10 Essential YFN Lucci Tracks

For the past few years, YFN Lucci has been a name that’s been slowly on the cusp of stardom in the Atlanta rap scene and beyond, with several years of buzz and solid mixtapes between him and his YFNBC crew. At first an obscure rapper, isolated from the QC/Freebandz/1017 axis of popular acts coming out of the Southern Rap mecca, Lucci managed to stand out for demonstrating a maturing sensibility as a songwriter and a hook singer, while most of Atlanta rap steered away from their more commercial instincts. This automatically left Lucci as a standout talent.

Since then, he’s managed to put out popular hits of his own as well as find himself on records by the likes of Migos, Lil Durk, Meek Mill and a whole laundry list of stars from Atlanta and across the country. He’s garnered a hard won cult audience and with his crew of affiliates carved out a specific lane of the rap game that at his proven rate of quality work, could result in his becoming a top-tier star soon enough.

For those of you who have heard him once or twice on the radio, or alongside any of the aforementioned names and have wondered “What the hell is a YFN Lucci?”, HNHH has you covered.

Here we have ten records either from or featuring Lucci in some way that can establish a greater picture of who he his, where he’s come from and what he’s capable of. Some of these are well known singles in his catalog, and others are deeper cuts, but each one is a great opportunity to put yourself onto one of the flyest and hardest working rappers in the game. 

Long before his solo career came about, Lucci was a member of the YFNBC (Young Fly N***az Bout Cash) crew, featuring future collaborators such as Trae Pound and YFN Kay (then going by Killa). Most of Lucci’s career at this point was a series of freestyles and promising singles with little to no traction, with Lucci mostly providing straightforward raps.

“Shine In The Dark” is an early standout, featuring production from none other than early Wiz Khalifa collaborator Johnny Juliano, and featuring Lucci pulling double duty on hooks and verse to great effect.

“I Wonder Why” initially gained prominence, not for the man behind the record, but his guest; Skooly, who’d then only recently left Atlanta swag-rap innovators the Rich Kidz to pursue a solo career, and had recently started to join in along with half of Atlanta to send subliminals at Rich Homie Quan. He evidently decided there was no better place to do that, than alongside his cousin’s newest solo single, put out by Quan’s former label T.I.G.

Later remixes of the single would see the "controversial" Skooly verse swapped out for different folk such as Yo Gotti, but I’d like to think the majority of people who heard the song were less interested in the behind the scenes drama and more impressed both by Lucci’s forlorn foghorn crooning and Rico Tracks’ masterful beat. The backmasked trap drums, twinkling melodies and stirring therein are so strong, that a lesser personality could easily be washed away by the production, but on “I Wonder Why” Lucci pivots from menace to despair in the blink of an eye, all with incredible intensity.

After hinting at so much potential on early loose singles, YFN Lucci’s Wish Me Well tape dropped at the very end of 2014. Perhaps the first mixtape for many of his listeners, it was loaded with back-to-back bangers, stellar production and Lucci’s saccharine yet anthemic songwriting that echoed the most potent of records from folks such as Future and Rich Homie Quan. An obvious standout, “Kno No Better” was perhaps one of the most natural singles for anyone hoping to convert the masses into fans of YFN Lucci, with its dramatic soap-opera theme strings and the rapper’s overly-eager sung flows and earnestness. In a time where the rest of Atlanta rap was threatening to get too obsessed with sounding off-kilter or menacing, it was refreshing to hear someone who could make songs that sounded genuinely exuberant and optimistic. Fans who connected with Lucci on social media could soon see him tour across the south to packed clubs of newfound fans who were singing every bar word for word, a testimony to how effectively Lucci was striking a chord with his audience.

Another cut from the Wish Me Well tape that rose to the cream of the crop was perhaps the exact opposite from “Kno No Better,” and that would be “Traumatized.” A somber, minor-key affair with production reminiscent of Drake, Lucci didn’t have failed romance in mind to sing about, but instead vented out all his darker thoughts and frustrations.

Tales of murder, dissolving relationships, growing up in poverty; all his themes managed to weave together effortlessly to paint the picture of Lucci as an evocative artist who was deeply troubled. Perhaps nowhere near the obvious ‘hit’ of a single, it nevertheless soon found itself released as one based on how effectively it made an impression on its listeners. Already, Lucci had demonstrated a complexity to himself out the gate that so many rappers struggle to convince people they have.

