(L) Yung Bans. Photo by @gabegarza_. (R) YNW Melly. Photo by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for 2wenty 2wenty Music
Vol. 6, the first new full-length project from the Atlanta-based rapper Yung Bans in nearly three-and-a-half years, was released on December 6, and it includes a feature from YNW Melly on the song "No Belt." Though the song leaked back in 2020, it's the first official appearance from Melly, who remains imprisoned on two first-degree murder charges, since 2022's "Purple Casanova" with 12 Honcho. Scroll down to listen.
The new song is a duet of the kind of melodic rap both rappers have staked their careers in. Bans offers up charismatic defiance ("My P.O. asked me if I'm booted, I said 'Yup.'") occasionally mixed with witty humor ("I'm showing my ass today so I don't need no belt"), while the signature creakiness of Melly's vocals still sounds one-of-a-kind four years after his incarceration.
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In July, a judge declared a mistrial in YNW Melly's case; a second trial has been set for February 2024. He is accused of killing his childhood friends Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams and Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas Jr. Melly in October 2018. Read The FADER's explainer on the case here.
