Yung Gravy makes most of X Games experience
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Multi-platinum Minnesota-born MC Yung Gravy was welcomed to the X Games X Fest Snow stage for the first-time last night to a throng of eager fans chanting “Gravy Train.”
He quickly greeted the crowd, noting that, though he grew up skiing in Colorado, this was his first time in Aspen and the first time performing at X Games — an event he said he had been “watching since he was 12 years old.”
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
He quickly shook off the relentless cold, snowy weather, declaring, “I’m from Minnesota, this ain’t s*** to me,” before jumping into his first track, which got the crowd hyped up and warmed up.
Yung Gravy started rapping in 2016 while he was still a college student at University of Wisconsin-Madison, self-recording and uploading his music to Soundcloud, inspired by the success of the Soundcloud-era rappers like Lil Peep and Lil Yachty, who made an immense impact on the rap and music game between 2015 and 2019.
He first gained recognition in 2017, when his song “Mr. Clean” gained traction on Soundcloud, which eventually went platinum. Since then, he has earned a second platinum record alongside five gold records, has been on 10 international tours, and has released one mixtape, four albums, and seven EPs.
In 2022, he earned his first spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with the hit “Betty (Get Money).”
His style can be described as modern trap music that incorporates vintage soul and funk. His lyrics are energetic, cheeky, irreverent, and humorous — notoriously warning his fans that he’s “the kind of guy you keep away from your mom (if you don’t want a new stepdad).”
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
And, though he was obviously excited to perform at X Games, there were other highlights for him, as well.
“I got to ski with some of my favorite skiers of all time. I never thought that would happen in a million years; so, other than getting to actually perform at the X Games, that was the most exciting thing,” he said.
Even more significantly, between enjoying the slopes with some world-class athletes and performing, he also managed to make some time to participate in the Special Olympics Unified Skiing competition.
“I’ve been skiing my whole life, so I knew I could at least do decent without bringing down my partner too much,” he said. “Not to mention, I got to race against my favorite skier Tom Wallisch. We all killed it, very fun experience. I learned how slalom skiing works finally. I wasn’t as rusty as I was expecting. Shout out to the Special Olympiads, baby — love y’all.”
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