Produced by 808 Mafia mainstay TM88, then fresh off a series of revolutionary productions for the likes of Future, Young Thug and many others, “YFN” is the culmination of Lucci’s success in establishing himself past merely one of the many potential dreamers and a true figurehead in the Atlanta rap scene.

Initially released ahead of Wish Me Well 2, the track is a much appreciated answer to anyone who might’ve been asking the question “Well just what the hell does YFN even mean?” as Lucci’s star continued to ascend. It's a top form performance from Lucci, finding excellent counterpoint in the signature pitch-shifted key changes of TM88 and resulting in yet another home run smash.

Future’s 2015 run was in the minds of many folks, an unquestionable time of peak rapping from the Atlanta rap pioneer. One of the ways it was actually so fruitful was the many, many remixes attempted over his various hits, in a time when ‘the remix’ had long since fallen out of popularity with rappers.

Despite many dropping in the course of the year that didn’t succeed at outshining the originals, one of the few that even managed to get the approval of the artist himself was from Lucci. Whereas Future’s original “56 Nights” was all manic tension and fidgety energy, Lucci came in over 808 Mafia’s dread-laden synth screeches with nothing but bravado and made the dark record even darker, with hints of direct violence offset by his trademark melodic croon. Given Future’s own mastery of contrasts in his own rap styles, the YFN Lucci redux served not only as a way for him to keep his name in the cycle, but to also pay tribute to a key influence on his music to great success.

One of the more bizarre cult icons of Atlanta rap is the former Hellacoppa Kid-turned-brief Quality Control affiliate, Johnny Cinco. A man whose experiments with autotune and eccentric writing manage to make him sound like he bleeds codeine, you’d think him and Lucci might make an odd pair to have chemistry on record. Yet, somehow, the duo have continuously struck gold together, to the point that Cinco has found himself counted among the ranks of the YFNBC crew on a number of tracks.

One of their earliest attempts to collaborate, “Every Time,” is an understated and silky record from Wish Me Well 2 that actually benefits from Lucci in allowing him to continuously play off the various ideas introduced by Cinco, culminating in a duet verse that hits all the sweet spots necessary to compliment each artist and demonstrate the sympatico. The result is their collaborations becoming a well-honed routine for the enjoyment of both side's fans.

One of the biggest hits in the catalog of YFN Lucci and a rare example of him abandoning the reigns on the hook duty, “Key To The Streets” is a monster of a smash. Featuring the then recently revitalized Migos and DTE’s Trouble, you had some of the best of the best working to provide support to Lucci. Any listener could be easily taken by Quavo’s melodic auto-tune-tinged approach, or the competitive spirit of Trouble and Takeoff trading verses back and forth. Still, without a doubt, Lucci works hard both on the hook and the verses to remain a standout presence with his foghorn croon and simple yet effective bars, ensuring any listener that came by his single thanks to his featured guests, would leave knowing who it was they were really supposed to recall once the song was over.

Emotionally driven street rap is a style that constantly goes in and out of vogue, and can hardly be defined by one singular artist. For example, the stylings of Florida’s boozy and bombastic Kolyon, the Bay Area’s intense and mournful Mozzy, and YFN Lucci’s own brand of emotive appeals aren’t necessarily identical or even all that similar. Yet Lucci and Mozzy had already collaborated before to great success, and on this single from last year’s 1 Up Top Ahk, that chemistry hit additional paydirt.

The keys of West Coast veterans like League of Starz don’t seem like the first name you’d recommend for Lucci, but he manages to take the hook with ease, and provides a verse that refuses to be overshadowed by the two more straightforward rappers’ presences, in painting a portrait of stoic survivors of violence. It's another testimony to Lucci’s talents that, not only is he capable of delivering for himself, but that he’s additionally adept at complimenting the strengths of others.

One of the lead singles off last year’s Long Live Nut project, “Heartless” might not have been the radio single that saw the most mainstream success (rather, that would be the PnB Rock-assisted “Everyday We Lit”), but was easily one of the strongest records off the project and deserving of both praise and recognition.

Over the martial grimness of Atlanta mainstay Will-A-Fool’s production, Lucci provides a dark and haunting hook while going toe to toe with the gangster rap menace of a veteran such as Rick Ross. With the Bigga Rankin cosign to sell you on the gravitas before the music even properly kicks in, one gets the feeling of, how over the last few years, Lucci has not only become a rapper of note, but he’s managed to become a movement in himself based off his reputation. It stands to reason that “Heartless” is just a glimpse at how effectively YFN Lucci is going to keep the streets fed while engaging with the mainstream on his own terms.