schwabk2@lopers.unk.edu
The internet’s favorite sweet talker and rapper, Yung Gravy, released his latest album “Marvelous” on Oct. 28. The track list includes hit singles like “C’est La Vie” with bbno$ and the viral TikTok hit, “Betty (Get Money).” Yung Gravy is pushing the limits of the comedic rap genre with this release.
“Marvelous” is just that. Some have critiqued Gravy for shutting himself into a box with a similar sound across the board, but I feel as if he has some hidden gems within a few of the tracks. He found success with a sound that combines classic retro and current hot, comedic rap trends, and he copied that format throughout “Marvelous.”
“Bussin!” stands out with a harmonizing chorus and video game inspired beat behind the track. Yung Gravy flexes his quick and clever rhyme skills in “Smells Like Money.” Each track has a hook that just seems to get stuck in my head. I listen to other artists, and when I come back to this album I’m just reminded how good it is. I really enjoy when artists reference other singles in new music. “Dancing in the Rain” gives some love to older hits like “Oops!” and “Cheryl” with hints to previous lyrics.
I think a lot of the success Yung Gravy has found can be attributed to the sampling in his music.
An early example of this is “Mr. Clean.” This single blew up on SoundCloud and got his name circulating within the comedy rap/trap scene. The song features the hook from The Chordettes’s “Mr. Sandman.”
“Bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream (bum bum bum bum).
Make him the cutest that I’ve ever seen (bum bum bum bum).
Give him two lips like roses and clover (bum bum bum bum).”
Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over.”
This is placed right at the beginning of the track, already catching interest with that immediate appeal from a classic hit by The Chordettes. By sampling classic hits, Yung Gravy is utilizing already existing content that has proven to be successful and creating something new that an audience enjoys. He follows this same sort of pattern with other singles that have proven to be some of his greatest successes.
“Betty (Get Money)” is the Rick Roll that everyone didn’t know they needed.
Yung Gravy samples Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up,” but gives it his own Gravy twist. It again opens with a direct sample from Astley’s song, but Yung Gravy switches it up in the chorus. “Never gonna take no loss. Never gonna lose my sauce. All I know is chase this dough and get money.”
A clip of the song rose to popularity on TikTok when Yung Gravy teased the track. After fans campaigned for months for the official release, the song finally came out June 10. The song has 402,500 videos made with the sound on TikTok. It peaked at No. 30 on US Billboard Hot 100 and brought in huge revenue for the artist.
Looking toward what the future holds for Yung Gravy, I’m not sure if he’ll stay on top forever, but it doesn’t seem like he’s going anywhere soon.
He’s found this sort of formula that works for him. If that’s what his audience likes, he’ll stay relevant as long as they keep streaming him and dancing to his songs.
