Christopher Francis Ries (born March 9, 1983), known professionally as Young Chris, is an American rapper. He is a member of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

rap duo

Young Gunz Young Gunz is an American hip hop duo from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, composed of rappers Young Chris (born Chris Ries in 1983) and Neef Buck (born Hanif Muhammad in 1983). The group is part of Beanie Sigel's State Property collective and wa ...

alongside his childhood friend, rapper Neef Buck, signed to

Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. History 1994–2000: Formation ...

. The duo saw their greatest success with their 2003 debut single " Can't Stop, Won't Stop". The duo released two albums: '' Tough Luv'' (2004) and ''

Brothers from Another ''Brothers from Another'' is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Young Gunz. It was released on May 24, 2005 via Roc-A-Fella Records. Hip hop production, Production was handled by Chad Hamilton, Swizz Beatz, Boola, Bangladesh and Kany ...

'' (2005) and were apart of

Beanie Sigel Dwight Equan Grant (born March 6, 1974), better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first became known for his association with Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella Records, releasing his debut ...

State Property State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownershi ...

collective. Young Chris was signed in December 2010 as a solo artist to

Universal Motown Universal Motown Records was an American record label that operated as a division of Universal Motown Republic Group. It was the contemporary incarnation of the legendary Motown Records label, and the "urban" half of UMG, although there were some ...

through producer/songwriter

Rico Love Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wiscon ...

's label imprint Division1. He released two albums through Division1: ''LIFE: Ladies In For Free'' and ''The Revival'', both in 2011. In 2014 he released the album ''Gunna Season'' through Jaccpot Entertainment. He has also had a large number of self-released mixtapes from 2007 to the present. Young Chris is often confused with the rapper YC, who used to perform as "Yung Chris", and is thus sometimes incorrectly credited as the performer of the YC song "

Racks Rack or racks may refer to: Storage and installation * Amp rack, short for amplifier rack, a piece of furniture in which amplifiers are mounted * Bicycle rack, a frame for storing bicycles when not in use * Bustle rack, a type of storage bin m ...

Music career

Young Gunz

Young Chris and Neef Buck (born Hanif Muhammad) had been friends since they were young boys on the block (C-Ave). On "

Takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to t ...

", a track from his 2001 album ''

The Blueprint ''The Blueprint'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on September 11, 2001, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. Its release was set a week earlier than initially planned in order to combat bootlegging. ...

'',

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

announced the duo as "Chris & Neef". In 2001, the duo performed on the ''

'' soundtrack album. Young Chris and Neef starred in the titular movie. Also during this period of their career, Young Chris appeared throughout Dame Dash's ''Dream Team'' compilation, and Beanie Sigel's '' The Reason''. The duo performed together on guest appearances for albums like Jay-Z's ''

The Blueprint 2 ''The Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse'' (stylized as ''The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse'') is the seventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 12, 2002, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Island Def Jam Music Group. ...

'', Freeway's ''

Philadelphia Freeway ''Philadelphia Freeway'' is the debut studio album from Philadelphia rapper Freeway. It was released under Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. The most successful single was " Flipside", which featured Peedi Crakk. The single debuted at ...

'', State Property's ''

The Chain Gang Vol. 2 ''The Chain Gang Vol. 2'' is the second studio album by rap group State Property (group), State Property. It was released in August 2003 to positive reviews. Young Gunz' "Can't Stop, Won't Stop (Young Gunz song), Can't Stop Won't Stop" was later ...

'', and Memphis Bleek's ''

M.A.D.E. ''M.A.D.E.'' is the third studio album by rapper Memphis Bleek. It was released by Get Low Records, Roc-A-Fella Records, and Def Jam Recordings on December 16, 2003. The album reached #35 on the Billboard 200 charts. The first single released f ...

''; all while recording their album. The Young Gunz scored their first hit with " Can't Stop, Won't Stop", the lead-off single from ''

'' album. Its song and video received major airplay on hip-hop radio,

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

, and

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

and reached #14 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart and #6 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot Rap Tracks chart. After the success of their single, " Can't Stop, Won't Stop", the label jumped and was ready to release their debut album, '' Tough Luv''. It included the remix to " Can't Stop, Won't Stop", which featured

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

rapper

Chingy Howard Earl Bailey Jr. (born March 9, 1980), known professionally as Chingy, is an American rapper. Chingy grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and began rapping in his late teens. He toured as an opening act with Nelly in the summer of 2002 and then ...

. Singles included "No Better Love" featuring former

crooner Rell and the

Just Blaze Justin Gregory Smith (born January 8, 1978), known professionally as Just Blaze, is an American hip hop record producer and DJ. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Blaze attended Rutgers University for three years before dropping out to pursue his mu ...

-produced "Friday Night". '' Tough Luv'' debuted on the ''Billboard'' 200 at #3 after selling 128,000 copies in its first week. That week, the album at #2 was labelmate

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

's debut album ''

The College Dropout ''The College Dropout'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. In the years leading up to release, West had received pra ...

'', which was released just two weeks earlier. After a brief hiatus, the duo returned with

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...

produced " Set It Off" from their second album, ''

''. It was the second release from the "new"

, referencing when

became president of

Def Jam Records Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

, the first being

Memphis Bleek Malik Deshawn Cox (born June 23, 1978), known by his stage name Memphis Bleek, is an American rapper who was a protégé of fellow New York rapper Jay-Z. Cox started his own labels: Get Low Records in 1998, and #Warehouse Music Group, Warehouse M ...

