Yung Gravy: Cooking Up Hymns with Hilarity
Yung Gravy may have “Chef” in his Instagram bio, but his cooking has nothing to do with food. Chatting to The Note, 29-year-old American rapper and internet sensation spills his secret recipes, on how he chooses samples, and keeps serving up banger after banger. From spinning the Commodores’ ‘Brick House’ into his latest hit ‘Debbie’, to flipping Panic! At The Disco’s emo classic ‘I Write Sins Not Tragedies’ into the satirical ‘I Write Hymns Not Travesties’, Gravy won’t stop until the whole world is ‘gravified’ and smiling.
Interview Millah Hansberry // Image supplied
Congrats on your latest single ‘Debbie’! It’s such a fun spin on the Commodores’ ‘Brick House’. How did this track come about?
I’ve wanted to sample that masterpiece from pretty much the beginning of my career. I had one of my trusted constituents whip up a beat and I just let the nectar flow. It’s always a pretty quick process and it came together luxuriously.
What made the Commodores the perfect addition to the long list of iconic samples you’ve flipped over the years?
I love a nice buxom woman. The Commodores and I are alike in this manner, and I figured now is the perfect time for a gravification.
What’s your favourite line in ‘Debbie’ and why?
‘Make it splash Sheryl Swoopes if you let me play’. I cannot divulge further in this matter.
When you’re in the studio, what’s your creative process like? Are you freestyling lines, or are you coming in with pre-planned bars?
A mixture of both for sure. I have a sort of digital parchment that I etch my musings into, which I unsheathe whenever a song calls for it, otherwise it’s just an in-studio flow state type of deal.
We chatted with your best mate bbno$ a few weeks ago about his new self-titled album. Between your duo Baby Gravy and your endless content collabs, the friendship is clearly thriving. Could you share a memorable story from your time together?
We were somewhere in Europe one time and these dudes tried to fight us after a show and were calling us white … n words… no clue why but we duked it out fair and square and I don’t think they will persist in those endeavours any further.
Earlier in the year, you dropped ‘I Write Hymns Not Travesties’, a hilarious and smooth flip of Panic! At The Disco’s hit song ‘I Write Sins Not Tragedies’. Tell us about the making of this, and what drew you to sampling such an early 2000’s emo staple.
I’m at a point in my career where I feel free to do anything. Taking my original style and doing it in ways that excites me and keeps me motivated to be as creative as possible in my performances. It’s true to me in that I was heavily involved in Zumiez adjacent activities in my days of yore, so it’s really an amalgamation of my past and present selves coming to a head in the audio extravaganza that is “I write hymns”.
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The music video for ‘I Write Hymns Not Travesties’ features you, your partner Ari, and a bbno$ cameo. What was it like creating such a fun laid-back music video with your favourite people?
Just like a more fun regular day, where we get to dress up and do weirder or less weird shit than normal. Dance around and be our freakiest selves.
You’re currently on your massive 39-date Voluptuous Voyage tour across North America. What’s on the travel playlist right now? Any unexpected guilty pleasures?
‘Show Me How’ - Men I Trust
When are you coming to Australia, and most importantly, Adelaide?
As soon as humanly possible. Adelaide and Australia in general have some of the best crowds in the world.
Once you make it here, what’s on your Australian bucket list?
A shit ton of Milo powder, barely any milk, Tim Tams maybe crushed up in there too. Bunnings snag and maybe hit the nut bush to work off the calories.
What’s next for Yung Gravy? Have we got an album coming up? Anything exciting in the works?
I can’t even really divulge any information pertaining to my musical output, but I can say that I am cooking, and the meal will be succulent.
‘Debbie’ by Yung Gravy is out now.
