NBA YoungBoy says he is stepping back from music because of a heart condition. "The doctor told me the left side of my heart was swollen," he said in a preview clip from an interview with Funny Marco's Open Thoughts, releasing in full August 11. "That explains the music, though."
The Louisiana rapper's 2026 output has already been lighter than usual: he released Slime Cry in January and ML2 in June, a slower pace than the release schedule that has defined his career. He did not say whether doctors have told him to stop recording or performing.
The trailer for the interview suggests a wider-ranging conversation than Marco's usual comedic format, touching on the meaning behind some of YoungBoy's tattoos and feelings of hopelessness. In a separate Instagram Live days later, a fan offered to give YoungBoy their own heart; "Come on, give me your heart then," he responded, laughing.
In the same interview, YoungBoy said he has no plans to return to living in the US after spending recent months in Beijing, Norway, Belgium, France and now South Korea, and that his music career may be nearing its end: asked how many albums he has left, he said he has "one or two" left, and "one for sure" more tour.
The health disclosure comes in a year YoungBoy has also talked openly about money, telling interviewers he has earned up to $1.5 million for a single show even as his release pace has slowed.
The facts
- NBA YoungBoy says a doctor found the left side of his heart swollen
- He is stepping back from music because of the diagnosis
- He released Slime Cry in January and ML2 in June, a lighter 2026 schedule
- A fan offered him their heart on Instagram Live and he jokingly accepted
- He says he has no plans to return to living in the US
- He says he has one or two albums and one more tour left
How this checks out
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Cited sources 3
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