Why not be great? Why be?”
The Bold Records artist’s projects include his 2014 debut album, “Salvation,” along with “Fire & Desire,” “God Still Has Soldiers 2” and “Wings of an Angel.” “Dreams Don’t Have Deadlines” is his 2023 release.
He grew up as Brandon Farris in Pine Bluff with a single mother and seven siblings, in a family that wasn’t a church family. About a decade ago, he became a Christian … a transformation, according to the 2019 story and holyculture.net, that came while he was a student at Southern Arkansas University Tech at East Camden and attended a Passion conference.
He draws 10 million streams, according to YB Official. We caught up with him to find out more about his calling.
Q. What was the reaction from family and friends when you announced that you wanted to minister in this way? … Tell me about that first time rapping before a live audience. Where do you perform now? Do you tour?
A. When my family and friends caught wind to me going the Christian rap route, it was met with a lot of confusion because in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Christian anything is something that’s on the forefront. So initially, they gave me a lot of fears and a lot of pushback because, I would say, that was my first decision kind of getting off the beaten path, like not doing what everybody else is doing, not going which way the crowd was going. So when I said it, it was something that I was excited about and passionate about, and I thought it was gonna be well received, something to be applaud
ed. And … to my surprise, it was a lot of pushback, a lot of confusion, a lot of like, “Hey, man, we anticipate you failing.” Now, not from my mom. My mom was kind of like proud, like, “Son that’s good. Anything for God is good.” But from my peers and my friends? Oh, yeah, it was definitely a lot of rejection. Nowadays, it’s more of a testimony. ’Cause they see what God has done, 10 years later, and it’s like, “Wow, nobody could have [foreseen].”
My first time rapping I was 8, and I remember being in the room. … I was watching my brother freestyle. At this point, you still had a tape recorder; they had a microphone coming out of a tape recorder. And me growing up without a father, I’m watching my older brother rapping in front of his friends, and I’m just looking like I’m watching a superhero because when you’re the youngest brother, your older brothers are like heroes in your eyes. And I’m watching him rap with so much confidence; it was just so cool. And I’m here with these googly eyes. And I remember him — it was about 16 guys in the room. And I remember him stopping and he was like, “Hey, bro, you rap.”
And I remember looking around the room at all of these older guys. They were like 16 and 17. And here I am 8. And in my mind. I said “When they give me the mic, don’t stop rapping.” And they gave me the mic, and I remember my mind being flooded. I had all type of emotion but I was like, “Do not stop.” Yeah, that was the moment that changed everything.
Mainly we do a lot of churches … Later we’re going into venues. But as far as regions and states, we’re all over the US — Ohio, Texas, Florida, Arkansas of course, Indiana — I mean, yeah, we’re all over the place. [YB’s most recent tour began Aug. 29 and ended Oct. 8.]
Q. How many albums are under your belt (I lost track looking on the iTunes store and YouTube). How would you classify the particular spiritual subject matter in your songs — where do you draw from? What artists, Christian and secular, do you believe paved the way for you to minister through this music subgenre? How’d you come about doing a “Fire Emoji the Finale” album, with seven cuts bearing that same title, different versions? And tell me a bit about your latest release, “Dreams Don’t Have Deadlines.”
A. So as far as albums, I have seven studio albums. But as far as releases, including EPs and albums, I’m close to 17.
I will say my subject matter is a lot of just inspiration, a lot of motivation, a lot of “keep going.” You’re gonna hear an anthem in my music because life is hard and people get discouraged. So if I’m able to create music that helps people believe and helps them trust God and helps them keep putting one foot in front of the other, that makes me happy. That gives me a sense of fire.
But some of the artists who have been inspiration, I would say Jon Bellion, I would say Adele, I would say Andy Mineo, Trip Lee — and my last one, which will probably be a surprise to a lot of people, is Nipsey Hussle. He [was] a secular artist, but what he stood for and what he did in his community shouldn’t be overlooked.
When we released the initial “Fire Emoji,” it blew up, which is great. And we did not anticipate that; it was a very natural thing. I’ve learned to create songs without choruses. So it’s just continuous rap. And our audience gravitated to it. And when we released “Fire Emoji,” I already had “Fire Emoji 2” done. So then I said, “Well, let me try to do ‘Fire Emoji 2’ and see if they receive it. “And when we released ‘Fire Emoji 2,’ they ate it up. So I said, “Uh-oh, we may have an opportunity here.” So of course, we released “Fire Emoji 3,” “4,” and we put the rest on the album, and it was well received. But that’s something that our audience loves. That’s, like, a key feature [of my music].
