Yung Honcho is a talented new artist rising out of Knoxville, TN with a unique sound and a compelling backstory. Honcho’s distinct style is defined by his surprisingly understated tone and disarmingly gentle singing voice which he uses to deliver pain-filled, street-oriented lyrics to create an unexpected yet hugely compelling sound he uses to articulate the harsh realities of life in his city.
Honcho has worked hard to build a name in Knoxville, a city not known for producing major artists. In 2019, he dropped his first project, ‘In Too Deep,’ with songs like “Fit In” and “Lean On Me” resonating with audiences and putting his name and distinct sound on the map for the first time. Soon he began attracting cosigns from big names like Meek Mill, NoCap, Rylo Rodriguez and perhaps most notably from nearby Memphis’ Kevo Muney, who joined Honcho and NoCap on “Upset.” The popular three way joint-track would go on to become his biggest song to date after premiering on WorldStarHipHop to over 1.8M views, carrying Honcho further than any artist from his home city. It was also during this time that he introduced the ‘Black Heart’ theme heard throughout his music, ushering in the new era and showcasing the influence he holds in his city by bringing out his whole neighborhood for the “Black Heart” music video.
Despite suffering some pretty significant setbacks in 2020, Honcho still managed to drop two full projects, Free Me and Destined. With his freedom secured in 2021, he hit the ground running with three new projects: Street Poet in January, Black Heart Honcho 2 in April, and Reel in July – each project showcasing evolution of his unique, melodic style.
In 2022 he managed to come even harder, tirelessly dropping a steady stream of singles throughout the year including standouts like “No Heart” and “Motivated”, the Major Pain EP, and two whole albums. Released in June, Vengeance included a fresh new collab with fellow Tennessee native, Kevo Muney on the fan-favorite “Head High.” And with his most recent release in December, Black Heart Honcho 3, he continued the Black Heart Honcho series he started in 2019 and for the first time displayed his skills behind the boards, recording and engineering the entire project himself.
At just 25 years old, Yung Honcho has lived a lot of life. From overcoming the harsh surroundings of his historically overlooked city to break onto the national scene, to suffering a string of serious setbacks in 2020, and now successfully bouncing back to fulfill his destiny as Knoxville’s brightest new star. His unique combination of gritty streets bars and gentle melodies stands in stark contrast to the increasingly uniform landscape of street-oriented rap, and is perfectly crafted to capitalize on the growing appetite for pain music. As he continues to pump out tracks and further develop his already well-defined signature sound, the sky is the limit for Knoxville’s next up.
