INDEPENDENT VOICES / DOCUMENTED IN REAL TIME
YUNGGRIP4X: Creating Through Isolation
For Yunggrip4x, music was already part of life before he ever became an artist himself. Growing up in Longview, Texas, his father was a DJ, while his uncles and cousins were rappers. His name comes directly from that family history. “My daddy was a DJ, and his name was DJ Grip,” he says. “As a kid growing up, they used to call me Lil Grip.” Eventually, Lil Grip became Yunggrip. The “4X” carries another piece of home with it. “The ‘4,’ that’s where I’m from. That’s my hood—400, Johnson St.”
That connection between his life and his music continues in the way he creates. Yunggrip4x says he makes so much music that he does not want to leave it sitting unheard. “Because I make so much music, I don’t want to just store it. I gotta just keep consistently dropping music.” There is no strict formula behind when he releases something. “It’s really no method with me. I may drop whenever I want to. I might just wake up and feel like I want to drop some sh*t. And that’s just how it go.”
His project titles tend to work the same way. Rather than choosing names disconnected from his life, he says they usually reflect what is happening with him at that specific time. “Basically all my album names are from what’s going on at that specific time or how I’m feeling. Every title just part of my lifestyle.”
One of those titles, Introvert, carries more weight because it reflects how he sees himself now. “I would say introvert, because that’s what I am right now,” he says. He connects that change to personal experiences and relationships from his past. “Because of all the sht I been through and the people that I fcked with in the past, now I just fell off from f*cking with people. I’m just introverted. I’m just doing my own thing, man.”
That is why Introvert means more to him than simply being the name of a project. “This sh*t mean a lot to me, bro. Especially the Introvert one because it’s part of the way I am now and how I’m moving and dictating my moves right now.”
That same selectiveness shows up in his collaborations. Yunggrip4x says he mostly works with people he already knows or people he is genuinely close with. Recording with someone does not automatically mean the song will ever be released. “I may record with an outside person and never drop,” he says. “So if you see someone on my tapes, then they mean a lot to me and have a relationship beyond music. I want to share my craft with them and them share they craft with me.”
For him, that creates one of the harder parts of being an introverted artist. He is comfortable spending time alone, but he also understands that music has to reach people in order to grow. “It’s hard getting your music out there, especially as an introvert, where you spend a lot of time alone,” he says. “But you need those people around you to push you and get you out of your comfort zone where you can be discovered. That’s why it’s important to keep the right people around you.”
Even while operating that way, he can already see that the music is reaching farther than Longview. Yunggrip4x says seeing streams come from different parts of the world changed the way he looks at what is possible. “Hell yeah, because I can see my streams are coming from all around the world. It makes me view sht differently. It drives me to keep pushing, bro, and understand this sht only takes the right ear hearing it.”
That belief helps explain why he keeps releasing music so consistently. Every song gives another person a chance to find him. Every release is another opportunity for the right listener to hear his story.
When asked what would make him feel like he had truly made it, Yunggrip4x did not point to a number, an award, or a specific level of fame. He pictured a stage. “When I hit that stage and I don’t even have to rap, all my fans saying the words, word for word, that’s when I’ll feel like I made it foreal foreal.”
More than anything, he says he wants to become great at what he does. “I just want to be a great artist. I don’t want nothing but to be a great artist. Just want to perfect my craft.” He also wants to move deeper into storytelling and allow listeners to understand more of who he is beyond the records themselves. “I want to get on super deep storytelling so people can understand me as an artist, person, and as a friend.”
Looking ahead, Yunggrip4x says people should expect more videos, music, and collaborations. He also wants to open himself back up more and not remain as introverted as he is now, joking that maybe one day Introvert could become “Vert.” Beyond music, he says he wants to bring more positivity into the world, reach younger people, keep striving, and continue chasing his dream.
Asked to name three songs that describe Yunggrip4x, he chose “F-1NE,” “Fake As Hell,” and “Don’t Change Up.” Those records, his projects, and the way he continues to release music all reflect an artist documenting where he is in real time.
Yunggrip4x may describe himself as an introvert right now, but the music itself is doing the opposite. It continues to move outward, reaching listeners beyond his immediate environment while giving him a way to tell more of his story.
KEEP WATCHING.