's 534. The album debuted on the ''Billboard'' 200 at #15, and included guest features from

Slim Slim or SLIM may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slim Goodbody, a fictional character who teaches about anatomy * Slim, one of the alien antagonists of the 1988 film '' Killer Klowns from Outer Space'' * Slim, the Pixl fro ...

112 112 may refer to: *112 (number), the natural number following 111 and preceding 113 *112 (band), an American R&B quartet from Atlanta, Georgia **112 (album), ''112'' (album), album from the band of the same name *112 (emergency telephone number), t ...

and

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...

Solo career

As early as March 2006, Young Chris thought about recording a solo album. He initially titled it ''Now or Never''. He stated to '' XXL'' magazine that he wanted to release a solo album by the end of 2008 and had been "95 percent done" by June 2008. In this article, Young Chris also states that he himself up there with

Lil' Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...

and

Juelz Santana LaRon Louis James (born February 18, 1982), better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of East Coast hip hop group The Diplomats, also known as Dipset. He is best known for his appearances on Cam'ron's 2002 si ...

. Since this time, Chris has taken to the internet to solidify himself as a top solo artist, with his YoungChris.com Social Network, hitting the remix circuit, and his much anticipated "The Network" Mixtape series, hosted by

DJ Don Cannon Donald Cannon (born August 2, 1979) is an American DJ, record producer, songwriter, and record executive. Cannon is a co-founder of the Atlantic Records imprint, Generation Now. He was also a member of the prominent Atlanta mixtape collective, ...

. In December 2010 Young Chris signed with Division1, a label started by songwriter/producer

, under the

umbrella. Love considers Young Chris his flagship artist, working closely with Young Chris on his debut album and pre-album/mixtape. The mixtape, called "The Re-Introduction", was released on November 20, 2010. The aptly titled mixtape gives the spotlight to a newly signed Young Chris, as a solo artist, and also, re-introduces the combination of

DJ Drama Tyree Cinque Simmons (born April 22, 1978), professionally known as DJ Drama, is an American DJ, record executive and music promoter. He is the co-founder (with Don Cannon) of Generation Now, an Atlantic Records imprint with artists including ...

and

Don Cannon Donald Cannon (born August 2, 1979) is an American DJ, record producer, songwriter, and record executive. Cannon is a co-founder of the Atlantic Records imprint, Generation Now. He was also a member of the prominent Atlanta mixtape collective, ...

, the former "

Affiliates In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or ...

" partners, hosting their first mixtape together, in several years. On January 28, a song called "Philly Shit (Mega Mix)" featuring Young Chris,

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

Black Thought Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1973), better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, actor and the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group the Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove (Ahmir Thompson). Regarded ...

, Money Malc,

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a sol ...

, Fred The Godson,

Diggy Simmons Daniel Dwayne "Diggy" Simmons III (born March 21, 1995) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, model, and actor and the fourth child of Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons of Run DMC. He is currently acting on the hit show ''Grown-ish'' as Doug Edwar ...

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

& The Game was leaked. On March 22, 2011, Young Chris' single "A$$ets" was commercially released. In late 2013–2014, Young Chris began releasing a slew of freestyles, the latest being a reworking of Wale's "LoveHate Thing", released on May 6. He's currently working on a new studio album titled ''Alive. On May 6, 2014, he released a mixtape on Datpiff called ''Gunna Seazon''.

Awards and nominations

" Can't Stop, Won't Stop" was nominated for

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group was awarded between 1991 and 2011, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. The award was discontin ...

at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards.

Discography

This is the singles and albums discography of Young Chris.Young Chris , AllMusic
/ref>

Young Chris

*''The Network 3'' (2014) *''Gunna Season'' (2014) *''Vital Signs EP'' (2013) *''Young Christmas (FrEP)'' (2011) *''The Revival'' (2011) *''L.I.F.E (Ladies in for Free)'' (2011) *''The Re-Introduction'' (2010) *''The Network 2'' (2010) *''30 Days 30 Verses'' (2009) *''The Network'' (with

) (2009) *''Campaign for Change'' (2008) *''Now or Never'' (with

) (2008) *''Young Chris-Mas'' (2007) *''The Newprint'' (2007) *''Politically Incorrect'' (2007) *''Murder Capital'' (with Pooda Brown, Neef Buck and DJ LRM) (2007) *''Hired Gun'' (2007) *''Killadelphia – More Bodies Than Days'' (2007) *''Young Chris'' (2007)

Young Gunz

*''Back to Business'' (2010)Young Gunz , AllMusic
/ref> *'' Rapid Fire'' (2008) *''Get In Where U Fit In Part 2'' (2005) *''Get In Where U Fit In'' (2004) *''

'' (2005) *'' Tough Luv'' (2004)

State Property

*''

'' (2003)State Property , AllMusic
/ref> *''

'' (2002)

Mixtapes

Guest appearances

References

External links

Young Chris official website

Division 1 website

Young Gunz official website
{{Authority control 1983 births Living people African-American male rappers American male rappers East Coast hip hop musicians Rappers from Philadelphia Grammy Award winners Young Gunz Gangsta rappers 21st-century American rappers

Music career

Young Gunz

Solo career

Awards and nominations

Discography

Young Chris

Young Gunz

State Property

Mixtapes

Guest appearances

See also

References

External links