Rapper NBA YoungBoy confirms no plans of returning to US after moving to South Korea: ‘It's very safe here’

Popular rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again sat down with Funny Marco for a rare interaction in South Korea, revealing he has left the US for good. In an episode of Marco's Open Thoughts series, the rapper confirmed that he has no plans of returning to the States.

NBA YoungBoy moves to South Korea

“It’s very safe here and clean,” YoungBoy said of his move to South Korea.

YoungBoy is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His real name is Kentrell DeSean Gaulden.

During the conversation, he also mentioned that it was his first time in South Korea, asserting that he has been enjoying his time there.

He was asked what was different about Korea. To this, YoungBoy answered that he liked the country as it is “out the way.”

He explained further, “I get the energy too. It’s very safe here and very clean.”

The 26-year-old rapper, who is a father to at least 11 children with eight women, said that he had one to two albums to go and one more tour in his life. Without much context, YoungBoy said, "I’ll go on tour one more time throughout my whole life and that’s it."

When will he return to the US?

So, the question is: will YoungBoy return to the US? He simply said, "Never in life.”

The Slime Belief rapper added that he never got the chance to travel like he is now, so he wants to enjoy the feeling of being at new places.

“I don’t have a problem with being away, it’s nothing new for me,” he said. “The most important thing is probably my kids, but that’s what they have planes for," he added.

About YoungBoy and his controversies

NBA YoungBoy is among the popular rappers from the US whose career took off in the late 2010s after his mixtapes went viral while he was in and out of juvenile detention in Louisiana.

In 2020, he topped the Billboard 200 chart three times in a single year as the first-ever rapper and went on to repeat it the next year with his Sincerely, Kentrell project, which put him on a list with Tupac Shakur and Lil Wayne as the only artists to have their album at the number one spot of the charts while incarcerated.

In his career, YoungBoy hit headlines several times with his multiple controversies. In 2016, he landed in legal trouble after he was arrested with 16 others in Baton Rouge by federal agents who were conducting an investigation into drug manufacturing and distribution as well as stolen firearms, as per reports.

In 2021, the rapper was arrested again in Los Angeles by federal agents in connection with the same matter, which resulted in a new firearm charge against him. He was found not guilty in the LA case but found guilty in the Baton Rouge case, with the court sentencing him to 23 months in prison followed by 60 months of probation.

YoungBoy spent over three years in federal custody, including house arrest. He was released on probation in April 2025. Two months later, he received a full presidential pardon from Donald Trump.