YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s ‘MASA’: All 30 Tracks Ranked

Remixing Jimi Hendrix’s version of the Star Spangled Banner is definitely a choice, but the end result here is so jarring it’s hard not to feel like YB was trolling on “XXX.” It’s understandable why YoungBoy would feel a fealty towards Trump following his release, but to celebrate the president and “sex and violence” in the same song feels almost satirical it’s so bad.

Considering the dark themes explored on MASA, “My Shit” feels like an odd way to open the album. It could easily have been on any of YB’s earlier projects, and doesn’t set the tone of a guy ready to evolve as an artist or turn a new leaf.

After two potent potential closers like “Finest” and “Where I Been,” the explicit sexual rendezvous of “Top Tingz” feels like an especially grotesque way to close out an album. To go from lyrics like “I don’t know what is holdin’ my soul/ But I won’t give in no more/ I gotta go big for my kids, you gon’ hear it in these songs,” to “I’m gon’ c—m inside it, come back out, and eat it while she spittin’” feels like emotional whiplash in a really unseemly way.

“Cash Shit” feels more like a warm up for YB than an actual song. The bars are sloppy, the wailing in the background is annoying, and the Baton Rouge rhymer feels safely within his comfort zone. With the song clocking in at barely over two minutes, it’s safe to say this one could have been left off MASA.

“Lo” once again feels more like a vocal warm up for YoungBoy than an actual song. I’m confused as to what “Lo” is even about? The Baton Rouge rapper definitely could have let this one cook a little longer.

“Wine & Dine” has all the pieces in place to end up a unique YoungBoy song. The beat stands out as being slightly different with its flute and relaxed pace, and the 25-year-old for a moment has a good hook in his pocket — but by the song’s end it dissolves into YB’s usual shout-rapping. The end result feels confusing in regards to its tone, and it’s unclear why this song made it on the project.

“Myself Pt. 2” will likely click with longtime YB supporters, as YoungBoy locks back in with a flow reminiscent of his Top days. Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a loosie from that era, but in that regard the song feels dated and comes and goes without much impact.

Another filler track that could have appeared on any YB project that came before it, “Get Up With Us” covers the usual range of YoungBoy topics from sex to violence and drugs. He screams out aggressive bars against the opps, but the punchlines don’t leave any lasting effect. The Baton Rouge rapper always sounds better when he utilizes his voice rather then just yells into the mic.

Another track that feels less like a song and more like YoungBoy just riffing away in the booth, “Combat Boots” isn’t a good or bad song: It’s just YoungBoy doing his thing, and die-hard fans will love it. Maybe that’s why this middle half of the album is littered with tracks that all feel the same?

The sentiment behind this track is meaningful, considering YoungBoy’s past afflictions, but it’s hard to feel like YoungBoy’s syrupy delivery was the best approach here. It’s hard to feel the pain he’s trying to communicate, even while he litters the track with emotional bars.

YoungBoy does some great singing on “No F—k,” as his switches from rapping to singing fits neatly within his comfort zone. The song is just a little loose structurally, and comes and goes in a way that feels like filler.

With an album filled with much more detailed and gut-wrenching bars, “Peepin’” feels rather boilerplate when held up against MASA‘s other highlights. The song comes and goes without much impact, even though its sentiments are meaningful.

Similarly to “Peepin,” “When Time Pass” is a meaningful diary entry for YoungBoy, but doesn’t captivate as much as some of the other more sentimental tracks. Even then, there are a few tight bars that really leave some motivational feelings: “That life get bad, you might get sad, but when you stay up on it, come with bands/And when it come with setbacks, you just sit back and dissect that/And when things don’t work out, you accept that.”

“Burn” is another soulful ballad from YB, another reflection point for the young rapper on how he wants to support his lady financially. The song bobs and weaves nicely, but YoungBoy sounds like he’s playing it safe and at some points almost sounds bored considering how easy it is for him to skate along.

YoungBoy offers up some soulful crooning about a lost love on “Morocco.” Once again, it’s a welcomed change of pace from the old school YB scattered throughout the earlier half of the record. While it doesn’t leave much of a lasting impact, “Morocco” still flexes YoungBoy’s varied talent on the microphone.

“Games of War” is a much more fitting intro to MASA, and it’s unclear why YB didn’t choose this epic, horn-driven moment to open his new album. The song is motivational and reflective, with YoungBoy toeing the line between singing and rapping as effortlessly as ever.

YoungBoy is barely audible on “Simretta.” It’s a bummer, but the song’s sleek beat allows YB to slide along with ease. “Slimretta” is just pure vibes, and I couldn’t help but bob my head along.

On “BIG,” YoungBoy takes a moment to mellow out as he flexes his extravagant wealth. It’s a welcomed change of pace, but the rapper’s mumbled delivery keeps the song from really packing a punch. It also feels more like an interlude for “I’m Ready,” but the transition is clean so that’s hardly an issue.

