YNG Martyr is tired of playing things cool. On his new album, CHALANT, he consciously sheds the air of mystery that’s dominating much of Hip-Hop today. Instead, he welcomes people into his world like never before. With over 350M global streams to his name to date, performances at festivals like Split Milk, Falls Festival, and SXSW, and touring alongside the likes of Iann Dior and DC the Don, CHALANT arrives at a time where YNG Martyr has evolved from an online star into one of Australia’s most respected rappers. CHALANT is now available at all DSP’s.
Rather than leaning into the imagery and mystique that dominates the music industry, though, YNG is going against the grain on CHALANT. Highly regarded for his preternatural understanding of music trends and marketing, the message of the album is simple: “Just be yourself, make what you want to make, and just push it.”
A lot has changed since 2022’s Lovesick. He’s found love, he’s toured internationally, and most importantly, he’s feeling the most confident he’s ever felt. Having headed overseas for a stack of shows across the UK, EU, and US, he says the experience re-energized him. “It was really good to see people in the flesh who love my music, and to tour and play these songs in front of people and see the real-world impact of writing music from an island that’s on the other side of the world.”
CHALANT came together naturally, satiating YNG Martyr’s desire to make some fun, boastful music. Exemplified by the album’s focus track, “Bodycount,” the result is some of YNG Martyr’s most authentic music yet, leaning into sounds dominating the underground, like rage and jerk, married with his lyrical ability, heard on moments like his industry-shaking performance as part of triple j’s Bars Of Steel.
From the title track opener to album closer ‘REAL GEEK’, the project’s littered with gaming references (ever-true to his roots, YNG Martyr fell into rap after freestyling in Call of Duty lobbies). He’s at his braggadocious best on his flip of Kelis’ mega-hit ‘Milkshake’, while ‘SINCE U BEEN GONE’ flips Kelly Clarkson’s anthem on its head. The long-awaited and much-teased ‘GEEKD’ is a club-ready love song, while ‘THANK GOD’ features an instantly memorable verse from St Louis’ RI WAVEY, the album’s solitary guest.
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Working closely with YNG Martyr to craft CHALANT was his producer/engineer, REYKO!. Martyr explains, “I was out here and made ‘BPD’ with REYKO!. He went back to Australia, got home, and his girlfriend was really happy to see him. And then I called him, and I’m like, ‘Hey, ‘BPD’ is blowing up, so you need to get back on a flight and come back out here. So he went home, expected to chill for a bit, and he was back out here a week later.”
It’s fair to say that the creation of CHALANT has involved a variety of characters. Martyr and REYKO! have called in Grammy-Award winning mix engineer Teezio for a final polish, who’s worked with the likes of Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow. A world away, but no less integral, is Ukrainian producer Shipy, who produced multiple tracks on CHALANT. Describing their working relationship, YNG Martyr says, “He’ll message me, send me a voice note, and be like ‘Hey, bro, I’m in the mountains of Kazakhstan. I made this sick beat for you, bro, and it’ll just be the most beautiful beat we’ve ever heard.”
YNG Martyr dedicated more than blood, sweat, and tears to bring CHALANT to life. Album highlight ‘WIT YA’ was made during a bout of serious sickness. Nevertheless, the pair powered through, with the resulting love song a testament to his commitment to his partner, in more ways than one (if ‘WIT YA’ didn’t get finished in time, a holiday to celebrate the album’s completion may have had to be cancelled). He recalls, “We were deathly sick, but we had the studio time booked. REYKO! would play the beat, I would do a line of ‘WIT YA’, and then this massive brown bloody ball of shit would come out of my lungs.” Who says romance is dead?
YNG Martyr’s time in the US has been endlessly fruitful. In addition to working on CHALANT, he’s also completed a bunch of side-quests, including writing ‘Still Humble’ for wrestler Logan Paul. He tapped YNG Martyr to write his entrance theme song, an achievement YNG still can’t quite believe. “I love WWE. I watched it as a kid, I grew up on D-Generation-X and Triple H.” ‘Still Humble’ has become one of the WWE’s most recognizable entrance themes, and is evidence of YNG Martyr’s ability to mould his sound to fit any situation.
Looking forward, he’s excited to play a stack of Australian shows, as well as continue working on his next project — which is already underway. Ultimately, though, he’s most excited for people to hear the new album. “When people hear CHALANT, I want them to learn something about themselves. You don’t need to be super cool to do super cool things. You don’t need to try to be anything that you’re not.”
