Ma' I Got a Family, also referred to by its full title Ma' I Got a Family, A Gangsta Grillz Special Edition Hosted by DJ Drama on streaming services, is the nineteenth solo mixtape by American rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again, released through Never Broke Again and Atlantic Records on October 21, 2022, a day after his 23rd birthday.[1] The mixtape is hosted by DJ Drama as an installment of his Gangsta Grillz mixtape series.[2] It features guest appearances from rappers Nicki Minaj and Yeat, while the production was handled by 808 Mafia, Chief Keef, Dmac, D-Roc, Drum Dummie, Mason Wu, Noah Mejia, TnTXD, Khris James, and Cheese, the latter two also mixed, mastered, and recorded the entire project.[3] The mixtape marks YoungBoy's sixth release of 2022 (fifth solo).[4]
Background
Over a week and a half after YoungBoy's early October Juvenile-influenced 3800 Degrees, through the community tab on YoungBoy's official YouTube channel, YoungBoy announced the release of the mixtape.[5][6] The announcement was later followed by a teaser where YoungBoy hinted that he plans to release ten projects by the end of 2022.[7] Just a day prior to the mixtape's release, on October 20, 2022, YoungBoy's twenty-third birthday, the mixtape's release was officially announced by Birdman through his Instagram, similar to the announcement of 3800 Degrees.[5] Hours later, through the Never Broke Again Instagram page, the mixtape's tracklist was unveiled, revealing two features Nicki Minaj and Yeat.[4]
Artwork
The mixtape's artwork pictures YoungBoy Never Broke Again and his wife, Jazlyn MyChelle. With YoungBoy and Jaz are the couple's two children. In the background of the artwork, photos of YoungBoy and his other children can be seen alongside YoungBoy's 100 RIAA certification plaque.[8]
Paul Simpson from AllMusic stated that Ma’ I Got A Family "Far less hard-edged and aggressive than one might expect." He noted that "the mixtape taps into YoungBoy's sentimental side," and that "this is not the release one would expect DJ Drama to be involved with."[9]
Commercial performance
Ma' I Got a Family debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 37,000 album-equivalent units (including 402 copies in pure album sales) in its first week.[10] The album also accumulated a total of 52.54 million on-demand streams of the album's songs, and marked YoungBoy's fifth top-ten entry of 2022.[10] Furthermore, YoungBoy broke the tie with Jay-Z for the artist with the fifth most charting Billboard 200 albums in history.[11]