“If You Need Me” feels like a proper introduction to the more heartfelt half of the album. YoungBoy commits fully to singing, as he belts about his lover with earnestness.

“I’m Ready” is the first reflective point in the project, with YoungBoy rapping diligently and intentionally about what he experienced these past few years. “Who the f—k these people making the comment or even get inside my business?/ You ain’t here right now, I’m f—ked up stranded/ You wasn’t even out there when I was spinnin’/ Me and Big B, twin 223’s, hanging out that window, I landed in prison/ Slept with my brother, no mattress, no cover/ Grew up in the gutter, I had to go get it,” YoungBoy raps.

It’s a song that hits more like a stream-of-consciousness journal entry — but regardless, “I’m Ready” is a great breather from the violence-laden bars of the prior few songs.

“Shot Callin” has all the qualities of a great YoungBoy track. The rapper sounds as feral as ever as he demolishes the track’s animated jaunty piano chords. It’ll likely hit with his day-ones, but otherwise “Shot Callin” fits snuggly within the dozens of other NBA YoungBoy tracks that sound like this one.

Lyrically, “Alter” is a powerful ode to YB’s salvation, with YoungBoy offering up some heartfelt bars towards his mother for not being a better son. It sounds like he’s tapping into something earnest and raw here, stripping away his tough street persona for a moment to reveal a child hurting.

YB always does some of his best work when he’s forced outside of his adrenaline-fueled comfort zone (“WUSYANAME,” “Late to Da Party”), and “Fire Your Manager” is no different. YoungBoy enters Playboi Carti’s woozy intergalactic world, it’s just a bummer he doesn’t stay at the party very long. “Fire Your Manager” is basically a Carti track, with YoungBoy offering only a closing verse. That verse sounds great, but it’s hard not to feel like YoungBoy is the feature on his own song.

The album’s title track is a YoungBoy standard through and through. The unsettling piano, YoungBoy’s mumbling spitfire flow, the lyrics focused on gang banging and exorbitant displays of wealth. It all works, it just doesn’t push the envelope in any substantial way.

“Cold World” proves one thing: Mellow and YB make great music together. Mellow’s silky smooth singing offers the perfect contrast to YoungBoy’s forceful crooning. This song is definitely an early highlight on the tape.

With a splash of G-funk nipping at his heels, YoungBoy bounces along and sounds like he’s having a great time on “Diesel.” The gleeful piano chords that have become the rapper’s bread and butter are very much there, but on “Diesel,” YoungBoy changes around his flows as effortlessly as hitting the stick shift on a brand new BMW. “Diesel” in turn moves along so fast it feels like the train is about to come off the tracks, but thanks to a catchy hook that brings it all back together, the song serves as a late highlight from this stuffed tape.

With a heavier focus on song structure, YoungBoy melodically sounds outstanding on “Priorities.” Over a soulful loop and some tight 808s, It’s nice to hear the often loose cannon rapper reign it in to flex his pop melodies. “Priorities” is another song here that reminds us YoungBoy’s ability on the mic extends past his usual aggressive punch-ins into something more melodic and easy on the ears.

“Kickboxer” is a surprisingly fun song. YoungBoy treads slightly into Yeat’s world of claustrophobic rage rap, with the song’s beats frenzied horns and battering 808s, but the young rapper slashes the beat in half with some breathless, rapid delivery. The last half of the song pummels listeners ears in the best ways, with YoungBoy rapping his ass off in a way fans haven’t heard in a while.

What is likely one of the most vulnerable songs in YoungBoy’s catalog, “Where I’ve Been” examines the difficult last few years the rapper has experienced. He speaks on his addictions and his prison sentences, and acknowledges the mistakes he made and how they negatively impacted his life. If that’s not heartbreaking enough, YoungBoy lays a lot of this all out in a conversation with his grandfather: “Grandpa, how you been, man?/Made twenty-five doin’ time, I’m a grown man/Stare inside my eyes, tell no lies, I was fumblin’/I was totin’ that fire, rollin’ hard off of one Xan’/Tryna find my way without no compass.”

It’s a devastating but very important song for YoungBoy, who seems really intent this time around on moving forward from the violence and addictions that have plagued his career.

Not only is it refreshing to hear YoungBoy traverse a slower and more soulful beat, but “Finest” is littered with heartbreaking bars that will make anyone stop in their tracks. “They tellin’ me I’m that guy, while off inside I’m still holdin’ all the feelings of a child,” he cries out. Elsewhere, he advocates for a change of faith, and tries his best to navigate a new way forward even though people have judged him for what he’s been going through. “Pray on my knees at night so the angels see I am not who they said I am,” he raps. “Finest” is a gut-wrenching song, and one of YB’s best in years.