“Dreams Don’t Have Deadlines” — this has been a long-awaited album. I feel as if it’s the heartbeat to what we’ve been doing since 2013. Coming from Pine Bluff, going from secular to saying “OK, God, I give you my Yes.” Out of small-town Pine Bluff, everybody was like, “That’s not gonna work. It’s gonna fail. You do a Christian rap; that’s a joke … .” We follow God, we trust him and God put gasoline on the fire and everything exploded. So the idea of “Dreams Don’t Have Deadlines” is this concept of, it doesn’t matter what people say. It doesn’t matter what’s accepted in society. It doesn’t matter what’s embraced. It’s about what you find to be true. And if you give God that, he controls the calendar, he controls the narrative of hope. So that’s where we get this whole idea of “Dreams Don’t Have Deadlines.”
Q. Your music is on YouTube, Spotify and available at the iTunes store; where can it be heard on-air? Do they play your songs on, say, Praise 102.5 on Saturday nights, or any of the other local stations? And what song or album represents your proudest moment so far?
A. We do have a lot of radio support, praise God — Hot 95.9 in Orlando, Fla. We’ve got Boost Radio in St. Louis. We have Hot 97 in New York. A lot of other formats that continuously spin our records, which we’re grateful for. But none here in Arkansas, which I’m surprised, but [that] may be an opportunity to get going.
I would say [my best song or album is] a tie between
two. And the tie is between “God Still Has Soldiers 2” and “Dreams Don’t Have Deadlines.” And here’s why. “God Still Has Soldiers 2,” that was my first album going full time with music ministry. So no backup plan, no shortcuts. It was “OK, God, you said we’re doing this. This is exactly what I’m doing.” And it opened the door to our biggest song to date, which is “Fire Emoji.” It opened the door to us touring all throughout the U.S.
So that was a very, very special moment in my life and in ministry. But there’s also “Dreams Don’t Have Deadlines” because “Dreams Don’t Have Deadlines” felt like the same call. God said “Hey, I’m taking you higher. And I’m gonna do some things and I’m gonna to expand some things.” But then when I look at where we are, and I’m like “God, all I see is mountains,” God says, “Don’t worry about that. I’m the God of moving mountains.” So those two will probably be the most … encouraging releases to date.
Q. Along with your intense music, you have released some intense, compelling and well-shot videos; two of note: “Praying Hands,” and the seven “Fire Emojis” (I love how Version 1 — a true banger — samples Carl Orff’s “O Fortuna Carmina Burana,” which I certainly never expected to hear in a rap!) Who’s the brains behind the videos and are those Arkansas locations in which they’re shot? Will you shoot any in Pine Bluff?
A. My wife and I have been the [brains behind] a lot of our music videos. Yeah, we just enjoy telling great stories, whether it’s through music or through visuals. … But now we have a team that kind of takes care of the storyboard, the direction, the location scouting, and all of those elements. But as far as locations, I think maybe one music video was shot here in Arkansas, but other than that, most of the locations are in Florida or Nashville [Tenn.], somewhere that’s a little bit more forward-thinking. We actually have some projects in the works for Pine Bluff.
Q. Has Christian hip-hop “arrived” yet, in your view? If not, what still needs to happen to further it? What’s next for you? How far do you hope to go as an artist; what’s that big project that you’re looking at being able to accomplish someday?
A. I would say it hasn’t arrived yet, but it is definitely not where it was when I started in 2013. Now I feel as if Christian hip-hop is more embraced on a wider scale as far as audience and just listenership. But we still are working on the element of community; we need a little bit more community among the artists and creators within the space. But that will come with time, especially as the older artists transition out and the younger generation kind of continues to take hold. So I would say that that’s the biggest hurdle, but as far as where we are in comparison to 2013, the difference is night and day.
I would say what’s next is — it’s a surprise. I know that’s not the desired answer, but ... it involves so much of what we’ve done 10 years before, and it’s gonna involve so much moving forward, that it’s too pivotal. But I would just say this: It’s a fresh look on everything going into 2024; a fresh look on the sound … . I want to walk through as many doors as possible, so that I can help the artists behind me and beside me. No matter how passionate I am, I know it’s going to take an army of artists and creatives and leaders to kind of continue to further what God is doing in Christian hip-hop, and I’m excited about that.